Chapter Fourteen

Silly me thought I'd have more time, but if I'm honest with myself, it's a miracle I made it this far before he showed himself again—this time not in a dream, but in the flesh, so to speak. Not sure if the guy has any flesh when his ascended form is made of human-shaped metal.

I'm slow in turning away from my route to the map, and I angle my head up to look at him. Invictis floats about twenty feet above me, not needing to use his wings to keep himself in the air. He just… stays there like he's hovering.

With the sun shining off him, around him, through him, it's difficult for me to look at him without squinting. With the natural light combining with the light radiating from his faceless form, it's almost too much. Makes my eyeballs hurt.

"Well, well, well," I say loud enough for Invictis to hear, "fancy seeing you here."

He does not address my sarcasm. Instead, he says, "Have you learned everything yet?" His voice is the low one, the one that crawls up your spine and takes hold of you no matter how hard you try to fight it. Unnatural, unreal. Mechanical, almost. "No, I don't suppose you have. It doesn't matter. You will bow to me before you fall, just as they all did."

Invictis cuts right to the chase. He lifts a golden hand toward me, and a ray of white magic shoots from his palm. Six smaller rays come from the tips of his wings, combining with the palm ray to make one really big beam of energy.

I react instantly, using Gladus's magic to help me leap back with inhuman speed while Morimento's magic creates a vine-like shield in front of me. Together, it's enough to block the beam.

"Ah," Invictis's voice growls out in the sky, "I see you have learned some new tricks after all." He lowers himself to the garden, his metallic body so heavy he lands with a thud. He looks out of place in the garden, and the absolute power ebbing from him makes the plants around him shrivel and dry up, the petals on the flowers to curl up and fall off.

He really is a beautiful death.

"Come, Rey," he taunts me, stopping when he's only ten feet away. "Show me what else you've learned." The way he says it, I can tell he doesn't believe anything I've learned will make a difference. In his eyes, I'm already dead, a dead girl walking, and this is some sick game he's playing. He hates me so much he wants to make it last.

His mistake, really.

My hands curl into fists as the magic inside me surges to the surface. "I'll do more than that. I'll show you what I've learned and I'll kick your golden ass from here to hell as a bonus."

All he does is laugh, a bizarre sound with his unnatural voice, but that laugh serves its purpose: it pisses me the fuck off. A bolt of lightning forms in my right hand, and I heave it at him, throwing it much like I imagine Zeus would, if the Greek god was real.

The bolt hits Invictis on his golden chest, but it's not strong enough to penetrate the metal—although, I don't know that penetration would do any good. It isn't like he has a heart in there, beating. He has no brain, so why would he have a heart? That body is either solid or hollow.

And if the motherfucker doesn't have a heart or a brain, how the hell am I supposed to beat him? What's his weakness?

Invictis acts as though he's dusting off his chest. "Is that all you have, truly? Rey, here I was, thinking you've gotten better. It seems you're just as weak and pathetic as you were before, even with magic. Pity." I swear I can hear the smirk in his voice when he growls out, "My turn."

This time he's too fast. I can't dodge him or throw up a shield. When he throws another beam of light at me, it hits me square in the stomach. Thankfully it doesn't tear straight through me; it's solid when it collides with me, and the force sends me flying back a good fifteen feet.

I land in the dirt on my back, and I groan when I struggle to stand. I glare at Invictis as I give my best I-don't-give-a-fuck expression. "Is that all you got? Looks like I'm not the only one who's rusty."

I could never beat him one on one; he's too strong. My magic is too weak. I'm not enough. But, maybe, if I piss him off enough, I'll make him mad enough that he makes a mistake.

My stomach hurts; it's like I got the hardest sucker-punch thrown at me, but I try not to show it. "I thought you were supposed to be this big, bad, evil thing. Shouldn't I be vaporized into dust already? I mean, unless you're not as powerful as you say. Morimento sealed you on that throne with her dying breath. If you couldn't break free from her spell, maybe you aren't as impressive as you say."

