Chapter 17
I pushed the tower door open, and a cool breeze brushed against my face and made every single hair stand on end. We were facing a giant golden staircase that curled all around the inside of the pillar and towered upward, but I couldn’t see a ceiling of any kind when I tilted my head back, so it looked like the stairs went on forever.
“Unholy hell,” Penelope muttered as her bright brown eyes scanned the shimmering steps. “How long do you think it will take for us to reach the gates?”
“Do the steps ever end?” Beatrix asked, and by now, her wounds were completely healed. “It doesn’t look like it does.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Vanessa sighed as she craned her neck. “We need to start climbing instead of just talking. There’s no other way.”
“She’s right,” I agreed, and the women all stared at me with wide eyes. “The sooner we climb the steps and reach the gates, the sooner we can get this fucking over with.”
“Yes, master,” my coven replied in agreement.
The witches had their wands pulled out, and the familiars were behind us, aside from Alex, who hovered in front of me and was ready to obey my will.
Shall I fly ahead, master? Alex asked in my head. I can try to reach the top before the rest of you do.
“No,” I said with my eyes fixated on the glittering golden steps. “I’ll take the lead. Even you will have to follow.”
My familiar didn’t argue with me as we began our march up the holy staircase. No one said a word as we kept our wands pointed out in front of us, and the higher we ventured, the more labored our breathing grew. Sweat trickled down my brow, and my head pounded like a raging storm as Samara continued to try and penetrate my mind. I ignored her desperate efforts and forced myself to keep going, even through the pain. I didn’t care how long it took, and I silently vowed to Satan that no matter what happened, I’d reach those fucking gates or die trying.
You’re nearly there, Cole, the woman from my dreams whispered in my head. Keep going.
“I won’t give up,” I muttered as my heart pounded like a drum. “Samara will see my face soon enough, and that’s when I’ll make her mine. I promise.”
I believe you, she replied, and her soothing voice started to trail away like a fleeting spring breeze. Even if you can’t hear me, I’ll be with you in Satan’s spirit.
I appreciated her words and continued to push myself onward. My feet were heavy, and my body was sore, but I didn’t give a fuck. The idea of Samara bending and submitting herself to my will gave me the fortitude to keep going and not falter.
We’d been walking for what seemed like hours, and no one said a word until suddenly, Faye’s voice sprung into the air like a choir of bells.
“Wait!” the redhead said, and everyone came to an immediate stop. Her bright green eyes were narrowed when I turned to look at her, and her lips were quivering. “Don’t you feel that?”
“Feel what?” Vanessa asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Lily says she can feel something trembling,” the redhead explained, and when she looked down at her white familiar, the creature was sprinting in circles around her boots and squeaking like crazy. “She says it’s coming from the ground and traveling upward.”
My mouth went dry as I listened for an echo of any kind, and I used all my energy to feel for a shift beneath my feet. At first, I felt nothing, but then I sensed a troubling change rumbling from the ground and traveling up my body. In seconds, terror swelled deep inside my gut as loud thunder came from the bottom of the stairwell. I didn’t need to use any spell to know the steps were quickly falling apart and crumbling into golden powder. Each one was breaking apart at an alarming speed and heading right for us, and if we didn’t make a run for it now, we would fall down into a pit of rubble.
“Run for your fucking lives!” I yelled over the chaos. “That’s a command!”
The women swiftly started to sprint up each step, and by the time we were running, no one dared to stop to catch their breaths. I glanced behind my shoulder and could see the steps cracking and falling apart, and I knew if we didn’t move faster, the spell would take us, too.
“Go, go, go!” Vanessa screamed like she could read my mind, and her feet were only inches away from a crumbling step. “Move it, for hell’s sake!”
My lungs were desperate for air, and there was a sharp pain on the side of my ribs as we hastily ascended the stairwell. I was terrified we weren’t going to make it, but after running up a few more steps, I saw a wide, gold arched opening. There were clouds in view, a bright orange sun was setting in the distance, and despite the holy glow radiating from the exit, I was relieved to see anything that would get us the hell out of here.
