Shadows Entwined (Shadows Descent #3)

35. Flint

35

FLINT

I watch in awe as Violet absorbs the power of the Old Ones. The marks on her skin beat with a rhythm that matches my heartbeat. She's breathtaking, terrifying, and absolutely magnificent.

But I can see the strain it's putting on her. Her face is contorted in pain, her body trembling as she tries to contain forces that were never meant to be contained. I want to rush to her side, to help her bear this burden, but I know I can't. This is her moment, her destiny. All I can do is be here, ready to catch her if she falls.

Morgan screams in rage, her carefully laid plans crumbling before her eyes. She launches herself at Violet, hands outstretched, crackling with dark energy. But before she can reach her daughter, I'm there. My Dragon form may have receded, but the fire still burns inside me. I grab Morgan's wrist, my skin smoking where we make contact.

"That's enough," I growl, feeling my eyes blaze with inner flame. "You've done enough damage."

She tries to wrench free, but I hold firm. "You fool!" she spits. "You have no idea what you're interfering with! That power is mine. It's everything I waited and worked for!"

I tighten my grip on Morgan's wrist, feeling the bones grind together. "No," I say, my voice low and dangerous. "You're the fool. You've been so focused on power that you've missed what really matters."

Morgan's eyes widen as she realises she can't break free from my hold. There is fear in those cold eyes. "What are you talking about?" she hisses.

"Love," I say simply. "Connection. The very things you tried to deny Violet. The things that make her stronger than you could ever be."

A blast of icy wind whips past us as Caine joins me. "You tried to use us," he says, his voice as cold as the arctic wind. "But you never understood what we are together."

Shadows coalesce on Morgan's other side as Thorne materialises. "You thought you were so clever," he says, darkness swirling around him. "Playing your long game. But you never saw the truth right in front of you."

Morgan's gaze darts between us, panic replacing the arrogance in her eyes. "Nathaniel!" she screeches, but I'm not worried about him. Violet won't let him take a step towards us.

A blinding flash of purple light erupts behind us. We turn as one to see Violet floating several feet off the ground, her body crackling with raw power.

"It's over, Morgan," Violet says, her voice echoing with the weight of ages. "Your schemes, your manipulations. They end here."

Morgan struggles against our grip, her eyes wild with desperation. "You don't understand what you're doing!" she shrieks. "That power will consume you! You need me to control it!"

Violet descends slowly, her feet touching the ground with impossible grace. "You're wrong again," she says calmly. "I don't need you. I never did."

She walks towards us, each step leaving shimmering footprints in the void. The air crackles with energy, and I can feel the hairs on my arms standing on end.

"What I need," Violet continues, her gaze fixed on Morgan, "is exactly what I have. Love. Trust. Connection. The things you tried to deny me. You were so focused on power that you missed the most important thing. True strength doesn't come from domination or control. It comes from love, from trust, from the bonds we forge with others."

She reaches out, gently touching Morgan's face. The witch flinches at the contact, but can't pull away. Violet's other hand goes up, and a wave of psychedelic light beams out of her hand. A strangled noise makes me look over to see Nathaniel caught up in the tendrils of her magick.

"I pity you," Violet continues softly. "You've never known real love, have you? You've never trusted anyone, never allowed yourself to be truly vulnerable. That's why you'll never understand the power I wield now."

"Love is weakness. It makes you soft, makes you hesitate," she spits out.

Violet shakes her head, a sad smile on her face. "Do I look like I'm hesitating to you? Love is strength. It's what gave me the power to resist you, to fight the Old Ones. It's what allows me to control this power now instead of being consumed by it. Your time has come to an end, Morgan le Fay. You were so focused on controlling these gods, on becoming one of them, that you gave up everything for it. That is pathetic."

She draws her hand closer and then lets Nathaniel go.

"What are you doing?" I murmur as she releases Nathaniel from his magickal chokehold.

"Giving him the chance to break free from the chains she has around him."

"What?" I snap. "You're letting him get away with everything he did to you?"

"He didn't have a choice. Well, not much of one. It seems that being in this place has severed much of that tie. Am I right?"

Nathaniel nods. "I'm able to resist her."

"You don't get a fucking pass," I snarl at him. "Not from me."

"Not from any of us," Violet states. "But he needs to kill Morgan in order to be free from her."

Violet steps back, and I know she wants us to do the same.

"What?" Morgan gasps as we let her go, and Nathaniel takes steps forward, a feral grin on his face. His fangs drop, and Morgan screams, but she has nowhere to go.

I watch dispassionately as Nathaniel descends on Morgan. Her screams echo through the void as his fangs tear into her throat. Part of me wants to look away, but I force myself to bear witness. This is the end of centuries of manipulation and cruelty. It needs to be seen through.

As Morgan's life force drains away, I feel a shift and not the good kind: the void trembles, pieces of it shattering around us.

"Guys," Violet calls out, her voice strained. "I don't think I can hold this much longer."

"What do you need?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "I don't know. It's too much. I can't contain it all."

"Then don't," I say softly. "You were never meant to hold this much power, Violet. Daughter of magick or not. Use your champions. This is our destiny. This is why we went through those trials. Not to be strong enough to defeat the Old Ones, but to contain some of their power when we did."

"He's right," Caine says. "We are your overflow."

I chuckle. "Nice way of putting it."

"Well, this is all lovely and whatnot, but can we get the fuck out of here?" Nathaniel asks, still the same smug fucker he always was, but maybe not quite so hellbent on destroying Violet. Maybe. We don't know that for sure.

I shove him in the chest, and this time, he stumbles back further than I expected him to. I grin wickedly. "Ah, now then. How the tide has turned. One wrong move, and I will eat you," I snarl.

He purses his lips and straightens his jacket. "I believe you would, and I wouldn't blame you. My actions have been deplorable, although not all of them..." He stares at Violet, and she nods.

"I accept that. There were times I think you were trying to help me."

"You believe this bullshit?" I growl.

"Yes," she says simply. "I do."

Well, there isn't much I can say to that, especially as Caine and Thorne seem to have accepted it. Instead, I say, "I think we need to get out of here. The place is unstable. The rest of this conversation can wait."

"Agreed," Violet says. "We need to move, now."

"How?" I ask, looking around at the crumbling destruction. Time is not on our side.

"Good question," Violet mumbles, and those two words make my blood run cold. If she doesn't know, we are doomed.