Glamoured (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 6)

The darkness pulsed with new life, feeding off the energy we’d brought to Faerie’s Origin. We really had to hurry. Each second allowed it to tangle further into the whole. Soon it would be nearly impossible to unravel the complex web it was weaving.

Thankfully, I had no doubt we were powerful enough to do what was necessary.

“We made a mistake,” I told the others. “The Origin gods chose to run instead of fight. Our unity would have defeated Dalmia. Not just killed his vessel and sent his power back into creation, but also destroyed these dark spells he’d left across the worlds. This is the last of his legacy, which has lived on for far too long.”

Shadow stepped forward, the golden beam between us shortening as he moved closer to where I hovered. “I finally understand…” he said, his voice deeper as I drew more of his power to the surface, his beast hovering as a flaming image above his head. “…why this pack has been forming.”

“I do as well,” Mera said suddenly. “This is the reason all of us have been drawn together, over and over, with so many complicated bonds emerging between us. If we are, as Sam says, the newer gods stepping into the power void left by the old, it makes sense that we’d ensure the mistakes of the past weren’t repeated.”

Shadow’s chest rumbled as he nodded, and I felt ripples of his intense power along the cord. “Exactly,” he said, “we’re not like the Origins. They were solitary, living in their worlds, and only venturing forth for their meetings. The Fates have decided that it will be different this time around. With that in mind, we need to test the theory and cleanse the darkness.”

He was right, and we had reached the limit of time. If everything went to plan, then we’d have the rest of eternity to discuss the deeper meaning for all our existences. Delve into the reasons that Shadow was the beating heart at the center, his Solaris System and shifters drawing so many of us. But for now, we had darkness to destroy.

Reaching out to touch the main cord of the Origin once more, a massive surge of power filled the well in my center. It overflowed nearly immediately, and had I not had other wells to feed it into—aka, all my powerful pack mates—there was a chance that I’d have had to release my hold, unable to handle the power. Check another point for this being a group project.

“Well, fuck,” I heard Lucien groan and laugh. “Now I know what it feels like to be Shadow. No wonder he’s an arrogant asshole.”

Shadow snorted, even as the flames around him grew higher. I had a good view of them all from my vantage point, and their energy was brighter and stronger than I’d ever seen. “You couldn’t handle one minute in my fur,” he rumbled at his friend, his tone lighthearted. “This is but a fraction of my power.”

He was full of shit, because this was way beyond any of our powers. Even mine.

“Len,” I called, my voice deeper, “I need your help.”

It was his light that would guide me through the darkness—the reason a being like me, who was essentially a vessel and not designed for mateship and motherhood, would have been reborn and evolved to need both.

He was my light. My all.

Len rose into the air, and it wasn’t from me, so he’d figured out a way to use this new burst of energy. The dark tendrils surged suddenly and I urged him to hurry. “I’m going to try and gather all of Dalmia’s spell into a ball,” I said in a rush. “Len’s light will allow me to see the intricate strands, and when I have it all as one, we’ll use our combined strength to blast it into oblivion.”

Their agreement traveled through our connections, and I focused completely on the task.

Delving deep into the core of where the dark spell had started, I felt Dalmia’s oily presence so strongly. Part of him was dead, but a much worse part lived on in the power of my world.

“Mine,” I snarled, as the oil tried to creep over me. “Faerie is mine, and this pack is mine.”

“Mine,” Shadow countered, but didn’t fight me any other way.

“Ours,” I continued, amusement warring with my determination to destroy the darkness.

Len wrapped a hand around mine, and his light burned so brightly that it had the dark tendrils bunching together to avoid it.

Whatever you need, Storm. His voice was in all our minds since we’d formed nine parts of a whole. You’re never fighting alone.

The light soared, and so did my power, burning through the darkness. For a moment I thought we’d won, as the strands retreated, curling up into a ball, releasing their hold on the essence of Faerie. Only, I’d underestimated how oily this spell truly was, so insidious, designed to infiltrate with nothing more than a drop. You couldn’t miss a single spot or it would return and spread even faster.

No matter how many times we gathered it together, a spot always managed to avoid the light, and it would be back to square one.