“We’re almost there!” I yelled, and when my foot stepped past the threshold, a sudden force coursed through me, like a ghost just slipped through my body.
I turned around and saw the other women were outside of the tower, and when the arch cashed down, we all took a moment to breathe. We were all red-faced, and the familiars were gulping for air. For some reason, my body felt lighter, and when I looked down, I realized we were standing on a ground made from white, wispy clouds. Everything glowed a violent, tangerine orange and a rosy pink. A holy stratosphere surrounded us, and when a gentle breeze swept across my skin, it left a vile taste in my mouth. Everything was too tranquil, too lovely, and too sacred. The air was thick with holy devotion, and my veins felt like they were threatening to burst inside my body. It took all my willpower not to press my fingertips against my temples, even though my skull throbbed like it was going to split in half.
“Unholy hell,” Vanessa muttered when she caught her breath, and then she raised her hand to point a trembling finger behind me. “Look.”
I turned around, and I forced all the pain to subside as I took a moment to stare at the vision slowly appearing before us. Two towering golden gates emerged out of nowhere, and they glimmered like sunshine and yellow diamonds mixed together. I’d never seen anything so bright in my entire life, and it felt like the sight was going to burn my eyeballs right out of my sockets. I squinted, shielded my eyes with my hand, and took a sharp breath before I took a step forward and pushed the gates open. They both parted wide open with the slightest touch, and beyond the golden bars laid acres of clouds and nothing more.
“What in Satan’s name is this?” Marina muttered as she took a step closer and pressed her body against mine. “Where the hell is she? There’s nothing up here.”
“She’s probably hiding,” Akira hissed.
I truly expected something to change, but the air was steady, and no one dared to say a word as I took a couple of steps forward. The women continued to follow me, and when I ventured further, all I could feel was thick tension and a tint of fear in the air.
“I’d rather something just pop out,” Akira muttered. “Then we could get this over with.”
“I agree,” Vesta purred. “I’d rather face Samara head-on than wonder what’s secretly watching us.”
All of our wands were aimed and at the ready, and everyone’s breathing was low and steady. My heart beat like a drum against my ribcage, my palms were slick with sweat, and I wondered how long we’d be wandering aimlessly among the clouds until I heard a familiar voice.
“Well, it looks like you’ve finally made it,” Samara’s voice bellowed like thunder, but she was nowhere to be seen. “Now, I hope you’re prepared to face the consequences, Cole. You’ve killed too many of my beloved beings, and now it’s time to face me and my army. I hope you enjoyed your time in this world because it’s about to come to an end.”
“Just show yourself, Samara,” I hissed into the air. “It’s time for our quarrel to end.”
“Very well,” she chuckled.
A gust of wind brushed past me, and that was when I finally saw her in the flesh. The gorgeous elder goddess emerged from thin air, and when she was fully formed, she sat upon a towering throne adorned with jewels of every color and size and made from pure gold. Her seat’s frame soared high and sharply pointed upward, and there was an engraved cross plastered in the center, right above her head. She was dressed in a long, sheer, red and pink gown, and she proudly wore a lavish silver crown on top of her wavy hair. Her full lips were set in a straight line, and when she studied me from head to toe, her ocean-colored eyes were cold and unwavering. She stared long and hard at me, and after we shared a moment of silence, I tried to take a step forward, but something invisible stopped me. It felt like a wall of some kind, and whatever it was made of, it was fierce and impregnatable. She was alone, but I knew that was about to change any second.
“Samara,” I growled in irritation. “Why don’t you just come down from there and face me? Clearly, I’ve already killed your sentinel down below. Unless you want to waste more elder blood, why don’t you just submit yourself to me now?”
“Oh, my dear Cole…” she giggled, and there was a thirsty twinkle in her eyes. “You’re going to have to try a little harder than that. Words will not faze me.”
I sucked in a sharp breath of air, and to my dismay, elder soldiers began to appear out of thin air and stood in groups around the foot of her magnificent throne. There were countless clusters of them, and they stood fearless by their queen with their golden wings and weapons of every kind dangling by their sides. The holy air and tranquility of her kingdom had vanished and was now replaced with cold bloodlust. Her army was more than ready to murder us, and I knew they were itching for Samara to utter the final command, but I could tell by the mischievous grin on her flawless face that she was enjoying the pressure from both sides.
