Chapter 36

Chapter

Thirty-Six

SELENE

T he portal of shadowfire glimmered, misty tendrils of darkness spooling from Emrys' back as he hacked away at demons, burning them quicker than they could rise. His black hair was bound, his chiseled jawline turning to the side as he nodded, pain lingering in his golden gaze. "You know what to do, Selene." And then he closed the portal, leaving me within the Castle of Menodore.

There was no time for arguing or a discussion once Haco's command came through loud and clear. Somehow, deep down within my battered soul, I knew it would come down to this. Maybe this was the Fates' design all along. Maybe all that pain and regret and heartache we faced had all led us to this moment. My parents' death, Menodore crumbling as Ladon became enslaved once more. Carina and Wesley being sacrificed in the name of power, and Keva having to grieve over her children. Minka and Ric losing everything at the hands of tyrants, years of being bound to cruel masters. Emrys binding himself to evil personified, trying to earn any speck of love from the same male who slaughtered his mother.

All that death and chaos and destruction needed to happen, that rage and resentment needed to build up along with our powers so we could yield that power to the Crown, destroying it once and for all.

By yielding our combined powers of the Divine, we would cease to exist within the living realm. It was the conclusive payment for our sins of tipping the scales and balance, the ultimate sacrifice. I didn't know how Haco came to that realization, didn't find myself caring about the how and the why.

And neither did Emrys.

We just knew that it all happened for a reason. Neither of us could believe it was all for nothing. We needed to have faith and hope, needed to believe that this truly was a part of the Fates' master plan.

But I couldn't stop myself from wishing for more time. More time with Emrys and Minka, more time with Cordelia and Ric and Keva and Jude, even Igor and Crodic. That time wouldn't be mine, the clock was already ticking down the seconds to our realm's demise. But for those few seconds remaining, I would make it count.

I would give my family and friends time to survive Infernum's wrath. I would give the Gods a breakaway from the destruction, a gap in the chaotic battle to gather together and yield our powers to that cursed crown.

We had all needed and wanted time, and I would give us that. The Shadowblade sliced into my palm, golden blood dripping.

The prophecy had been ambiguous and misleading at times.

Unmistakable though was the location—Menodore.

It ends where it begins.

And so there I stood, dragonstone surrounding me, the walls of my ancestor's castle still holding high and strong despite the crumbling interior. No portraits adorned the walls, no glittering chandeliers, or even forgotten tables. Menodore's Castle was bare, seemingly raided by other forces, leaving not even one fork.

I didn't let the disappointment fill me when I entered my parent's stronghold and no wave of emotions washed over me. No memories of walking these halls flooded me, my mind focusing only on the task at hand. That time to connect to my past, to my parents, had passed years ago.

Now, one could only hope to reconvene in the afterlife, our sacrifices not lost in vain.

There were just a few words of that incantation Keva found within the book about my father's bound warriors to call upon them. This was a last-ditch effort to give my friends a shot in this hellish war, to give them the time they deserved. Our opponents were unkillable, their rotting souls returning to Inferum's command, so we needed something that could fight and never die.

The Sleepless Dead.

Metallic blood sank into the broken stone floor, the ground absorbing it as my voice rang out, "Sleepless dead, I call upon you to fulfill your oath!"

A darkened chuckle sounded behind me, cool fingertips touching my neck, causing me to swipe out with my Shadowblade. My blade met nothingness, just the chilled wintry air as I called out again, "I call upon you to fulfill your oath!"

The laughter intensified, cackling voices joining in as my palm kept dripping my offering of blood. A voice came out of the atmosphere, no corporeal body in sight. It was raw and bare, so harsh and cruel as it said, "Only the King of Menodore may call upon us, little girl."

Wipsy, blue shadows whirled around me, phantom hands prickling at my exposed skin. "Only a true Choryth," he stated before those tendrils coalesced, forming into a tall High Fae male dressed in old battle regalia. His form was still wispy and translucent, like a fading shadow or illusion. The male had a longsword strapped to his back, small daggers littering his belt that were also crystalline.

