Shadows Entwined (Shadows Descent #3)

34. Violet

34

VIOLET

Pulling ourselves from the hold the Old Ones have on us, we move as one, our combined strength focusing through me. The marks on my skin blaze with blinding light as I channel everything we are. Flint's primal fire, Caine's ancient ice, Thorne's infinite shadows, my own brand of magick, and the pure, unbreakable love that binds us all together.

The Old Ones launch their assault, each attack distinct and devastating. The fire entity unleashes an inferno that would melt mountains, while its icy counterpart sends shards of frost that could pierce reality itself. The shadow being tears holes in the void, trying to pull us into oblivion. Earth, air, and water combine their powers into a storm of elemental fury, while pure energy crackles through it all like lightning.

But we are ready.

Flint roars, his Dragon form erupting in a blast of scales and flame. He's enormous now, larger than he's ever been, his white and burnt orange colouring creating a mesmerising display as he meets the fire Old One's attack head-on. Their flames clash. But where the Old One's fire seeks to destroy, Flint's fire burns with purpose, with protection.

Caine faces off against his icy counterpart, his Frost giant form towering in the void. His ice spear has transformed into a weapon of legend, crackling with power that makes the Old One hesitate.

"Ice isn't just about cold and death," Caine snarls, sending waves of frost that freeze the air. "It's about preservation, about endurance, about protecting what matters."

Thorne's shadows expand until they rival the darkness of the void itself. He stands his ground against the shadow being, his power no longer just darkness, but something more.

"You claim to be shadow?" he laughs coldly. "You don't even understand what shadow is. It's not emptiness - it's possibility. It's everything that could be."

I face the remaining four Old Ones, each one more terrifying than the last. The earth entity sends shards of crystal shooting toward me like missiles while the air being creates a cyclone of razor-sharp void particles. The water creature forms itself into a thousand piercing needles, and the pure energy being crackles with enough power to shatter reality itself. Morgan stands among them, her hands weaving complex patterns as she orchestrates their assault.

Purple lightning explodes from my skin in all directions. I dodge the crystal shards, letting my vampire speed carry me through impossibly small gaps in their attack. A needle of water catches my arm, tearing through flesh, but I ignore the pain. The void cyclone tears at my clothes, at my skin, but I push through it, my power building with each step.

"Give up this foolish resistance," Morgan commands, but I hear the strain in her voice and see the fear in her eyes as I advance. "You cannot hope to match their power!"

"Watch me," I snarl, launching myself into the air with my vampire speed. Purple lightning courses down my arms as I somersault over a wave of pure energy. I land in a crouch, slamming my hand into the ground. Power erupts from the point of impact, sending shockwaves through the void that stagger the Old Ones.

The marks on my skin ignite like fire. Each pattern pulses with its own heartbeat. The guys' power flows into me, through me, becoming something entirely new.

I move like liquid lightning, striking at each Old One in turn. My fist connects with the earth being's face, shattering its solid form. Chunks of rock fly out all over, and I duck, shaking out my fist as it hurts like a motherfucker, before I straighten and spin, aiming my foot at the air entity trying to creep up on me.

Somehow, I connect with the air entity, dispersing its swirling form into fragments of nothingness as Thorne's shadows suck them up like a vacuum. Water tries to engulf me, but I channel Caine's ice, freezing it solid before shattering it with a well-placed elbow strike.

So, this is what it's like to be the daughter of all magick? I can live with this.

I face off against Energy, its form shifting and crackling unpredictably. Energy's power crackles around me, raw power seeking to overwhelm and consume. But I stand firm, channelling the combined strength of my bonds and the power of the Nexus, which it seems is inside me. Purple lightning dances across my skin, meeting Energy's assault head-on.

"You don't understand true power," I growl, feeling the marks on my skin pulse with each heartbeat. "It's not about destruction or domination. It's about balance, about creation."

I thrust my hands forward, purple lightning arcing from my fingertips. It collides with Energy's crackling form, and for a moment, the void itself seems to hold its breath as I do. Then, impossibly, my power begins to shape and mould Energy's chaos.

The other battles rage around us. Flint's dragon icy-fire, yeah, I'm still trying to figure that one out myself, purifies the corrupted flames of his opponent. Caine's primordial ice batters the god of whatever the fuck he is meant to be. Time, we said, but maybe we got that wrong. Thorne's shadows dance with purpose, giving form to the formless void.

Morgan screams in frustration. Her carefully laid plans crumble before her eyes as she throws magick erratically without aim or target.

Through all of this, I see Nathaniel doing what he does best.

Observing.

He stands off to the side, his hands behind his back, his shrewd gaze taking everything in.

That can't be good.

"Do something!" Morgan shrieks at him, but he ignores her.

I will deal with him, but right now, I have a god to get rid of. I turn my attention back to Energy, feeling its magick flow through me. Instead of fighting it, I embrace it, letting it mingle with the strength of my bonds. The marks on my skin flare brighter than ever, and I gasp. Stumbling back, I feel lightheaded. Or just light. Like I could drift off in the wind if I let myself. The god of energy's power has slammed into mine and is forming something new, something old, but new.

It screeches in fury and pain as I take in the very essence of the god, and the form it was vanishes from sight. Suddenly, I'm swept off my feet as more power hits my back, and I levitate in the air, arms outstretched as the power from the defeated gods pours into me from all angles. I scream, my body arching as unrestrained magick courses through me. It's excruciating, like being torn apart and remade at the molecular level. Colours I've never seen before explode behind my eyes. I taste lightning and smell the birth of stars.

Through the haze of agony, I hear the guys calling my name. Their voices anchor me and remind me who I am. I focus on our connection, on the love that binds us. Slowly, impossibly, I shape the chaotic energies raging inside me. All the primal forces of creation swirl together, finding balance within me. I understand now that the god of time manifested as ice because it can be frozen, preserved, shattered, or it shifts like glacial planes.

"That power is mine !" Morgan roars.

I open my eyes, seeing the void through new senses. I lower myself to the ground, feeling the power settle into my bones, my blood, my very soul. "You're wrong," I say when my feet hit the ground. "You made a crucial miscalculation, mother ."

"What's that?" she snarls.

"This power is mine ."