“Just say the word, my queen,” one man with deep chestnut-brown hair growled as his glowing silver eyes danced across our group. “We’ll tear them into shreds, and it will only take a minute or two.”
“Soon enough, Aron,” Samara purred with her hand raised in the air. “I’d like to set some rules first. By my word, you may torture or kill whomever you wish, but make sure you leave the male witch for me. I’d like to kill him myself and take back the artifacts he stole from me.”
“Yes, my queen,” the elder soldiers all responded at once.
As the goddess’ smile widened, and her hand slowly dropped, I gripped my wand tighter, focused on her men, and prepared myself for one of the bloodiest battles yet.
“Now,” she ordered in a deadly calm voice, and her men began to pull out their weapons.
“Attack!” I cried out, and my voice sounded like a crack of thunder.
My women and the familiars let out ferocious war cries before we bolted toward the elder men with our wands steadily pointed out. Their faces grew eager with bloodlust before they all screamed with fury and charged, but before any of them could lay one spell on us, my women began to tear into the holy soldiers with every attack they had.
“Segmentum!” Circe cried out with all her might.
A spurt of icy yellow light erupted from the tip of the serpentine Wicca’s wand and soared toward the closest group of elders who were running across the surface of clouds. When her curse hit them, their weapons melted from their hands, and small but deep cuts spread all across their bodies. They wailed in pain and quickly cowered back as their tattered gowns were stained with blood, and then, when they were distracted, Akira flicked her wand.
“Illuminana!” the ebony-eyed Wicca yelled, and she sent a ball of fire soaring toward the screaming elders.
Vanessa then raised her palms, and her face was set in stony determination as she stared at the wailing elders.
“Motus!” the professor screamed, and the flames grew into a cloud that set the militia on fire.
Samara’s face darkened as her first group of men burned, shrieked, and begged for mercy, and a twinge of satisfaction flowed through my body before I raised my wand higher. The smell of decay wafted through the clouds, and the other men stood in blind terror as their counterparts succumbed to a slow and painful death.
“What in heaven’s name are the rest of you waiting for?” the elder goddess screeched when no one budged an inch. “Attack them! Spill their blood and stain the clouds!”
We stood guard, and it took a long moment before the other men seemed to find their footing and courage to charge. I smiled and didn’t hesitate before I blasted spell after spell at them, and I didn’t even have to give the command before Alexander flew over the clouds and began to tear into the eyes of Samara’s men. They shouted in pain as tears of blood ran down their pale marble faces, but then, the sky rumbled, and when I glanced up, the white clouds parted to reveal a stream of serpens quickly descending upon us. To my horror, I realized there were dozens of them, enough to wipe us all out.
“We have them now!” the elder named Aron bellowed with satisfaction. “Prepare to meet your dear fires of hell!”
Rage and fear seared through my veins, and when I glanced at Samara’s perfect face, a smile crept upon her lips, and she cackled with laughter until her shoulders shook. Her eyes sparkled with thirst, and her smile was taunting me.
Once again, the elder goddess thought she had the upper hand, but I was prepared to prove her wrong. As the serpens drew closer and a fire burned in their throats, I looked up into their eyes. Their snake-like orbs matched the bloodlust in their mistress’ smile, and I knew they were about to spout a cloud of flames in our direction. There was this determined fierceness in their feral faces and a wild longing to see us dead, but they had no idea what kind of power I had in my heart.
“Do it!” Samara cried out. “Burn them allllllll!”
One of her giant loyal beasts flew quicker and lower than the others, and when it opened its jaws to spew a massive cloud of fire at me, I raised my hand high above me.
I quickly pictured a watery dome, the same kind Vanessa would often create to protect us, but only more magnificent. Then I willed that wall to form around my women with all my might, and before the flames from Samara’s serpen could burn any witch, a giant dome of water and ice formed around us. It quickly stopped the fire right in its tracks, and not only did it protect us, but it also ricocheted the attack and exploded it in the serpens’ faces.
