Chapter 38

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

H e knew this was the right path when Rose had reached for more of his power. It had never been about connecting and directing their magic in concert. The price to hold a god was always going to be higher. It was about the Compass Points trusting each other enough to give unbridled access to their power. Access to the depths of one’s magic was a risk—one that could be easily abused—but one he had already taken with Rose. He’d suspected on the Suden beach, the evening after her initial fight with Aterra, that there was more to the way their magics intertwined—he just hadn’t been ready to face it with how he felt about his own power. After their experience in her workshop and the way their magic had come together with their bodies, he had no doubt that they were bound.

It wasn’t a conscious choice that fae made; it was a soul-deep connection—magics finding their perfect match. A binding couldn’t be controlled, but it also didn’t happen without the consent of all parties. Luc had opened himself up to Rose in every way he knew how, and he was astounded to realize she had done the same with him.

She chose him too.

Their connection was unprecedented. Fae could only be bound with those of the same court—but nothing about Rose and Luc’s connection had been normal. Nothing about Rose and Luc themselves followed traditional paths.

He'd tested their bond, talking to her through his magic during the battle. Bound fae’s power connected on a different level—sharing everything. Rose was everything he needed. He just hadn’t realized the totality of what that meant. He needed to trust his power—he needed to believe that it wasn’t a curse. It was his uncommon magic that hers had bound itself to. Her love had shown him a different side to the magic that sent most running. And his power had done all it could to ensure they could keep her.

His attention returned to the battle. His chest constricted as his gaze found Rose, the one who had managed to bring them all together. The only one they would all trust with their magic. The one he couldn’t live without. They wouldn’t have stood a chance without her. She had brought forth their ability to hold Aterra. But no one had a plan for what to do with him now that he was restrained. The Compass Points couldn’t stand in this cavern, holding him forever.

He knew what he had to do. He hoped Rose would forgive him.

She pulled on his magic, taking what she needed. More of his power strained to go to her. It was drawn to her the same way he was, like the beach waiting for the ocean’s tide. He knew, academically, that his magic was him. They were not distinct entities. It was just one of the ways he had been taught to control his power. If it was a separate entity—he could leash it. But the reality was that he was only leashing himself.

His power strained toward the one who didn’t require that of him or his magic.

The pull didn’t slow him down. He knew he had to keep moving. He fed Rose a steady stream of his element as he let his magic off its leash. They had more to do while Rose trapped Aterra.

A spiral of magic drifted toward Rose, steadying her as she marched. It braced her and met her steps with the earth. It supported her physically while Luc couldn’t.

He ran to where Aiden lay with Arie, in human form, already at work, Aurora had joined him. Luc had sucked in a breath as he saw the rock sliver’s placement. Shaking his head, he knew he couldn’t dwell on Aiden’s fate. There were bigger things at stake. Aiden had made his choice, and in Luc’s opinion, it had been a decent one. Luc had come to retrieve his sword. He would need it for this next part.

Bending to pick up the magically forged weapon, he gave Arie a brief nod. He assessed his blade—and felt a further amplification of his power glide through it. He hadn’t had enough time to marvel at what Rose had done. But he could feel his magic’s connection to the weapon—could feel how it amplified his natural tendencies and instincts.

He thought of the hole in Loch, a hole he’d made on raw emotion alone. This time, he had two amplifiers and a lot more to lose. With a final glance at Rose, he reassured himself that this would work.

It was then Arie glanced up from his work to nod at Luc. The earth shook under them as Aterra fought back against Rose and the magic of the Compass Points’ hold.

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

“Of course not, Arie,” he replied.

Arie shook his head. “Be careful.”

“She’ll get me back.” He paused, unsure Rose would realize what their connection meant. He needed someone to explain it to her. “We’re bound,” he added.

Arie gave him a soft smile of acknowledgment followed by a look that indicated he wouldn’t spend time trying to make Luc find another option. Arie was the one person who had as much faith in Rose as Luc did. He knew, probably better than Luc, what she was capable of. It was unclear how Arie guessed his plan, but Luc was oddly reassured that the Vesten god didn’t try to stop him.

His plan hinged on the fact that Rose could do anything she put her mind to. And Luc accepted that she would put her full attention to retrieving him—if only to scream at him for what he was about to do. He’d take it gladly if it meant they were together and this was over. While hating the danger this plan put her in, they didn’t have a lot of options.

The Compass Points held a god, but they had nowhere to put him.

Luc did.

