Chapter 24

24

" B ut it doesn't make any sense." I sigh in frustration. "How could she be my mother? I know who my parents are, and trust me, my real mom is no goddess."

"I do not understand how this can be either. But your energy does not lie," he says as he comes closer.

His black shadows slither forward, calling forth my lavender shimmering mist.

They merge together until they're one and the same.

"I can feel your power," he whispers, his hand caressing my cheek. "And it is a wondrous thing, Barbs."

I swallow, slowly glancing up at him.

"I can't control it. I don't know how to control it. Even now," I murmur, watching the way the shimmer becomes more pronounced, intertwining with his darkness, caressing it and letting it be caressed in return.

"It reacts to your feelings," he says, threading his fingers through mine and holding me close. "It reacts to your moods, just as mine does. But I have had thousands of years to control it. You will learn. I will teach you."

My lips tremble as I attempt a smile.

"I'm scared, Nykander. I… I don't know what to believe anymore." My voice shakes, but I try to control my emotions so I don't cause him any harm.

"Do not be. I am here. With you. I will help you through this, Barbs. I promise you," he murmurs as he brings my hands to his lips for a kiss. "We are together in this."

"I am no longer human, am I?" I ask in a low voice.

"I do not think you were ever human to begin with," he mentions gently. "It was odd from the beginning that my true mate would be human when that is unheard of. I wondered how it could be. Generally, true mates are, if not of the same species, then relatively matched in spiritual energy."

I slowly digest his words.

"You know, when I got to Akkaya, I did not believe it at first. I thought it was all a dream—the culmination of my imagination. Slowly, I started believing that it is real. I even started enjoying my adventure in this strange world. But this ? Now I find out that my parents are not really my parents, that I'm the daughter of an ancient goddess who basically planned everything from the start. Lispera could see the future—she could manipulate it. That means everything so far in my life has been the result of her machinations. Did I ever have any free will, or did everything just play according to a script?"

"Barbs…" Nykander glances at me warily.

The layer of energy around my body grows in size, spiking every time my heart rate goes up.

"Fate… It means I never had a choice to begin with, did I? Even liking you… Is that something I did, or something I had to do?"

"Fate can only dictate so much," he says. "It is a string of canonical events that are decided by the fate goddesses, but everything in the middle is yours."

"How can that be if no matter what I did I ended up in the same spot?"

"You are thinking of fate in far too negative terms, Barbs. What about the positives? It brought you here. With me. Does that not count for anything?"

I peer up at him, my heart slamming against my chest in a mix of fear, frustration, and desire.

I look at him through the eyes of a woman in love, but one who is questioning whether that love is even hers.

"You are with me now, sweetheart. Mine. I, for one, thank the fates for that." He smiles.

My eyes widen.

"Were you not cursing the fates for our bond until now? What brought this change?"

"You." One word. One simple word that makes my soul sing. "Against myself and against my past, you wormed your way into my heart. And that is not the hand of fate. Fate only brought us together, but you made my heart beat again. You with your odd ways and quirky humor. You with your kindness when I least deserved it. You with your patience and forgiveness when I could not forgive myself. That is all you , Barbs."

My lashes flutter in surprise at his words. He's never spoken to me like this. The mark on my chest vibrates, but this time, it sends a signal to my volatile energy, making it flash between a light lavender color and a deep purple.

A blush creeps up my cheeks as I stare at him.

"Nykander…" I whisper his name, unable to utter anything else.

His lips curve up, his eyes crinkling around the corners. I've seen him smile before, but never with his full face like this. His energy shifts as well, the darkness of his shadows abating until it becomes a light gray.

His hands cup my cheeks and he leans forward. His breath fans across my lips. The proximity is maddening.

"There was truth in your words when we first met, Barbs," he murmurs. My lips part and I inhale each word. "You are the light to my dark, dark soul."

Slowly, he closes the distance between us. He gives me enough time to turn my face away should I want to. But how could I when I have been waiting for this moment forever?