“Yes, master!” Morgana screamed with pride. “Well done!”
“Look at them burn!” Akira cackled in pure joy.
I grinned as the fire continued to consume the serpens, and when their white scales turned into charcoal, Samara’s face fell and twisted into a mask of fury. The elder goddess’ men took giant steps back, and they shielded their eyes as the serpens wailed in terror and pain and then tossed back their long necks. My smile widened as the fire spread across the beasts’ broad chests and up to their snouts until their magnificent bodies turned black and raw, and the smell of their putrid burning flesh filled the air.
“Keep going, Cole!” Vanessa encouraged. “Burn them all!”
“Cooooole!” Samara wailed as her pets shriveled into black ash. “You will pay for this! Attack them! Kill them now! But bring me Cole alive!”
Even after she uttered the command, it looked like her soldiers were too hesitant to keep fighting. They just stood there and stared at us while we remained inside our protective dome, and when I saw the terrified glint in their eyes, that was when I knew they feared for their lives. Samara didn’t give one fuck about them, and they now knew it.
The elder goddess gripped the sides of her throne as her stormy eyes glistened with fury, and her rosy lips formed a tight line as she waited for her minions to obey her bidding.
“You heard our queen, attack!” one elder with gold hair and green eyes shouted, but his voice quivered with fear. “Use your swords and all the power flowing through your bodies! Let’s rid the world of these witches once and for all.”
None of the other men budged an inch, and I grinned as the blond elder solely ran toward the dome. Not one of his men shared the same fighting spirit, and rightly so because when the spirited soldier tried to penetrate through the transparent wall with the tip of his sword, a burst of light coursed through his weapon and lit up his entire body like his veins were made of lightning. His frame trembled, and his eyes glowed a violent shade of red before his skin melted from his bones and turned into a puddle of blood, piss, and gore.
His counterparts swiftly turned a couple of shades paler, and no one dared to approach us. I stared at each one of them, and I knew I longed for more death and destruction. So, while we remained inside the sphere of ice, lightning, and water, I closed my eyes and took a long deep breath.
I pictured countless lost souls dwelling down below, and I thought of all those who longed to see the elders die gruesome and terrible deaths. All that vengeance coursed through my veins and penetrated my heart. My lungs were heavy, my heart swelled, and my voice came out like an echo when I spoke.
“Mente nostra, et Tenebrae Vos vires animumque meum corpus,” I recited with my hands raised high in the air. “Concipiamus conceit cupio… facite praecepta mea et facit ea!”
Suddenly, there was a loud roar, and the clouds quickly began to shift color. The fluffy dove white clouds were now a deep shade of hellish red, and the sky was as black as midnight. Samara’s face was aghast as she looked around, but the stubborn former Wicca still refused to climb down from her throne.
“W-What is this?” she cried out. “My barrier was supposed to keep your filthy Wicca magic out!”
“You underestimated me, Samara,” I bellowed, and the clouds shook when I spoke. “I warned you.”
The elder goddess’ bottom lip quivered with fear and anger as an army of my own reckoning started to come to life, and the soldiers took several steps back as all the Wiccans from hell rose from underneath the clouds and ascended to heaven. Many of the risen witches were eyeless from being burned at the stake, but when they sensed the elder warriors’ presence, the resurrected women turned their heads in the same direction, and broken, bloody smiles crept across their faces.
“Don’t just stand there!” Samara wailed in a broken voice. “Kill them!”
Her men quivered in their sandals, but after a couple of seconds, the elder named Aron ran toward the risen women. He lifted his hand, and with his open palm exposed at my army, he furrowed his eyebrows and shouted with all his might.
“Reditus!”
His bright green spell spurted from his skin and went soaring toward the women of hell. Not one of them moved as the curse continued to fly in their direction, but then one of them raised her hand and stopped the attack in place. Her obscure features furrowed in concentration, and the spell stopped inches away from her face and melted mid-air.
The elder’s expression fell, and the rest of the men inched backward like they were trying to get closer to Samara.
“Look at them,” one woman cackled. Half her face was gone, and only bone and blood remained, as well as one dangling eyeball. “They cower back to their mistress, like a babe searches for its mother’s teat.”
