Chapter 30

Holes opened in the ground all around us and more slate demons shot from the ground to join Linford. The holes closed the moment they came to the surface of the Slate Lands. My eyes widened. "Linford . . ."

"I have prepared them well." He held his hands out at his sides and his dusty magic flowed freely down to the ground.

Carlotta stood behind him with her own magic flowing. The other clans began to emerge at the borders of their lands. They were still trapped but stood at the ready. Carlotta grabbed Linford's arm and squeezed. Her lip quivered and tears gathered in her eyes. "It's Malotte. It's our daughter."

They were so far away, but even I could see her wild hair blowing in the wind. "I'm going to bring her back to you both."

"Best get to it then." Linford didn't take his eyes off of Dacio's slow approach. "Demon folk have waited far too long."

I wasn't about to leave only Linford and his handful of demons to rise against Dacio's massive army. Dacio could stay in the Slate Lands and massacre Linford and the other clans wouldn't only be able to watch. I squinted my eyes, trying to see how many soldiers he had. "I don't remember him having that many soldiers."

"They're stone soldiers under Dacio's command." Avalon growled. "Like the servants in the red cloaks."

There were so many it looked like the ground was moving like a swarm of ants. "We can't leave Linford alone to deal with this."

"He won't be." Avalon turned to look back toward the mountains.

I spun around to follow his gaze and my heart went up into my throat. "Rhode."

There my sister was looking like a Queen badass. Her hair was long and silver, hanging down past her waist. She wore a long silver dress that dipped low in the front and back. Her crown was perched perfectly on her head, and I almost cried at the sight of her. She was here, alive, and thriving. I turned and ran for her.

"Morgana!" She hurried toward me, and we slammed into each other, wrapping each other in a tight hug.

"I thought I lost you forever," I whispered as I held her close to me.

"Me too."

She pulled back and swiped at a tear. She beamed at me. "So, demon, huh?"

I held up my little claws. "I know, right? So, vampire?"

She gave me a fangy smile. "Queen vampire, thank you very much."

Avalon strolled up to my side and put his arm around my hips. Rhode's eyes widened and she smirked. "Glad to see things are working out."

"I don't know how well." I motioned to Dacio's encroaching army.

"He as bad as Varan says?" Her face went cold and a tall vampire with long dark hair and piercing eyes moved to her side. He was beautiful and strong in a way that matched my sister. He too wore a tall, imposing crown, and they seemed fitting together. The King and Queen of the vampires.

"Worse." Dacio was the full-on scum of the earth topped with a shit load of ick.

"Morgana, this is my closest friend, Varan." Avalon introduced us as he clapped him on the back.

I shook his hand and smiled. "It's nice to meet you. Thank you for coming to help."

He gave me a nod. "Of course. Now, where do you need us?"

"Here," Avalon and I said at the same time.

"We need to get back to the blast point and we need you to hold Dacio long enough for us to do that."

Rhode nodded. "Time to correct what Valandril did?"

"It's time to free my demons." I moved in closer to Avalon. "For good."

"Once they're free, they can take their revenge however they see fit." Avalon let his magic seep around him, and we were both covered in green smoke.

Varan turned to face Dacio. "Finally. It'll be my greatest pleasure to assist in his demise."

"I'm sorry to leave so fast." I wanted to spend more time with my sister, but the demons had to come first. "But they need me."

"You must go. Now." She motioned toward the mountains. "I'll be here when you get back."

I blew her a kiss and Avalon erupted into flames and we took off into the air. My body jerked with the speed with which he moved, but we had to hurry to get this done and then pray it worked. We came to a stop, and Avalon held me close to him for a moment. The area looked so different from the last time I'd been here yet so familiar. The mountains around us looked as though they'd been blasted away from the site. Ruins of the castle still remained embedded into the sides of the mountain. It was so gray and barren, with only the pool at the center of it.