His lips touch mine. They're soft but firm. He glides his mouth over mine in a gentle seduction. Each press of his lips is more decadent than the first. Wrapping one arm around my waist, he pulls me close to his body. His heat permeates my body, and our energies merge into one. He parts his lips over mine, coaxing them open so he can taste me better.

A groan vibrates in his chest as he slides his tongue across the seam of my lips.

"Open up for me, Barbs," he murmurs.

I trace the contours of his muscles as I make my way up his arms, gripping him tightly as I allow him access to my mouth.

His tongue slides inside, seeking my own and inviting it to a tantalizing dance that sends a current of electricity down my body and makes my toes curl. I move my hands up, twinning them around his nape. Threading my fingers through his thick hair, I let him deepen the kiss. Our mouths are fused to one another, his breath my breath.

The kiss starts gentle as he eases me into it, but as I urge him on, rubbing against him and opening my mouth wider for his possession, he takes what is freely given.

So lost I am in his embrace that I barely realize that our feet are no longer touching the ground. An otherworldly glow surrounds us as the kiss becomes more urgent. All my inhibitions melt away as I allow him to penetrate every crevice of my soul.

His touch ignites me as I never thought possible—and I have imagined this moment since the first time I saw him.

The heat becomes an incontrollable inferno that burns faster, harder. It opens an abyss of emotion in my heart—one that is pitiless and infinite.

"Barbs," he groans my name against my lips.

We float outside space and time, driven by desire and an ineffable depth of feeling.

Our lips part for a moment, and he pulls at my dress to reveal my glowing mark. He does the same with his shirt, taking my hand and placing it on his naked skin to feel his pulsating mark.

"Feel what you do to me," he whispers. "Feel what fate arranged for us, but that we created."

"Nykander…" I whimper.

The glow intensifies.

We are up in the air, breaking through the atmosphere. Dim lights reflect from down below, where the rest of the world resides. But this, now, marks our break from civilization—our coming together as not two, but one.

Us against the world.

The clouds are our only companions as strong gusts of air travel all around us, but it never touches us.

Our energies are in sync. A boundary between us and the rest of the world—the rest of the universe .

"Do you feel it, sweetheart?" he asks as he caresses my face.

I lean into his touch, letting it sear itself on my skin. Peering up at him, I note the gentleness with which he regards me.

"Tell me you feel this. Tell me I am not the only one wrapped up in this mad, mad surge of emotion that threatens to consume me from within."

"You're not." I shake my head. "I feel it. Every beat of your heart mirrors mine. Every breath." I pause as I trace his lips with my finger. "Every breath you take is my breath."

He swallows hard, his face ravaged by a myriad of emotions.

"I've never felt like this before," he confesses in a thick voice. "Like your lips were perfectly sculpted to fit my own. Like your curves were made to accommodate every inch of my hardness."

His voice caresses my senses, but it's the meaning behind his words that leaves me breathless.

I stare at him.

He stares at me.

Slowly, a smile curves up his lips.

I smile in return.

And just like that, I know I am fine. Whatever may come our way—whatever the fates may have in store for us—we are fine.

We descend to the ground, landing in the middle of a thick forest. Darkness surrounds us from all sides, but our path is lit up from our merged energy—a light gray with shimmery purple particles.

He uses his teleportation powers to bring the dogs to us and they bark happily when they see us again.

I pet them and give them kisses while Nykander watches me with an amused gleam in his eyes. After I've handed out each of them a small treat from my pocket, I get back to his side.

His hand finds mine and we walk around, wandering aimlessly. The dogs follow close behind.

"Nykander, I have to ask." I gather the courage to speak, knowing bringing up this subject might end our idyllic moment.

"Hm?"

"What about… Mo?"

"I will not lie to you, Barbs. I love Mo. I will always love her. She was my first love and I loved her with the heart of a youth. But she is no longer here. Thousands of years have passed. I am no longer the same youth. I am stronger, wiser, and more weathered. And for the first time, I am ready to open my heart again."

"I will never ask you to forget her," I tell him. "I just do not wish to have her intervene between us."