“Shall we teach them a lesson?” another woman with long black hair chuckled. “I think we should tear them into holy shreds. May we devour them, master?”
When I turned to look at her, the entire army I had summoned was solely focused on me and waiting for my command. I smiled and slowly turned to look at Samara’s blank, white-washed face, and her eyes burned into mine before I glanced back at my risen women and nodded.
“You may kill whoever you wish,” I said, “but leave the goddess to me.”
The hellish women grinned with pleasure, and their cackles sounded like a chorus of thunder before they sprinted toward the elders and began to cast countless spells against them. These women used the most ancient magic possible, and blood spilled over the clouds as they tore the holy warriors into bloody ribbons. My heart beat with hot adrenaline as the elders screamed like lambs at the slaughter, but my eyes were locked on one woman.
Samara didn’t move an inch as her men succumbed to painful, brutal deaths, but the color from her face drained, and I could see her fingers trembling as she clutched onto her throne.
“Master,” Akira breathed by my side. “This is the most glorious and gory slaughter imaginable.”
“She’s right,” Vanessa whispered, and when I studied her eyes, they were filled with awe and respect. “Cole, you’ve saved us.”
“But what about the third artifact?” Marina asked as her bright eyes watched the women tear into the holy army. “How do we even know what it is? Or where to look?”
The former siren had a valid point. We still didn’t know where or what the final relic was, but then I stared long and hard at the silver adornment on the top of Samara’s head, and that was when I could feel its magnificent presence radiating like the sun.
“What is it, master?” Circe asked as she followed my unwavering gaze.
“It’s the crown,” I muttered. “That’s the third relic.”
The women all stared at the goddess, and her face crumpled into a mask of confusion and fury. Her men succumbed to their fates, and when all of her holy soldiers were dead, and their tattered limbs littered the once heavenly floor, Samara finally stepped down from her throne and regarded me.
“Yes, it is,” she said as she looked at me from head to toe, “and if you want it, you’re going to have to pry it from my dead fingers.”
“Let’s not be overdramatic, Samara,” I said as I allowed the dome to slowly fade from view and the witches to return to hell. Then I took a small step toward her. “I’m ready for you. Come and do your worst.”
Samara slowly approached me, and the hem of her long gown soaked up the blood of her men as she drew closer. She never blinked on her way over to me, and I could hear the other women suck in a sharp breath of air when I took a heavy step toward her.
Tension filled the air as the two of us sauntered over to the other, and I gripped my wand tightly and held my breath as I studied every inch of the gorgeous goddess. She was tall and slender, and her breasts were full and heaved up and down as she waltzed over to me. If she was afraid, she didn’t show it. Instead, she remained as cold as stone, and her expression never altered, even when we were inches away from one another.
“I don’t want to have to hurt you,” I muttered. “Why don’t you just give in to me now?”
“You won’t touch a hair on my head,” she growled before her hand shot up, and her face darkened. “Spiritus!”
A shimmering, blinding white light exploded from her chest and soared right at me, but I quickly raised my hand and pictured the spell swiftly changing directions.
“Motus!” I cried out.
The spell stopped, but only inches away from my nose. Its light was burning hot, and it made sweat drip from my brow and my hands tremble. The light hovered in the air, but it refused to switch course. Samara was pushing against my power, and it made us both shake with determination as we tried to change the will of her curse. My head pounded with agony, and it felt like all my bones were about to break, but I refused to give in. I knew Samara was feeling the same thing, and she was just as determined as I was to win this fight. Neither of us were prepared to let our power falter, and I didn’t care if it took all my willpower and strength to make her fall down on her knees and offer herself up to me. I vowed to become her master, and by the time this fight was over, she would return to the darkness.
“Give up,” the elder goddess hissed through gritted teeth. “You will obey me and fall down to my power--”
“Never,” I interjected, and the flame of fortitude in her eyes burned even brighter.
I focused on the spell, and with all my willpower and strength, I willed the magic to burst into oblivion. I didn’t want to harm Samara, so I figured the best course of action to take would be to completely destroy the curse. With that in mind, I closed my eyes and commanded her spell to do my unholy bidding.