I could feel figures looming at my back, no breaths leaving their sleepless bodies, but that unnerving chill lingered. I didn't falter or cower in the face of unyielding death—I held my still-bleeding palm up to the warrior. "I am Selene Kaida Choryrth, daughter of Brodyn and Dalina, and I call upon you to fulfill your oath."

The ghost shimmered again, his head thrown back in laughter as more shimmering souls moved forward, surrounding me by the hundreds, if not thousands. Their souls were bound to this once cursed country, my father's blood binding them with the Warrior's Oath.

The male's amusement ceased, translucent eyes watching me as he growled, "That line was wiped from existence. Our oaths were twisted and gnarled by the Fates, cursing us to this place."

"I can lift your curse, release you from your oath," I promised, trying to keep my voice from shaking. These warriors were our last chance at turning the tide in this war. We needed them to hold off Infernum's forces, but from the way this soldier was snarling, I didn't think they needed us .

"We only follow the command of Brodyn," he sneered, his crystalline chin pointed up. The ground trembled and my heart dropped, thinking it was another tremor of Infernum's legions being unleashed. It continued to shake the castle as the warriors of Menodore pounded their staffs. swords, and shields into the broken flooring. "Many have tried to command us, tried to call upon us with those same wishes and wicked magic to control us."

The High Fae lifted the sword from his backstrap, its corporeal form darker and less wispy than their bodies. He held the blade to my throat, its biting chill making me want to recoil. Its cold was different, harsher than anything I'd ever felt. "And many have died trying."

Holding my ground, I let my magic seep through my eyes, golden irises overtaking the emerald hue as his sword began shaking against my neck. "I am a true Choryrth." The walls of the castle trembled not from the war yards away, but from my command, my power.

"I am a liberator of the people, a freer of nations, and the Bringer of Light. Golden blood runs true, the mark of the Divine ever present." My upraised palm dripped metallic blood onto the stones, so similar to the portrait of my father making his oath. "I am a warrior, a defender of this world. I am Selene Kaida Choryrth, daughter of Brodyn and Dalina, rightful heir to Menodore's throne, and I call upon you to fulfill your oath!" The battering on the floor stopped as my voice echoed, Godsfire flaring in a circle around the undead male and me.

Those crystalline eyes flared in the Commander, his hold staying true on his sword as he looked into the twin eyes of my fathers. Dark, forest green ringed with gold, the power of the Divine seeping in. The male swallowed, the movement odd with his lack of saliva, as he whispered, "She lives."

Pushing the sword from my face, it fell soundlessly from his grip into the dirt. The male watched me with shock, my ability to touch his formless weapon proving that golden blood flowed through my veins. Metal and rust shifted as the warriors encasing us took to one knee, bowing at my standing form. The Commander dropped next, his translucent head touching his forearm in respect.

"I will release you from your oath and let your souls rest." My Godsfire settled, only embers in its wake as I looked at the ghosts of my father's army bowing to my command. "You all deserve peace for your sacrifice and I will grant that to you, but you must fight once more."

The Commander steeled his shoulders, the shock of my existence quickly fading as the cogs in his war-hewn mind began to churn. His soul was bound to my own through the Warrior's Oath, the magic of my father's oath transferring through our shared blood. He and his army answered to me and only me .

He had no choice but to obey, however, he still asked the most important question of all: "And what is that we are fighting for, little Choryth?"

"You will not fight for me or for this world," I tugged on the Mating Bond, Emrys answering me within a millisecond as his portal of shadowfire opened up next to me. The symphony of battle echoed through the flickering magic, pulling the army's attention to another Godly war taking place. "You will fight for what came before! Fight for your families who were lost, fight for your honor." That metal rustled again as the warriors rose from their kneeled positions, readying themselves for their final battle. "Protectors of Menodore… You will fight for your souls!"

Thousands of torches lit the darkness, piercing the realm of the living, and the Sleepless Dead were on the march.