"She will not." He stops, placing himself in front of me. "Let me have my revenge. Let me have this one goal I have worked so long toward. After that, I will put her to rest. I will be only yours—if you will have me."

I smile as I caress his hand.

"I will help you get your revenge, Nykander," I murmur softly. "We will do this together."

"Together. I like the sound of that."

"I think this is one of the perks of having powers," I joke. "You no longer have to treat me with kid gloves. I can finally handle myself."

" Not yet." He clicks his tongue against his teeth. "You, sweetheart, are a disaster waiting to be unleashed upon the world. You need to learn to control your powers."

"I'm sure that won't take long with you as a teacher." I flutter my lashes at him.

"Is that so?" He raises a brow, pulling me closer.

"That is not the only thing you will have to teach me," I whisper as I raise myself on the tips of my toes. "There are a lot of things I need to learn. Things that do not require…clothes."

"Sweetheart," he groans. "You just ensured I will not get a wink of sleep until we get to those lessons."

I chuckle as I step away from him, winking playfully.

"Patience, my good-looking friend, patience. First, we need to get back to Tartareia."

His features darken and he takes a deep breath.

"We should leave soon. The villagers already took a dislike to us, so there is no point in lingering around."

"You're right," I agree. "But before we go… How is Tartareia? You haven't spoken much about it. I'd like to know what to expect of the so-called original hell."

His features tense, but I glimpse a sliver of longing in his gaze.

"Both beautiful and terrifying. It mirrors its people. We might be descendant from the Seven, but not everyone is…evil. Like with any society, there is good and bad. It just so happens that Tartareians have a greater propensity for the latter. It is primarily due to our abilities to control corrupted souls and turn them into demons. The thirst for power of a few has damned us all." He sighs.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the place you grew up in."

His lips twitch, but sadness descends down his features.

"We should head back and pack. Once we get back to Tartareia, we will need to lie low for some time until I see what has changed since my last time there. And while we do that, we will start your combat lessons. We are heading into dangerous territory and I want you to be prepared for anything," he explains.

"Let's do this then. I'm ready when you are."

He pulls me into his embrace, using his shadowy tentacles to pull the dogs alongside us, and we're back at the cabin.

I take out the few gowns I have and spread them on the bed, using the sheet underneath as a makeshift bag. Nykander hands me his own clothes and the dogs' blankets.

"Stay here. I need to take care of something before we leave," he mentions. I don't get to ask him what before he's gone, leaving me alone with the dogs.

I tend to the dogs, cleaning their little paws from the trek in the woods and making sure their coats are not matted. Since we've been here, I've done my best to care for them to the standards they are used to, but given the rudimentary resources, I've had to improvise.

"You three are the cutest things I've ever seen," I coo at them.

PomPom does a pirouette with BonBon chasing after her tail, while Ander whines that he's not part of the spectacle.

I laugh at their antics and give each a small treat—the last ones we had.

Nykander is back half an hour later.

"I wanted to make sure the road is clear for us to leave since the villagers are still upset with me."

"And?"

"I made peace with Jeya and Elijah. They will not stop us from leaving."

"That is nice of you." I smile. "Although I appreciate you defending my honor, you should have thought about the consequences before."

"But now I have you to be my voice of reason." He winks.

I chuckle. "Speaking of that, we should go to the kitchens and get some food. At least for the dogs," I suggest. Ander in particular needs to eat often since he's a growing pup.

Nykander nods.

After we have all our essentials with us, Nykander lures the dogs inside the pink dog house and locks the door.

"They will be easier to transport this way," he mentions, and I give him a quick kiss on the lips for his thoughtfulness.

He teleports us to the kitchens, and I go through the pantry, taking out some basic items and placing them in a bag.

But just as I'm about to tell him I'm done, a loud bang erupts in the village.

We both freeze. My eyes flare with alarm.

"What was that?" I whisper.

He shakes his head, placing a finger to his lips.

Heading to the window, he pulls the curtain aside to look outside. I follow him.