My insult hits its mark. Invictis launches himself at me, and in the blink of an eye he has one of his golden hands wrapped around my neck. Given how tall this form is and how strong he is, he's easily able to lift me off my feet.

"I was not whole," Invictis hisses. "I was not strong enough to break free. A spell laced with the power of death is not one so easily broken. But I am whole now, thanks to you."

I grip his wrist with one hand while trying to peel away his fingers from my neck with the other. It's damn near impossible for me to speak, but I manage to say, "You're welcome, by the way."

The sound of laughter echoes from his golden chest, and his faceless head tilts. If he had eyes, I bet they'd be full of amusement. "Yes, I suppose I should thank you. It is only because of you that I will achieve my purpose and annihilate what's left of Laconia. Death comes for all mortal beings. With me, your death is now."

His hand squeezes my neck so hard it's impossible to breathe. I don't know if he plans on popping my head like a juicy grape or what, but I don't plan on giving him the chance.

While he was talking, while he was so enthralled with hoisting me up and taunting me, I grew dozens of thick, strong vines. Behind him, beneath him, ready to curl around his legs and his body the moment I put thought to it.

"Not today," I choke out, and it's as I say those words that the multitude of vines ensnare him.

The vines grow and multiply as they curl around his body like snakes. He's caught off-guard, especially since some of those vines coil around his wings, too. He lets me go, and I fall to the ground, heaving and coughing, trying to catch my breath before he inevitably escapes.

Because he will. Of course he will.

I stumble back as I glare at him. His eight-foot-tall figure struggles against the onslaught of vines, and I will hard, pointed thorns into existence. They grow on the vines, an added bit to an already sticky situation where he's concerned.

Can the asshole feel pain? I don't know, but if he can, I sure hope it hurts.

He pulls an arm out of the vines, but the moment they snap apart, more vines take their place. I can hear him growing more enraged as the seconds pass. Unfortunately, I don't think quick enough that time, because after another groan, the metal on Invictis's body begins to glow.

Like, more so than normal.

The gold making up his frame turns molten, the light inside him intensifying with the power of ten suns put together. The vines wrapped around him wither and die back, much as the rest of the garden did, and he snaps himself free of the dead vines with ease.

I can't look at him. It's too bright, too blinding. I hold up a hand to shield myself from the unnatural glow, but it's not enough. The light is so strong it travels through my skin and my bones and still blinds me. I can feel it inside me, threatening to rip me apart from the inside, a dull throbbing that makes me fall to my knees.

Invictis steps closer to me. "On your knees. Finally. That is where you belong—along with every other human that dares remain in Laconia. Perhaps I should bring you to them, so they can see their precious Rey on her knees." A rumble of a sound leaves his chest as he adds, "Do you think Frederick would dare attempt to play hero and save you?"

I breathe hard. I can't help it. Even on my knees, shielding my eyes, it's a struggle. The air around me turned hotter; I can feel the sweat lining my hairline, pooling at the nap of my neck. Still, all that aside, I manage a grin.

"There's that jealousy again," I say. "I knew I wasn't making it up when I heard it the first time. Still jealous of Frederick, after all this time. Invictis, I thought you were better than that?"

A blast of light hits me, and I end up in a rolling motion until I can stop myself—and I only stop myself with the help of some of the dead bushes in the garden. They pad my path. Invictis is the opposite of calm when he growls out, "I know no jealousy."

I still can't look at him, and really, it's the hardest thing ever to stand and dust myself off, even with my back to him. "Really? Sorry, bud, but I just don't think that's true. Are you getting tired of being a walking, talking apocalypse?"

"Apocalypse," he repeats, as if he does not understand the word.

"Yeah, you know, an apocalypse. An extinction event. Total death and annihilation. All I'm saying is that if that's all, then why aren't I dead already?" The glow that sears the air and can blind anyone fades, and I'm slow to turn around to face him.