I began to climb toward the pool, stepping over large boulders and some remains of the castle. Avalon silently moved beside me. When we got to the edge, I stopped and watched the shining water ripple and move. "The last time I was here, I was trying so desperately not to die. I only wanted a little longer."

He gave a painful groan. "If only I'd known . . ."

"How could you have? I didn't even tell you about my sister." I let the tip of my boot touch the edge of the water.

His hand shot out and he stopped me from entering the pool. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"It's not about being ready. It's about helping others in need. But most of all, I need to help them, Avalon. It's who I am."

He pulled me in closer and held me close to him. "We don't know what this will do to you, but I understand. Know this, where you go I will follow . . . even into the afterlife."

I nodded against his chest. "Into this life or the next."

I stood up on my toes and threw my arms around his neck and pulled him down to me. Strands of his hair tickled my cheeks as he leaned forward. His lips met mine with the gentlest of touches. His ashy scent filled my nose, and I sucked in a deep breath. He cupped my cheeks and held me there for a moment before pulling back. "I've loved you for a lifetime, and I want lifetimes more with you."

"You'll have them." I stepped back and held my hand out.

He pulled the slate shard, the lava rock, the bit of moss, and snow from the pouch in his pocket and laid them in my hands. I turned from him and took a step into the pool. The water rippled around my feet and sent little waves outward. It grew brighter, shimmering at my presence. Warmth spread through my limbs, and for a second, I paused, remembering what it'd been like to step into the Sacred Pool to sacrifice myself. Would this be as painful? Would I die? I wanted to give Avalon the lifetimes he wanted, and I wanted them with him too.

"Are you okay?" Avalon called from the edge of the pool.

I sucked in a breath and took another step, hoping the life wouldn't be drained from me and that I could free the demons. When I got to the center of the pool, the water was up to my waist and the tips of my hair drifted over the surface. It was warm and welcoming, like I could drift here for a few hours. The night that Valandril had planted the root had been the first time I'd felt hope for my future. I thought I'd be healed and would have time to spend with Avalon, a vision I hardly let myself have. But standing here, I knew I had a future with him. I knew we could be something great. And I had to do this.

I bent down, let my hand drift below the surface of the water, and dropped the lava rock in first. The water rippled and turned a deep red. Sparks leapt across the surface and touched my skin. Avalon's eyes widened and his flames sprang to life. "I didn't do that."

"No, it's the power of the earth." Warmth spread through my body and the scent of the Cinder Lands filled my nose.

I turned to the side and dropped the snow into the water and the surface froze over. Snowflakes the size of my hand spread out over the water and a cold breeze flew through the air around the pool. The water turned from red to a pale blue. A chill ran over my skin and the clean scent of snow filled my senses. I couldn't move my legs because the ice ran up to my thighs. My breath fogged as the wind whipped around me, sending my hair flying.

"Morgana!" Avalon was about to step into the pool, but I held my hand up.

"No. It must be." A chill ran over my body, and I shivered. It wasn't any more painful than being in the Tempest Lands.

I twisted my body as much as I could and dropped the moss of the Swamp Lands over the icy surface. The moment it hit, the ice began to defrost and the moss fell below the surface of the water. Fog formed on the surface of the water and spread out from the pool to cover the surrounding area. It rolled up between Avalon and me, forming a cloudy wall. The temperature shot up and heat filled the air, causing beads of sweat to cover my skin.

"Morgana?" Concern had seeped into Avalon's voice.

"I'm here." The air was sultry around the both of us, and when the fog began to lower, I could only see the outline of Avalon. "One more piece."

I turned again and held the piece of slate that Linford gave me over the pool. I didn't know what would happen next, but butterflies filled my stomach. Now or never, Morgana. I opened my fingers and let the piece of slate drop into the water. The ground around me rumbled, and the water sloshed up and down. Dust rose from the ground around the pool and settled in a sand cloud over the surface. The tiny, sharp pieces of slate prickled at my skin and made the water glow a dark brown. It was so turbulent that I staggered back and forth trying to keep my balance.