A devastating fire rages in the western part of the village. At first, we hear the crackling of wood as the flames consume the buildings. The screams of the villagers soon follow. A few run for their lives, only to be struck down by an invisible force, seemingly being cut in two.

"What—" I gasp.

"Stay here," he tells me, and in the next second, he flashes himself out of the room.

He appears in the middle of the road, his expression grave as he awaits something.

Another loud bang erupts in the air, and the High Priestess flies backward, landing next to Nykander. Her clothes are ripped, her body riddled with bleeding wounds. She breathes harshly, barely getting herself back to her feet.

Nykander glances toward her, his eyes narrowed.

She wipes the blood from her mouth and a smirk appears on her face.

"I told you my death will not be by your hands, demon," she murmurs, and somehow I hear her.

I gulp down. It must be these new powers. Yet as her mouth moves again, my ears fail me.

Damn it! I strain to hear but can only make out half words.

Nykander nods at her. His energy shimmers around him, the darkness coming to the surface and forming a shield around him.

The smoke dissipates, and from within its depths, Damien appears. He steps forward, followed by Jocelyn, Arisa, Leoni, and a slew of other magic wielders who are terrorizing the villagers.

Damien swings a fire lasso from his right hand. A villager screams and runs out of the way. But he doesn't stand a chance as Damien cuts him in two, killing him without batting an eye.

My eyes widen. This is too similar to my dream for it to be a coincidence. My instincts kick in and I disobey Nykander's orders, rushing out of the kitchens.

"Barbi, I told you to stay back," his voice booms.

"He has the blood of your sire, Nykander. He will try to stab you with it," I say breathlessly.

He turns to look at me and gives me a brisk nod.

"Stay back now," he decrees and, using his powers, he envelops me in a shield of dark smoke. He directs his attention to Damien, who has now gained more ground. Extending his arm to the side, Nykander morphs a sword from his energy.

Damien raises a daring brow as he emulates his movements, creating a blade from his flames.

They meet in the middle, their swords clashing just as their energies bump one against the other—one bright red, one black as midnight. The High Priestess engages with Arisa and Leoni, who are overpowering her.

This… This is just like what happened in my dream. With the exception of the presence of the High Priestess, everything is the same.

My fear mounts. But before I can digest what's happening, my eyes connect with Jocelyn. She smirks as she looks at me. With a move of her wrist, she sends a strong gust toward me.

But because of my dream, I am able to anticipate her attack and I move to the side, narrowly evading the blow.

Her eyes widen in surprise, but with a smooth jump, she lands in front of me.

Nykander glances back.

"Barbs," he calls out. But Damien won't give him a moment of rest, brandishing his blade at him. With his eyes on me, Nykander barely dodges the attack and parries it with his own.

"I am fine!" I shout. "Pay attention to your fight," I tell him.

He doesn't seem convinced, but Damien's fighting style is too aggressive. He doesn't give Nykander even one inch, hitting him with blow after blow, even though none of them land on his body. He must be looking to tire him out.

Damien feeds on souls, and since the plague happened, he must be consuming tens if not hundreds of souls daily. He must be thinking he will have the advantage when it comes to stamina since his power is rechargeable.

I purse my lips.

Somehow, I need to get to Nykander and give him some of my blood. He will need it.

I'm interrupted from my musings when Jocelyn sends another strong wind gust toward me. This time, it rattles the shield Nykander had created for me.

"Nykander, take the shield back!" I yell. He's probably consuming energy trying to maintain it, and if things go according to my dream, it will end up breaking anyway.

"No."

"Please trust me," I whisper, knowing he can hear me. "I know what I'm doing."

His eyes meet mine briefly and he appears at war with himself.

I give him a confident nod and he reluctantly calls his shadows back. The shield dissipates and I slowly let my anger lead me. I might not be able to control these newfound powers. But it seems my emotions can. So I will just lean into them and let them consume me.

Jocelyn smiles smugly when she sees me defenseless, and she readies herself for attack.

"You stole my dog," she grits out. "I'll enjoy stepping over your dead body when I get him back."

She sends another blow my way, but her words only fuel my emotions.