“Motus!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
I opened my eyes, and the spell grew larger like an iridescent cloud and shone brighter than the sun. It burned, and its power felt like it could melt my eyeballs from my sockets, but my eyes never left the holy incantation. Samara’s features were illuminated by the vivid light, and I could see her eyes widen with anger as her spell exploded into a thousand shards of icy glass.
“Noooooo!” the goddess screamed before we both flew backward.
My body soared into the air, and it was like someone had punched me in the gut. Even though we were on top of a canvas of clouds, it was like my body was crashing down on solid stone when I hit the surface. The breath was completely knocked out of me, and for a moment I thought my bones were about to break in half.
“Master!” my women screamed, but they remained in place.
This was my own fight.
I could hear Samara gasp and gulp for air, and I knew she was suffering as well, even if I couldn’t sit up and see her. My body was limp, my throat was raw, and my mouth was dry.
But by hell, I was determined to see this through.
Get up, Cole, the woman from my dreams urged. You’re so close. Don’t give up now.
“I won’t,” I said through the blood in my mouth.
I forced myself to get up, and I pushed down the pain that was flooding through my entire body. When I looked at Samara, her face was contorted into a mask of agony, and blood trickled down her nose. She was red-faced, and her gown was slipping from her shoulders as she struggled to stand up.
“Using my own power against me?” Samara breathed, and her voice was hoarse. “Do you really think that’s going to stop me? Volito!”
A sudden ball of red light seeped from her hand, and when it hit my chest, it made me fly backward even further and crash on the ground even harder. I heard a crunching sound, and it felt like my ribs were broken. I coughed up blood, and my head pulsed with a pounding pain I could not push away. Still, even if I was on the verge of death, I wouldn’t lay here like a limp fawn.
I would fight until the very end if I had to.
So, with all the strength I could find within me, I forced myself to sit up, and when I stared at Samara, there was a newfound hunger and anticipation in her ocean-colored eyes. She was dying to see me perish, but before she could utter another spell, I focused on the clouds and ordered them to obey my will. I yearned for their wispy tendrils to snake around her ankles and bring her down to her knees, and then I made my move.
Motus.
The clouds quickly obeyed my command, and Samara gasped when the crimson shadows wrapped around her and pulled her down. She screamed in anger and thrashed around like a wild animal as the elements continued to keep her prisoner, but my hold on her was strong.
“Stop fighting it, Samara,” I grunted before I rose to my feet and neared her. “It’s over.”
“No!” she cried out, and when I narrowed my eyes at the clouds, they clung onto her skin even harder.
“It’s over!” I snarled.
“You will not use my own kingdom against me!” she bellowed, and her eyes suddenly turned a bright shade of lightning-yellow. “Libertas!”
My concentration was suddenly interrupted like someone took a pair of unbreakable scissors to an iron string and cut it. The clouds swiftly released her, and she tossed back her hair. Then her lips curled into a scowl before she raised both hands in the air.
“Et converteret ad se regnum!” Samara screamed.
The clouds began to tremble, the sky started to crack like it was made out of thin glass, and soon, it fell from above like rain. Everything felt like it was coming apart, like her heavenly lord was destroying everything in its path.
My women gasped in shock and fell over, and Vanessa did her best to stand up straight, but I knew it was taking all her concentration. I was also struggling to remain upright, and when I looked at Samara, there was a wild fierceness in her eyes, one that was on the brink of total madness.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded as I stared at the elder queen. “Are you trying to bring everything down and kill yourself?”
“If that’s what it takes,” the elder queen grunted with resilience. “I’ll bring down all of heaven with you and your women. I don’t care if it kills me, too… my god is more powerful than yours!”
I narrowed my eyes and raised both my hands high in the air before I tried to focus on the surrounding elements. It was terribly difficult to find my footing, breathe steadily in and out, and also focus on an ancient incantation all at the same time, but there was no other option. So, with all my fortitude, I gritted my teeth and willed Satan and his unholy glory to come rushing to my side. My fingertips tingled, violent shivers ran up and down my spine, and pins and needles pricked the back of my eyeballs, but still, I forced my mouth open and raised my hands in the air.