Rose would have doubts—of course she would. That’s why she didn’t get a say in this part. For all that she knew how strong and capable she was, Rose still saw limits to her capabilities. Luc did not. He wished there was another way. He really did. But they were in this cavern, where, five hundred years ago, Zrak had put a contingency plan in place—one that was ultimately needed. Luc was only doing the same. Aterra needed more than just momentary containment, and Zrak had already proved the best location to hold a god to preserve the balance.

It was time to take Aterra to it.

Aurora’s compass had served them well in finding Aterra and leading them to this final battle, but maybe it had chosen poorly when it first decided which god would make a sacrifice. What if Aterra had been the one to sacrifice himself? Wouldn’t Arie, Aurora, and Zrak have been better able to preserve the balance on the continent? This was the crux of Luc’s plan. They needed three gods on the continent. He simply wanted to change which three.

The earth shook again as Luc glanced at Rose. She was tired. He could see it from where he stood. But she was so strong. Her dark brown hair, tied back for most of their journey, flew free as she fought for a few more steps. She was trying to back Aterra into the prison where he had held Aurora. Luc believed she could get him there if she wanted to, but he didn’t think it would keep him for long. Whether Luc willingly shared his power, the fact that he existed and was the Suden Point already strengthened the Suden god’s magic. Aterra needed separation from the continent for what he’d done—a price needed to be paid for the imbalance he created. Luc would ensure that Aterra alone bore the cost of his actions.

He looked down at the ring he’d slipped on his finger. It was gaudy as hell—a large gold triangle shape with an onyx stone carved to fit inside. He let a drop of his magic run over the onyx stone, and the familiar needle popped out.

Shaking his head again, he laughed a little at the fact that this needle, this weapon, had been used against him. In some ways, he was glad it had. It meant he knew that even someone with strong earth magic wasn’t immune to the strike. The impact would be different, but it would do something .

With others, like Aurora or the Norden elder, Samuel, it acted like limited mind control, overwriting what they thought they knew and inserting a new story. For a strong earth magic wielder, it was less about mind control and more about his body being at war with itself. Two powerful earth magics fighting inside a single host. It had felt like a poison ravaging his body. He hoped it felt the same to Aterra. It would buy Luc a few moments.

His steps took him across the cavern to Aterra’s side. Aterra—his father. Luc shook his head again. That would need further examination at a more convenient time—just then was not it. Rose still held Aterra in place. No matter how he raged—he couldn’t break free. She must have realized that Luc was doing something . Though she never would have stopped if she’d known what would come next. He let go of the doubt. She would understand. He believed that, as he stabbed Aterra’s neck with the needle tip.

“What the?—”

Luc could only guess that Aterra was feeling the flow of foreign magic ripping through his veins. He only had moments to focus his power and get them to the more permanent holding place he had in mind.

“I need my magic back,” he sent to Rose through their bond. He had plenty to spare, but he needed every advantage and amplification to make this work.

Rose nodded, her face wrought with exhaustion and confusion, as she released the Compass Points’ unified power. Her trust in him was absolute enough to free the god they had contained.

Luc’s magic rushed back to him then, like a returning friend. Power flooded through him, and he tunneled down deeper into the vast reservoir within himself. He lifted the blade Rose made him and let his magic sprawl. It searched for weakness or thinness in the earth’s natural barriers. Carter had said the hole in Loch wasn’t just a void of darkness. It was a hole to somewhere, or almost somewhere. Luc had come dangerously close as a child to tearing a hole through planes of existence.

This place was too filled with wild magic not to already have a small crack for him to pry into. His magic found an opening in the cavern’s center, where he could imagine Zrak had set up the test for corrupted power. The god’s magic had left its mark, exposing a sliver of a break between this plane and one beyond. Luc ran to it, his magic pulling Aterra along behind him. His power gathering around and within him as he ran. With no hesitation, his last step was a wild lunge fueled by the depth of his power as he thrust the sword, amplifying his strength, into the sliver between planes.

The sword cut, just like he knew it would. It slid through the world like a knife through fabric, the tear like a drape of cloth billowing in the wind. What lay beyond, he’d find out shortly. He sliced deeper as the crack fought to close itself. This was no longer just a thinning between planes—it was a break. A hole big enough for someone to go through. Two someones if everything went according to plan.

The continent and the next plane fought to close the gap connecting them. Part of the natural balance between planes was this separation. That was fine with him. He didn’t want Aterra to have an escape route. He only needed this to work once.

Aterra’s eyes snapped open as his body fought off the internal magical attack. Luc was prepared, though. He already had his arms around Aterra and was diving headfirst through the opening he’d created.

“What are you—” Aterra couldn’t complete the sentence.

Darkness enclosed them as they fell beyond the veil, the crack Luc created neatly knitting itself closed behind them.