His back arched. Around his neck, snaked thorny vines—his seal, opening before my eyes.
Instinct kicked in, and I rushed for him and stroked the vines of magic with the tip of my finger, scraping it across the thorns. Blue light glowed from my fingertips. A sharp jolt of ecstasy surged into my body—life and death melding together.
The seal dissipated beneath my fingertips.
Adonis staggered back from me, his hand at his throat. A grimace contorted his features.
Then, he stared at me, his jaw open.
I touched my forehead, feeling the smooth stones that had become a part of my skin.
I cleared my throat. “I, um... I stole the goddess’s magic rocks.”
“You stole them.” He blinked, as if awakening from a dream.
“I had to. It was the only way to get you back. Plus, she wanted me to stay here with a bunch of creepy Light Bringers to serve her or something.”
He grabbed me by the hand. “I want to get you out of here.”
I glanced behind me, relieved to see that no gods or Bringers of Light were following me.
“You’ve stolen the goddess’s power,” he said. “Now you have the power of a goddess. Do you understand that?”
Primal magic—the kind I had when feral—coursed through my veins. But I didn’t feel feral anymore. I simply felt powerful.
“This magic feels native to me.” River water rushed over my ankles. “I guess it is. The goddess said the Bringers of Light descended from the Old Gods.”
Before we crossed out of the cave’s mouth into the beaming sunlight, Adonis turned to me. Gently, he stroked the stones set into my forehead. “You found me in the underworld, and you pulled the curse off me. Why did you do it?”
I knew what he wanted. He was looking for some kind of well-reasoned, rational explanation about morality. Maybe some sort of plan. But I didn’t have that, so I had to go with the truth.
“Because you’re one of the good guys, and I didn’t want you to die.” I wrapped my arms around him, breathing in his smell. His heart pounded against my ear, full of life, and joy sparked in my chest. “You’re not supposed to die yet.”
His hand stroked up my back. “Ruby. You pulled out their souls with mine.”
“Whose?”
“The four other horsemen. I felt their souls depart with me. The other horsemen aren’t going to let this end here.”
My body tensed. Well, shit. “I pulled your curse from you, didn’t I? I’ll free the other horsemen, too.” My thoughts began to race. “And we’ll just have to get them on our side. Five of us against ten celestial angels. They’re not great odds, but...well, we’ve got a dragon.” I could feel the words tumbling off my tongue, nearly nonsensical.
Adonis pulled away from me, his pale eyes beaming intensely in the dim light. “Our four deaths could have ended this all.”
I shook my head. “I’m supposed to let you die to save the world. I know that. A few deaths to spare millions, or however many are left on this earth. But what if those aren’t the only options? What if we change the rules?”
He stroked a fingertip down my cheek. “Do you know what happened when the last magical being tried changing the rules?” He leaned in, whispering into my ear. “He fell.”
My stomach tightened. Lucifer. Azazeyl. It hadn’t turned out well. In fact, it had led to millennia of death and destruction. “Admittedly, it’s not the best precedent. But can we not dwell on the negative right now? I just hauled your ass out of eternal cave hell, and I have some brand new magical powers I need to try out.”
When we stepped out of the cave into the beaming sunlight, Adonis gaped at the river in front of us. Kur and Hazel were already rushing toward us, but Adonis seemed lost in his own world. He bent down and plucked a red flower from the ground, studying it, the expression on his face one of remorse.
The flower’s crimson color perfectly matched the red pendant around his neck. So that’s what he’d been wearing…
It was only then I realized Hazel was clutching my arm and screaming into my face.
“Ruby! What is going on with your head?” she shrieked.
“I stole the Stones of Zahar. They seem to have formed a crown on my head.”
Her jaw dropped. “So what does it mean?”
I bit my lip. “I don’t really know yet, Hazel.” I stared at my hands, at the glowing light that tinged my fingertips. “I think we’re going to find out.”
Chapter 38
I lay back against the trunk of the myrrh tree in Adonis’s garden, listening to the burbling of the spring. Sunlight washed over me, warming my skin.
A small, barren patch of earth stretched out from the tree to the stream, and I leaned over it, breathing in the scent of the rich soil. What could I do with this little patch of dirt?
I closed my eyes, summoning the warm power that pooled in my skull, then tingled down my spine. It settled between my ribs before streaming on through my arms, my fingertips… It smelled of moss, of damp leaves and wildflowers, and I felt as if I’d always had it within me.
When I opened my eyes again, light streamed from my fingertips over the damp earth. As I stared at the ground, tiny green shoots sprouted, curled like miniature ferns. I loosed a long breath, staring as they grew under the rays of blue light. As I gaped at them, the buds began to unfurl into crimson blossoms that trembled in the light.
When they’d opened fully, I let my light fade. I brushed my fingertips over the petals, smiling at what I’d created. I’d been toying with my powers for a few days, and this was the best result so far. Some kind of magical photosynthesis, I guessed. An antidote to the vast wastelands created by the Great Nightmare.
Gentle footfalls sounded behind me, and I turned to see Drakon padding over to me, his tail swishing behind him. When he reached me, he rubbed against my skin, his scales slick and slightly oily. I stroked his head. His eyes closed, and he nestled his head against me. Then, he crawled into my lap, crushing my legs with his weight, claws piercing my clothes.
“Ooof, Drakon.”
He attempted to curl up in a ball on my lap, prodding at me with his claws. Apparently, Drakon hadn’t figured out yet that there would be no way he’d fit on me, or that his scaly, clawed body on my lap felt extremely uncomfortable.
I nudged him off onto the grass, and he reluctantly prowled off me, then curled up into a ball by my side.
I smiled at him. Once, he’d disturbed me—a demonic reptilian beast from hell. Now, I was starting to like the guy. In fact—maybe I felt a strange kinship with him. We both had our bestial sides.
“My two favorite creatures.” Adonis’s smooth voice wrapped around me.
The sunlight washed over his deep, golden skin, and my eyes roamed over the finely cut clothes that hugged his masculine form.
Just the sight of him made my heart race. “Want to join us?”
“Sitting in the dirt?”
“It’s more fun than you’d think.”
A smile ghosted over his lips, and he sat by my side, his arm brushing mine as we looked out over the stream. “What have you been doing out here?”