Understanding what needed to happen now, I called on the others, tugging on their energy until they all rose into the air with no need for wings. The nine of us encircled the Faerie Origin. “We have to use all of our skill and strength,” I said, eyes burning from how bright the cords connecting us and Faerie were. “Shadow and Mera need their fire. Reece and Angel will cleanse with their sand. Galleli’s light will join with Len’s to chase the final drops. And Simone and Lucien’s new blood should help renew the power left behind, so it’s strong enough to repair the damage.”

I would be the conduit bringing it all together.

No one argued with their assignment, each understanding and recognizing their various strengths, and how they would come together to form a stronger and more resilient being. I hoped it would be enough.

Despite having gathered the darkness into a bundle a moment ago, it was already back, pulsing and infiltrating the golden energy. We got straight to work, Len and Galleli’s light blinding in its intensity, and I was easily able to unravel the strands. With double the energy and power, I could move through the darkness faster.

At each section we cleared, Shadow and Mera burned through strands of darkness, after which Angel and Reece sent their sands out, scouring the charred flesh, but before we could make it to Simone and Lucien’s new blood, the magic in Faerie pulsed.

Pulsed and then let out a shriek, almost like it was in pain.

“Stop!” I shouted, drawing all of the power back as I examined the area we’d been working in.

The power there was fading as it rejected our form of help, the strand starting to brown.

“It’s dying,” I cried, my throat thick with emotion as I observed the damage. “What did we do wrong? Was it too much power?”

But without all the power, the spell continued to evade me.

“We’re missing a step,” Len said hoarsely. “What are we missing?”

Missing.

We were missing…

The cords I’d sent into my friends came from inside of me, and as I searched through those strands I noticed that there were some unused. Some I hadn’t thought anything of, too focused on the eight I needed.

“There’s three cords of power within me that are not connected,” I whispered. Holy fuck. “We’re missing three pieces of our puzzle.” Three pieces vital to completing this task.

Len grasped my hands firmly, pulling me into his arms, his warmth wrapping around me along with our bond of power.

“Do you know who they belong to?” he asked me.

“No,” I replied immediately. “Clearly they’re members of this pack we haven’t met.”

Shadow soared a little closer. “You don’t have to have met them,” he said suddenly. “Time and distance will not shape this power grid. You just need to send the cords out. They will find their connection.”

“We can boost you,” Len added. “Connected like this, it’s easy to feel the energy and know where to send it.”

Pulling back to see his face, I marveled at the streaks of purple in his irises now, as if some of the reven gems which had dusted his skin also filled his eyes. Like our little girl.

Our little girl we had to save, no matter the cost.

“I just send the cords out into the universes?” I confirmed one last time.

“Yes,” Shadow and Len said.

“We’re clearly twelve parts of a whole,” Angel added. “Twelve is the complete circle of our power. Without it, we won’t succeed here today.”

We had to succeed. This was our last shot before Dalmia’s spell was too strong to ever destroy. Faerie would be lost, and that could have a serious ripple effect to the rest of the worlds.

Trusting in my pack, I closed my eyes and let their powers fill up my well. When our essences were sufficiently mingled, I drew on as much Faerie magic as I could, needing the boost to send those three unmatched strands out into the world.

At first I attempted to direct them, but it soon became clear that they knew what they were doing. They understood the assignment and went off in three different directions.

No, wait. Two directions.

“Earth,” Shadow said softly. “Two are on Earth.”

There wasn’t a lot of information coming from the connection, but the other beings felt familiar. As if I’d known them. Or maybe Mera had known them.

Either way, these two were part of our connection, the cords locking on to them, no doubt confusing the fuck out of them.

“Where’s the third?” Reece rumbled, the air growing thicker and dustier around us as his power soared. “It’s moving between the worlds.”

It was Angel who put it together first. “Alistair,” she said with a mournful sob. “He’s part of our family. Our pack. We should have known he’d be one of the bonds.”

Panic flooded my veins, bitter and coppery in my mouth. “It’s his water,” I said with a shake of my head. “His water is the life needed to cool the fire and burn of our other powers.”

Alistair was the key to keeping the magic alive after it was cleansed.

A key who was no longer in this world.