Avalon looked like he was fighting the urge to charge in after me. "Now what?"

"Now the last element . . . me." I opened my hand, summoned my powers to my palm, and let my purple petals fall on the turbulent water.

The waves instantly smoothed out and became eerily calm. The water glowed a faint purple at first, then progressively got brighter. The light became so bright I had to close my eyes. Power surged through my body and burned through my skin. Pain exploded behind my eyes, and my body rose out of the water. My arms shot out. My petals flowed from me of their own accord. The pool held me there in the spotlight of its power.

The wind whipped around me, and my hair flew up from my head. Flashes of the moment I'd died the first time ripped through my mind, making it hard to even breathe. The world shook and rumbled, and the sound of crumbling rock filled my ears. My body vibrated as the power built within me. My insides rolled and I felt like I was going to burst wide open. My blood boiled. A scream ripped from my throat. Avalon's bellow echoed back at me.

The power grew to the point where I couldn't hold it in any long and I let myself go. I released everything I had, giving it over to the magic of the land. It exploded out of me in waves that rolled out in a bright purple tide. One after another they came from me, and the world rumbled along with it. When I let go of every last bit I had left in me, I dropped back to the pool. My legs gave out and I went under the surface. My muscles burned and felt like useless jelly. Before I could even try to come up for air, Avalon was there.

He scooped me up in his arms and carried me out of the pool, then lowered me onto the shore and dropped down to the ground, holding me there. "Morgana, are you okay? Speak to me."

"Ouchhhhh." My body was exhausted but bouncing back faster than I expected.

He sucked in a sharp breath just as the sky opened up and rain poured down on us. "I thought it was going to kill you."

"Yeah, so did I." I groaned and sat up in his lap, looking around for any hint that what we'd done had worked.

"But you're okay?" He helped me to my feet, and I stood there for a moment moving my arms and legs around, testing them out.

He froze. "What the hell is that?"

He pointed toward my chest and when I looked down there was an image in the shape of a triangle pointing downward on my skin. The thick black lines swirled around each other like vines. Purple petals showed up around them mixed with green smoke. I ran my hand over it, but it was smooth to the touch like a tattoo. "I have no clue."

His eyes widened and he pulled at his armor yanking it down just far enough that I could make out the same image across his chest. A wide smile spread on his face. "Holy shit."

"What? Tell me?" I didn't know if I could take one more thing going wrong.

"There was once a vampire legend that soulmates existed, but the mark would show up on their backs. I'm guessing this is the demon version of that."

My eyebrows shot up. "Are you saying that we're soulmates?"

He pulled me in for a hug and held me so tight. "That's what I'm saying. Is that so hard to believe?"

"No." This was all too much. "But how?"

"I have no idea." He placed me back on my feet. "Maybe the blast unlocked it?"

"There's so much we don't know about the demons." I wanted to know how or why this would happen. But it would take time we just didn't have right now.

He cupped my cheeks. "Yeah, but if this works, we will have all the time in the world to figure it out. . . together."

I nodded feeling completely shell shocked by the whole thing, shell shocked, but thrilled. Avalon and I were truly meant to be and now fate had made it so. My heart soared. "Just wow."

"Are you sure you're okay?" His face fell into a scowl of concern.

"I'm okay." My power felt stronger, like I could do anything. "More than okay, actually."

He gave a sigh of relief. "Thank fuck."

"Do you think it worked?" From here there was no telling if it did or not.

"I think it worked. If you hadn't unlocked the demon magic then I doubt our soulmate marks would've shown up at all." He pointed to the mark on his chest. Then he scooped me up in his arms and held me close to his chest, taking time to breathe me in. "But there's only one way to find out."

I smirked and my purple magic swirled around my fingertips. With him by my side I felt like I could do anything. "Let's go kick some ass."