"You stole my dog first, you two-faced bitch," I yell.

At once, the energy around me simmers, enveloping me in a thick purple shield.

Her eyes flare in concern, but she doesn't stop, sending a succession of blows toward me. As they reach me, they dissipate against my shield, and I finally return the smile.

"I don't know what I ever saw in you," I mutter to myself. "But I will take this opportunity to erase you from my mind once and for all."

She frowns. Of course she doesn't know what I'm talking about—and good thing she doesn't. If she did, she'd laugh in my face at my idiocy. Yet that Barbi seems like a lifetime away.

Since I've come to Akkaya, I've learned more about myself than in twenty-one years of life. And it's all because I finally started living for myself instead of trying to emulate someone else. I found my voice while I muted all the other ones telling me I was inconsequential. And I owe that not only to the adversities that have come my way, but also to Nykander, my new partner in crime. He's accepted me with my flaws and told me I was enough.

And that gives me the strength to finally cut this thread loose.

The mere thought that she might get to my dogs provides me with enough anger to channel my energy into a blast that sends her flying through the air. She stabilizes herself with her powers, though, and comes charging toward me again.

Every time she comes, I hit her with a blast. She tries to land blows on me, too, but they lose all strength the moment they encounter my purple shield. Seeing as how none of her attacks work, she comes closer, seeking to hurt me by entering my shield and attacking me from within.

A slow smile pulls at my lips as I allow her to believe she has the upper hand. But the moment she enters my shield, she's trapped.

Panic flares in her features as she realizes she cannot move. She's held immobile by the particles of energy that float around me.

Damien notices too, and he's momentarily distracted, time in which Nykander lands a blow against his stomach, ripping it open. He cuts him from one side to the other, the sound of his sword against Damien's spine reaching my ears.

"You didn't know who you were up to, did you?" I murmur as I bring my hand around Jocelyn's neck. "Nykander's brother commands you, so I assume he can hear my words, can't he?"

She doesn't answer—she cannot. But I can see the truth reflected in her features.

Leaning in, I whisper, "Hello, Baine. Watch closely how your brother destroys your thrall. I don't know you, but I can already imagine you seething. All those souls—all that power—lost. How does it feel knowing that no matter how dirty you play, your brother still wins?"

Jocelyn's eyes move wildly in their orbits—the only movement she's capable of. I increase the pressure on her neck, surprised at the ease with which I can make it bend. Alas, it seems my new energy source is not the only power I gained.

My features darken as I stare into her terrified eyes.

"Goodbye, Jocelyn," I murmur. But there is also the unspoken.

Goodbye, Barbi, you aimless fool.

One movement of my wrist and her neck snaps. It slumps to the side, bending at an odd angle. But since I do not know whether she can regenerate or not, I apply some more force and her head becomes detached from her body. It rolls onto the floor, and everything stops as people stare at me in disbelief.

Yet I was so focused on Jocelyn that I didn't notice that the High Priestess had been stabbed in the heart. Arisa is also dead on the ground next to her, and a bleeding Leoni breathes hard as he glares down at her. His body trembles and as he turns to me, he wobbles for a few more steps until he falls to the ground.

In the distance, the other villagers are fighting with Damien's magic wielder, and little by little, they appear to gain more ground.

There's only Nykander and Damien remaining, their battle tense as Damien calls forth more souls to feed his power.

I don't know if this is another byproduct of my new powers, but my vision has changed. I see the translucent shape of the souls as they travel toward him, becoming a whirlpool of nothingness as they're absorbed into his body.

His flames increase in size with each soul he consumes.

Nykander is holding his own, but I can sense that he is becoming tired. And there is only one way to even out the field.

He needs to feed, too.

"Nykander," I call out. He whips his head to me and I pick up a blade from the ground and slash my left palm. Blood coats the metal. His brows knit in confusion until he sees me throw the knife at him.

He uses one of his tendrils to catch it and he brings it to his mouth, licking every drop of blood from it.

Immediately, his vigor returns.

Yet that one moment of inattention makes it that the events from my dream come to pass.

