Daimon glanced at Brielle, who mirrored his confusion and apprehension.
Evelina held a finger out, pointing toward the mouth of the river. Toward the cavern. “I can feel him,” she whispered, holding her hand over her chest. “The darkness surrounding him is so strong—sowrongand twisted.”
Moros was here. It all suddenly made sense. He was the only ungodly force in this world who could channel such a corrupted power.
But if he was here…it meant he saw this as a final battle too. Why else risk his own mortal body at the frontline?
His power was awful, but it was also desperate. Maybe it was Eve’s light shielding his mind to have clarity, but Daimon could finally see past the shadows.
Moros wasafraid.
Daimon squared his shoulders, making a decision in a split second and praying to Eurydice it was the right choice.
“We stick to the plan,” he said quickly to the group. “There’s no turning back now.”
Any sane person would have retreated. Their own men wereturning on them, and who was to say they wouldn’t also turn on one another?
But the Alpha Fleet was the most feared unit for a reason. They each held a fist over their chest and tapped twice, their faces grim with determination.
“Our focus still needs to be on blocking the exit of the cavern,” he continued as they blocked attacks, pressing further up the river. “But if we have the opportunity to bring Moros down with it, we need to take it.” He turned to Evelina; the fleet encircled them both, guarding them while Daimon made their plan. “How long do you think you can hold a shield over all of us?”
Evelina’s eyes blazed; light rimmed her irises like twin suns.
“Long enough to kill the bastard that killed my dad.”
Fifty-Four
Daimon
Furies charged them from behind,while a new drove came from the direction of the cavern. They had no choice but to forge ahead. They were surrounded, a flock of birds closing in on a single worm.
“Ranick, Elias, create a path for us!” Daimon shouted. “Brielle, focus your fire on keeping them off our back. I’ll watch the sides.”
He didn’t have to tell Evelina what needed to be done—she was already scorching the dark rebels that were getting too close into ash.
Aegis fire met cursed rebels as the fleet blazed a path toward the cave. Clumps of soil, rock, and debris flew from the energy of the magic clashing. Evelina’s shield pulsed against his skin, the heat of her magic so hot that his skin crawled. It was chaos, the rebels growing frustrated that their magic and weapons were bouncing off the invisible shield Evelina had wrapped around them.
The Furies were growing in number behind them, pushing them closer and closer to the cave. They were nearly there now, Ranick and Elias fighting to clear a path ahead while Brielle fended them off as much as she could from the back.
But Daimon could feel the tamper on his magic, his shadows barely holding off the enemy coming from the sides. He threw up wall after wall, blocking the Furies from closing in. One slipped past his shadows, heading straight for them. Daimon’s eyes widened as he felt Evelina’s magic flare, seemingly unaffected by the cursed magic.
The rebel that slipped past had the look of victory gleaming in her eye, but the moment she reached Evelina’s shield, she began to scream. The black veins glowing beneath her skin writhed, as if trying to escape the light. It only lasted a moment before her flesh dissolved into ash.
The tree coverage thinned as the cavern opened up ahead. They reached their destination—the nest of the Furies.
Furies flew out of the cavern, their movements animalistic and unnatural. They were pouring from the exit in droves, far more of them than the Alpha Fleet could manage alone. Not to mention the writhing darkness pulsing from the cave’s mouth.
Daimon grabbed Evelina’s hand as rebels surrounded them. The fleet stood back-to-back, doing what they could to keep the enemy at bay. Brielle, Ranick, and Elias all used as much fire as they could, but it wasn’t enough. The Furies were pressing closer, fingers brushing against Evelina’s shield and disintegrating on contact. Her hand was cold and clammy in Daimon’s. She couldn’t hold it forever.
“Hold steady, Eve,” he gritted out.
He wasn’t going to let them die.
The tamper on his Essence was still there, but he reached for it anyway, sending a prayer to Nyx to let his status as bastard of a god mean something for once in his life. Evelina’s shield flickered and a Fury shot at Ranick, grabbing him by the throat. Her shield roared to life again, searing the rebel from the inside out.
Beneath the hold on Daimon’s magic, he felt a darkness, a primal magic so ancient that he was always too afraid to let it out.
He didn’thave a choice now.