“Modus antiquorum!”
Samara’s face darkened, and the lines on her forehead grew more intense as she knitted her eyebrows together and glanced up at the sky. The glass sky slowly stopped cracking, and her features screwed up in confusion before her blue-green eyes widened with realization.
Finally, the elder goddess knew, deep in her heart, that my magic was far more powerful than hers. I could sense it because it was radiating off her like sunshine. Her lips were downturned, her eyes were on the verge of tears, and when everything steadied and returned to normal, she brought her hands down and stared long and hard at me. The sky and clouds were steady, and I remained upright, untouched by her magic.
“Very well, Cole,” the elder goddess said in a faint voice. “Y-You’ve won. I… I submit myself to you.”
I took in a sharp breath of air and studied Samara from head to toe. She was prepared to give herself to me, and I’d never seen anyone appear so vulnerable and open before. Her resilience and stubbornness were gone and replaced with something else entirely. Her arms were spread apart, and when she walked toward me, her lips parted open. She breathed softly as she stared up at me, and she slowly got down on her knees and then bowed her head.
“Tell me why I should accept you as mine and return you to the darkness,” I ordered as I stared down at her submissive stature. “I need to hear it aloud.”
“Your power far exceeded my own,” she whispered, and her voice was breaking like she was on the verge of tears. “My elder lord refused to come to my aid. He abandoned me in my hour of need. I know when I’ve been outdone, and if it pleases you… I would be honored if you spared my life and took me as one of your unholy women. As proof of my words, here is the third artifact.”
I watched with pure satisfaction as her fingers grappled the sides of her silver crown, and she slowly handed it to me. Before I could reach over to take it, though, an echoing thunder emerged from the clouds, and a glowing light began to leech from Samara’s body. It radiated off her like sunshine and slowly slipped away like a cloud.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
“The binding spell has been broken,” Samara said in a weakened voice. “Now, my elder power is gone for all eternity. I am an empty vessel. Don’t worry, you can touch the crown, it’s harmless.”
When I touched the precious relic, I could feel it's great supremacy flowing through my skin and penetrating my heart. It was once tainted with holy magic, but soon, it would be a weapon for us to use.
I looked down at Samara, and at that moment, I could sense everything she was feeling. I could feel her intense loneliness, her desperation to belong to something true and mighty. She had always felt like this, and the damned Elder god had taken advantage of her. She was so lost and alone, and now, all I wanted to do was take her with us and officially make her an unholy member of my coven. Her holy magic was gone, and now it was time for her to be reborn.
You’ve done it, Cole, the woman from my dreams said in a soothing voice. Now, it’s time to return back to your beloved academy. They’re waiting for you.
“Stand up,” I said as I looked down at Samara. “You’re free from the holy elders, and I accept your plea.”
Samara took a long moment before she raised her head, and her eyes met mine. She swallowed her tears, and when I offered her my hand, she slowly took it and rose to her feet. The other women all stood back, but when I pulled Samara to her feet, I turned over my shoulder to look at them.
“Come and introduce yourselves,” I ordered. “We can trust her. The elder goddess is gone. This is someone else entirely.”
“It doesn’t feel quite like that, master, ” Akira muttered with daggers in her eyes. “She did just try to kill us, after all.”
“Akira,” Morgana said in a firm voice. “If our master says we can trust her, then we trust her because we trust him. It will take some time, but eventually, we’ll get used to our new… friend.”
“You’re right, Morgana,” Akira said before she turned to look at me with pleading eyes. “Please, forgive me, master. We’ll present ourselves.”
“Thank you.” I nodded.
Every woman, including Vanessa, came to my side and began to introduce themselves, and I took a brief moment to relish our victory and let the air slowly return to my lungs. I looked all around us and studied the red clouds and dark sky, and as magnificent as it was, all I wanted was to return to the dimly lit stone academy to see the other students and professors again.
I looked down at the crown and took another deep breath, and a smile broke across my face when I looked at the women and gripped the crown even tighter.
“Let’s go home,” I said.