Invictis stands tall, his six wings spread. Looking at him now, knowing what he is, he really is a beautiful, bright, blinding ruin, and I hate that I ever thought we were friends. It was nothing but a lie. Everything that happened, he pulled the strings. Even if agents from another kingdom came and unleashed him, he is still responsible for everything he's done.

"Perhaps," Invictis murmurs, his voice echoing in my core, "I want to make your death last." As he says those words, the garden around us disappears. The castle behind Invictis fades. Everything changes, and suddenly I'm standing in the courtyard of my college, surrounded by familiar buildings and old trees. He disappears, too.

The world around me is realistic. I want to believe it, even though I know it's nothing but a lie. The only thing that sets it apart from the real world is the fact that there are no people. No other students hurrying with heavy bags, going from class to class. No professors walking along with their briefcases or riding their scooters.

God, never thought I'd think this, but I miss college. I miss the classes, the learning, even the papers. Juggling all that with work was hard—hard enough that I was late one too many times to work, hence why I lost my cashier job in the first place—but given what I know now, given what I've been through in Laconia, I'd take it all back in a heartbeat. If given the choice, I'd rather be there than here.

"Rey." A soft, girly voice whispers my name behind me, and the moment I hear it, I tense up. I don't want to turn around; I know exactly who I'll see. Hint: it's someone I shouldn't ever see again.

"Kiddo," a second voice speaks, this one deeper, and the second the voice hits my ears, I close my eyes. Another familiar voice… another I shouldn't be hearing.

Both the people behind me are dead. They're nothing more than illusions Invictis cooked up to distract me. To torment me. I shouldn't turn around. Doing so will only hurt me more, I know this, and yet turning around is the only thing I can do.

I do it slowly, trying to prepare myself for what I'm about to see. My dad stands a few feet away, and beside him is Prim, whose tawny skin is clean for once. She wears a new dress that actually fits her skinny frame, while her hair is pulled back with the same ribbon that's now in mine.

My dad is clean-cut, a smile on his lips. His brown hair is combed back, a loose-fitting jacket hanging over his shoulders—his favorite one. He'd only ever put it away once it was seventy degrees outside. He wore that thing everywhere. Even in winter, when he needed to wear something thicker, he'd just pile on more layers underneath it. He looked ridiculous, and that's what I always told him.

Until I couldn't tell him that anymore.

"Kiddo," my dad says again, and his voice is so real it almost brings tears to my eyes. "I think it's time." He extends a hand to me, as if wanting me to join him.

Beside him, Prim offers her hand, too, though it's much smaller than his. "Come with us, Rey. Please." The way her hazel eyes widen a bit when she says that last word makes my heart break all over again, knowing I wasn't there with her at the end.

This girl had such faith in me. She believed in me, even when she was the only one, and look at where it got her.

"You're not real," I say, the words like razor blades on my tongue. They don't want to come out, and they cut like a bitch. "Neither of you are real." Looking between them, being so close to them, logic wants to fly out of the window. I want to believe in them. I want to go with them.

But I can't.

My dad's hand falls, while Prim steps forward. She hugs me and then vanishes into thin air. My dad is right behind her, and even though he's not real, I let myself get hugged by the man one final time. I close my eyes and bury myself in his jacket, inhaling a musky scent that brings back so many memories.

I want to tell him I love him, but he's not real. None of this is real. Still, it's nice to forget—even just for a few seconds—how life turned out for us both.

I'm about to pull away when a sharp pain erupts in my stomach. My eyelids fly open, and I try to pull away from my dad… but when I open my eyes, all I see is gold. It's not my dad in front of me anymore, and we're not in the middle of the quad. I'm back in the garden in Acadia, and Invictis stands before me in place of my dad.

And he's holding onto a sword of light.

A sword that's currently lodged right in my gut, someplace it definitely shouldn't be.

It's like slow-motion. An uneven breath escapes me, and in the process my stomach moves. The pain is searing and hot, and it spreads to every nerve in my body. Standing hurts. Breathing hurts. Everything suddenly hurts.

