A Court of Death and Retribution

chapter 41

Adira, Maeve, and Cal slashed through any witch or Death God that appeared before us. The twins focused on the Death Gods, seeing as they wielded blades that could destroy them while Cal focused on the witches. Nyx and I fought as a unit, sending floods over the opposition, then freezing it over, trapping them so our legions could gain the upper hand.

It was exhausting, but I regained my strength every time I siphoned from Adira, Maeve, or Cal.

There was so much death and blood surrounding us. Too many lives lost on either side of the battle, but there was still no sign of the Dark Mother.

"I need to show myself and get this over with. Too many people are dying." I shouted to Nyx as we sent twin blasts of fire to a hoard of witches that had broken the line.

"Not yet." He yelled back, his face set with determination.

We continued our fight, but too many Illyrians were falling from the sky. Too many Valkyries were injured. Too many soldiers from the other Courts were being dragged away by the healers. The Death Gods were dealing too much damage to our forces.

But I could feel them. Their power radiated so strongly off of them that I could taste the death on my tongue. I could attach myself to them and give us the upper hand. Then, I'd deal with the Dark Mother.

I looked over my shoulder after dodging an attack from a Death God, Adira killing it with her blade, and looked to Feyre and Rhysand. They were standing at the top of the hill, using their powers to hold their forces together.

"Feyre? Rhysand?" I spoke, trying to catch someone's attention.

"What's wrong?" Rhysand replied, his voice stern.

"I need to use my dark magic. We're losing too many people." I pleaded with him, fighting off a witch by suffocating her with water.

There was a momentary pause, then I felt the tingling sensation of Rhysand's power wash over me. Looking down, I noticed that I was myself again. "Kick some ass Bella."

I shot him an evil smirk. "Language." Then I turned to face the opposition.

My entire life I've run from my father in fear of what evil he would do to me. I feared my death more than I feared anything else. It was the only stable thing in my life—that constant motivation for my actions.

But now, I looked out towards the shadowy figures of the Death Gods and the enraged faces of the Witches. I looked towards the traitorous Illyrians that were few and far between, and I became what I feared the most.

Because I am stronger than what I fear.

I became Death herself.

Nyx's look of shock was the last image I saw before I focused my dark magic on tethering. In an instant, I connected with hundreds of Death Gods and witches. Then, with half a thought, I allowed my dark magic to release itself, reducing them to a pile of black ash.

But I wasn't done.

Without my fear guiding me, I felt unstoppable. So naturally, I tethered myself to more and more witches and Death Gods. They didn't even get the chance to scream before they died.

Adira, Maeve, and Cal spun to look at me as I was effectively clearing the field, but I couldn't afford to lose my concentration.

As I tethered myself to a Death God, the battle seemed to pause around me.

I looked around to see swords and daggers frozen mid-swing. Blood and soil particles were floating in the air. Every Fae, Witch, and Death God had been frozen in time. Adira, Maeve, Cal, and Nyx all looked at me with wide-eyed expressions. But they too, couldn't move.