Damien also coats his blade with blood—the blood of Nykander's sire—and he's ready to strike while Nykander is distracted.

But just as the tip of the blade gets closer to him, I yell loudly.

"No!"

My voice travels to them, morphing into a blow of pure energy that throws Damien off Nykander long enough for my mate to turn that bloody blade to dust.

"I got this," he murmurs in a low voice, his lips curved in a confident smile.

I nod, stepping back and letting him finish the fight.

His strength renewed, he morphs his shadows into two swords, one in each hand, and he strikes at Damien before he has the opportunity to get his bearings together. Nykander slashes his body repeatedly, but unfortunately, each time it regenerates.

I frown.

How can we kill someone who has can channel the souls' energy to heal himself?

Nykander becomes frustrated with that fact too, while Damien is sporting a smug smile on his face every time his flesh mends.

"Not so strong now, are you, brother?" Damien asks, but it is not him who speaks. It is Baine. The voice is deeper, much more sinister than Damien's strangled little tantrums from before.

I bite my lip in worry. The more time goes on, the more energy Nykander will spend and we will be back to the starting point.

Baine appears to be controlling Damien fully now, and in an effort to destroy his brother, he summons forth an army of souls.

Hundreds if not thousands of bright lights fly in the sky, heading straight for Damien's body and charging him with new energy.

Nykander is breathing hard as he takes a step back, his eyes narrowed as he calculates his next movement.

At this rate, Damien will kill us both. The more souls he consumes, the more powerful he will be, and neither Nykander nor I will be a match for him.

Unless…

"Nykander," I call him. While Damien is charging, I rush to Nykander's side and take his hand in mine.

"The only way to defeat him is to stop him from getting more souls," I whisper.

He nods grimly.

"But how? I do not know the spell he used to summon forth all the souls from Akkaya. And with how many he's consuming…"

"What if we try what I did to Jocelyn? Once she was inside my energy field, she could no longer move or summon her powers."

He tilts his head to the side. A bit of blood flows from a wound close to his neck, and I swipe it with my finger, then bring it to my mouth.

"It is worth a try." He nods.

He holds tightly onto my hand as he lets his remaining energy take shape. I inhale deeply as I do the same. The darkness of his essence becomes a light gray as it mixes with my lavender one. And combined, the energies expand to a much wider range.

"Follow my lead," he murmurs, leaning in to lay a kiss on the top of my head.

I nod, and we both turn our attention to Damien.

He's consumed so many souls he no longer looks humanoid. There is a monstrous quality to his form. It's big—and growing larger—bent and misshapen. It's the stuff of nightmares.

Now, if I were the old Barbi—and I promise I'm not…just maybe a little—I would have squeaked and proposed we ran from that boogeyman. But this new Barbi must face her fears head-on.

I glance up at Nykander, admiring his decisive expression and the way he radiates strength even after fighting for so long.

Yes, this new Barbi will not give up.

"Ready, sweetheart?" Nykander smiles at me.

"Yes."

Damien rushes toward us, ready to attack in full force. But as he steps inside our shield, he suddenly becomes immobilized. He snarls at us, his voice hitting me in my eardrums and making me wince. But it's clear that he is trapped.

"Oh my! We did it!"

"Not quite yet," Nykander mentions. "We need to wear him out and kill him inside the boundary so he may not consume more souls. Or…" he trails off, turning to look at me.

"Or?"

"I cannot extract the souls out of a demon since I am one myself. But an Aperite deity could."

"You mean…me?" I frown. "But how would I do that?"

"Your mother was a Supreme, Barbs. That means you have the ability to extract the souls and save them. And once you do, they will be able to move on."

I blink. He nudges me softly, and I realize he has full confidence in me.

"But how?" I whisper.

I would love nothing more than save those souls and make Nykander proud of me. But no matter my determination, the fact of the matter is that I've only had these powers for a few hours. I don't even know what I'm doing nine times out of ten!

"Focus your energy on him." He nods to Damien, who is currently writhing in agony. "Visualize the energy within him—the foreign energy."