My eyes are glued to the blade sticking through me. It's like my brain doesn't understand what it's seeing. Invictis stabbed me with some kind of magical sword, and all I can do is stand there and think: No, this isn't right.

I'm not supposed to lose. Don't the heroes always win?

My mouth falls open. It's like I suddenly can't breathe. It hurts too much. Bit by bit I lift my stare until I gaze into the faceless head of Invictis. All I see is a misshapen halo and the light glowing from within. No eyes. No nose. No mouth. Nothing that would give what he's feeling away.

Thrilled to finally be rid of me? Overjoyed to be the victor? Or maybe he's not happy at all and he's just doing what he has to.

A broken, breathy laugh comes from me. "I guess you win," I whisper, my mouth as dry as it gets when I'm fighting my way through a shadowstorm.

The blade of light dissipates, and the moment it does there is nothing keeping me upright anymore. I fall back and land hard on my ass. The motion sends a new shockwave of pain through me, sheer agony, and all I can do is muffle that cry and instinctively place a hand above the wound in my gut.

Something like this might kill you in my world. Here? I'm fucked.

The world stops around me, or at least I think it does. I don't feel the sun on my skin anymore, nor do I hear the wind blowing or feel the breeze of the garden caressing my cheek. The garden is dead, and I'm going to follow suit.

Invictis stands five feet away, his feet firmly planted on the ground. Behind him, his wings hover, shimmering and golden, far too beautiful to belong to an instrument of destruction. He does not say a word. I guess I don't merit a goodbye or an I'm sorry .

I'm about to close my eyes—can't look at him anymore—when the world around me snaps back into focus. An earth-shattering growl pierces the sky above us, and two seconds later something large lands on the ramparts near the side of the garden. I turn my head and see the same dragon that came to my rescue before, when I had to get Fred back to Laconia. It opened a portal for us.

And again, seeing it in the daylight, its black scales shimmery with a reddish hue, I want to say it's the same dragon that attacked me in the shadowstorm, back when I had no clue what the hell was going on here.

I have two thoughts right then. Why is it here and why didn't it come just a few minutes earlier?

The dragon's large body shudders with another growl, and it's a good thing I'm on the ground, because it launches itself off the ramparts and dives for us. Its clawed hand grabs Invictis and throws him into the castle with all its might, shattering the stone wall as his golden body collides with it.

The dragon lands on all fours, situating itself between me and Invictis, and as Invictis crawls out of the rubble, the dragon breathes fire onto him, slowing him down. I hear him grunt, but he's stronger now than he was before, so this won't keep him down for long.

I need to get up, use the distraction to try to get away. I don't want Invictis or this dragon to be the last things I see before I die. I… I'm not ready.

A groan escapes me as I work to sit up, and it's a downright pain to get back onto my feet. My hand is slick with blood from the wound in my gut, but I need to push forward, to get the hell out of here.

Something nudges my back, and if I wasn't in ungodly amounts of pain, I might've reacted more when I realize that the thing that nudged me is the tip of the dragon's tail. While the beast is distracting Invictis, the tail flicks in the opposite direction, to the back of the now-dead garden.

Something's there that wasn't there before: a portal.

I can't see exactly where it goes, but anywhere that's not here is where I want to be, so I go for it. Each step is pain compounded on pain, but this is my only chance to get away while Invictis is distracted again with the dragon. Don't know how many more times this dragon can come to save my ass, but I'm grateful, even if it did attack me that first time.

Bit by bit I get closer to the portal. Its outline shimmers, like it knows it has no right to exist, not fully stable. It's my best chance. My only chance. I push myself, moving as fast as I can given the fact that I feel like death, and when I reach the portal, I don't hesitate.

I walk through it and step into a place I've never been before. I look back at the portal and see it's closed behind me, locking Invictis and the dragon away, before I let my gaze roam across the grand structure in front of me.

Another castle, one I've never been to. My breath catches in my throat.

I'm in Magnysia, where Krotas should be waiting for me.