Page 119 of A Bond So Deadly

My mates appear around me, abandoning the fold, and an archangel warrior breaks his rank, flapping his wings as he flies into the air and tries to flee.

Queen Krosia’s dark gaze snaps to him, and one of her shadows flicks out, reaching across the land with frightening speed. It coils around the archangel, wrapping around his golden wings, and he thrashes in her hold. Seconds. That’s all it takes for the shadow to consume him, and when Queen Krosia’s shadow releases the archangel, his lifeless body falls to the ground, his wings broken and his body no longer recognizable.

Holy crap. I’d expected the power would go to Queen Krosia’s head, but I hadn’t expected…this.

Queen Krosia’s laughter is shrill as it fills the air.

Blake blinks like she can’t quite believe what she’s seeing. “Archangels have a considerable amount of power. If the shadow queen can take an archangel warrior down that easily…” She curses, her golden gaze sliding to me. “Shade, what have I done? I brought them here. To her.”

Guilt twists inside me as Blake’s words sink in. “No, this is my fault. The power she has. I accidentally found it. It works as an amplifier. Queen Krosia is burning the forests so she can take more shadow power.”

“And the more she has, the more she can amplify,” Alaric adds gruffly, no longer in his giant form.

“This isn’t anyone’s fault,” Dante drawls, his tail flicking from side to side. “It doesn’t matter how the fuck we got here. What we need is a solution.”

My gaze falls to the enchanted shadow dagger on Blake’s belt, the same one the oracle used when they sacrificed themself rather than give their power to the shadow queen all those years ago.

“You think it’ll work?” Blake asks, following my gaze.

“It’s hard to say,” Galen replies, his lips forming a tight line. “She’s more powerful now, but I suppose it’s possible. We won’t know until we try it.”

“If the shadow queen truly believed that could kill her, she wouldn’t have let Blake keep it,” Alaric growls.

We all share grim expressions, because he has a point.

“Maybe her ego is so inflated she doesn’t believe Blake could get close enough?” I say, hopefully.

Blake’s expression hardens with resolve, and she cracks her neck, flaring her midnight wings out wide. “Well, we don’t have any better ideas in any case. I say we give it a shot.”

Nate bounces on his feet like he’s getting ready to pounce with his cat-like reflexes. “Well, fuck me. Let’s do this.”

Shadows curl around me protectively as my mates keep me close.

“I’m in,” Xera says, stepping up beside us. “I’ve already let the other originals know what you’re planning.”

Blake stares her down. “If they try to stop us⁠—”

“They won’t,” Xera replies quickly. “I’ve seen a lot in my years here, but this…” her expression shutters as she indicates to the burning forest and the ash coating the ground like snow, “it was never meant to be like this.”

Blake studies her for a moment longer and nods. “The more of us who attack the better. We’ll need all of us if we’re going to catch her by surprise.”

Knox’s hand brushes against my cheek, and I stare into his dark eyes.

“They need us,” I tell him before he can ask me to run and hide. “If we can’t stop her, then none of us get to live.” He presses a kiss to my lips before pulling away.

“We’re in too,” Kenzie says, standing beside Leira and Satine.

“Yeah, fuck it. I’m in,” Jensen adds.

I grin as I think about how far we’ve come since we first arrived at the academy. But as I think of my first days at Shadowbone, memories of Elgen and Tarlaz come to me.

Dante might have said this isn’t anyone’s fault, but I know that it’s mine. Queen Krosia wouldn’t have found Elgen and Tarlaz without me, and I’ll do anything to keep my promise and finally free them. They managed to get a message to Xera so they must still be in there. You can do this, Shade.

We all share one last look. And then we attack.

Blake leads the way, going for Queen Krosia, and the shadow queen stops pulling power from the forests as her shadows shoot out. Blake dodges them and the shadows tear up the land, sending dirt and stones flying into the air, and stirring the ash that had settled on the ground.

Callan and Nate work as a team, charging from one side, while Alaric and Mason attack from the other. I move with my mates, and Kenzie, Satine, and Jensen attack as well, screaming as they charge from a position behind the queen. Even Theon and another archangel, Sebastian and a few of the demon commanders, a commander from Norso, and the originals get involved. Most of them are only fighting because we are, and they don’t know our plan, but they help to divide the shadow queen’s attention.