Maddox Price has been implanted with a chip, allowing an ancient deity to control every thought that crosses his mind. Be it unwillingly, he's tasked with protecting someone "special," a smart-mouthed girl deemed the "healer of humanity."
Claire Ad...
Claire's heart dropped down to her stomach as those words rolled off of her father's tongue. "I think Antonia might be after you."
"No... she can't be," Claire stammered over her words as she cracked her knuckles. "I-I... No."
Zain looked over at his daughter. Seeing her as a nervous trainwreck pulled on his heartstrings, but he kept his composure and looked away from her.
"We only have so much time-"
"I know," Claire interrupted. "Let's go. Let's go to the Underworld and fix all of this."
Zain bit down on his lip, letting out a sigh of frustration. "It's not that easy. Antonia and Damien are the most powerful entities of the Underworld, and cannot be controlled anymore since your mother died. The Underworld is split, sort of into teams. One side wants Damien to rule, the other side wants Antonia. But, ultimately, they all want the "test subjects" of mortals who have powers, like you. If we can defeat Damien and Antonia, the rest of the Underworld falls, too."
"I can't fight him," Claire's words came out in a tender whisper as she sat down on the edge of Boynton Canyon. "Maddox... I just can't."
"It won't be you fighting him," Wesley laughed, still in his high. "It'll be Antonia! And Damien will fight Antonia! Bad thing is, one of you won't live to see the end of this!"
Claire rolled her nose at Wesley as she watched him laying on top of the rocky canyon, shaking from laughter. "You know what-"
"Don't," Zain's voice boomed over her, echoing through the canyon walls. Claire huffed, turning her head away from Wesley and toward her father.
"As much as I hate to say it, he's right, Claire. You won't be fighting Maddox. She will. If you let her get to you. It's not too late now, but if we're going to stop Damien, we have to hurry."
The last thing Claire wanted was to see Maddox get hurt, much less by her own hands.
"Take me to Maddo- Damien," Claire lifted her chin and faced her father. "Take me to Damien."
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"Maddox?" Claire reached out her hand for the feathered white wing sprouting from Maddox's back. Her fingertips grazed the wing in its softness, the same softness that Maddox had about him that she'd grown to care for so much.
Cocking his head to the side as he spun around, cold brown eyes met Claire's gaze. His brown hair was matted to his head, a mess stuck in its place.
"Maddox is gone. This is mine now." Broad lips stretched into a twisted grin, daring Claire to test him.
"Damien, let Maddox go!"
Damien laughed, his head leaned backward, nearly breaking Maddox's neck.
"I told you, little girl, Maddox is no more. He's mine."
Claire bloomed with fury. Her eyes grew steadily dark, and a strange power flooded through her body. The rush felt dangerous, but all the more exciting. A gust of dusty wind pushed her brown curls into the sky, flying around her head as she stared at Damien with a twisted smile to match his own.