Closing my eyes, I push my energy toward Damien. The moment it reaches him, though, I physically recoil from the evil I sense within him. Yet it's not just Damien. It's also Baine. Somewhere inside there, Baine's essence also lives, polluting Damien's soul further.

I probe more. There are thick layers of evil and foul intentions. And every time I try to peel a layer, I feel their essence tainting me.

"Breathe, sweetheart. I am here with you," Nykander murmurs in my ear. His lips are on my temple as he pulls me in his arms.

"It's so ugly and vile, Ny," I whisper. "I've never felt such sinister energy before. It makes me feel…dirty."

"You can do this, Barbs. I know you can. Gather all of our energy, mine and yours, and use it as a sword."

"Okay," I whisper.

"Now cut through that malevolent energy."

I do as he says, manifesting a sword in my hands and aiming it at the first layer. I imbue it with my energy, and as I cut, I materialize my intention—not only to destroy the wickedness, but also reform it. The dark, putrid layer begins to dissolve into a white substance, and for the first time, I feel slightly cleaner.

I repeat the same actions all over again. Yet there are so many layers. So many sins and bad deeds. So many wicked intentions.

"That's it, Barbs. That's my girl," Nykander praises me. "He is getting smaller. Keep going, baby."

I cut through more layers until I find the most noxious one. It is so putrid, I barely keep myself from heaving. Disgust and nausea fill me to the brim, but I push past it.

"Interesting," the same malefic voice from before speaks in my head. "I see Nykander has found himself a little Aperite ally. Who would have thought. " He laughs. "I cannot wait to feast on your soul, girl. After I neutralize my brother, I will make you my main course."

He makes a slurping noise, and I drag a heavy breath in, forcing myself to keep going.

My knees buckle, but Nykander holds me steady.

He's there, next to me. I can feel the heat of his body. It tethers me, keeping me from getting lost in this sea of monstrosity that is Baine.

I inhale and materialize the sword again, but this time I imagine it to be bigger—stronger. The purple glows from the tip of the sword to the hilt, continuing up my body until I'm one with my weapon.

Raising it high, I use all my strength to bring it down onto that putrid layer, cutting through it and turning it into nothingness. This severs the bond between Baine and Damien, but that doesn't mean my job is done.

More layers appear, from all the sins of the souls absorbed in the past. They are easier to get through since I don't think anything can be as vile as Baine.

Slowly, I'm out of layers and I hit a wall.

"There's a wall," I whisper.

"It's all right, Barbs. You are doing so good, baby. Imagine you have a hammer in your hand, and use it to smash the wall to pieces."

I take a deep breath and do as he instructs.

As the wall crumbles to the ground, the same faint lines of energy from before appear—all the souls Damien did not get to fully consume.

"What now?" I ask in a strangled voice.

"Now it's up to you, sweetheart. Wish them free, and they will be free."

I gulp down. Squeezing my eyes shut, I channel my energy into a healing one, letting it spread from soul to soul in an effort to calm them and let them know they are safe—that they can now continue their journey into the afterlife.

A wave of heat develops in my chest and a loud explosion startles me from my trance.

I fall to the ground, but Nykander is there to catch me, cradling my body to his chest.

Pieces of Damien's body are scattered on the ground as Nykander pulls back his shadows.

"Look, Barbs." He nods to the night sky that the thousands of liberated souls lit up. The moment they are out, though, other beings appear. Mechanic and somewhat robotic, they have humanoid appearances, but they do not seem to stray from their script.

"They are messengers," Nykander murmurs. "They are now escorting the souls to P'asala."

"I did it then…" I mutter numbly.

"You did it, Barbs. You did so good. I'm proud of you," he whispers, kissing the tip of my nose.

"I did it," I repeat in disbelief.

Light shimmers around me, and as I look down, I'm startled to see that the previous lavender energy has now changed color.

It is no longer a light purple.

It is pink.

Pink .

Somehow that's fitting.

A smile pulls at my lips, but it's a rather sloppy one as my body fails me.

That's my last thought before my eyes close.