From Shadow to Light - Book Ten

Ch. 27- She's Alive

"You kiss the back of my legs and I want to cry. Only the sun has come this close. Only the sun."

***

Ambrosia was nothing but a shadow at this point while my body hummed in response to the violence surrounding me. Throughout all the fighting between my shadow creatures and Erebus's, I walked slowly in the middle like I owned the world. And maybe I did. Every second I unleashed every drop of power I had, an inch of fabric tore off my body until I was covered with nothing but sunlight. Light shimmered down my back as I snapped my fingers, turning a shadow into dust without a second thought.

My army of Gods followed close behind while my family focused on fighting those trying to attack me. It was thrilling, to say the least. Power like this was magnificent and potent, which is why the Fates didn't give it to anybody. In my mind, I could hear the whispers of Erebus's shadow creatures speaking to him and I smiled at the realization that he was near. He was coming to find me in all my glory. She's alive. She's alive. Lianna the Lightbringer is alive. She's waiting. She's aliv—

"Stop!" screamed a male voice from behind me. That voice I recognized immediately for I could hear it in my nightmares. In my dreams. I slowly turned around to meet the gaze of my greatest enemy. My friend. My lover. He was dressed in all-black armor and his hair was a mess above his head. Erebus's gray eyes darkened at the sight of me and I was not sure whether he was pleased to see me or full of rage. Maybe both. Yes, it had to be both. My veins were thumping beneath my skin, ready to unleash my godhood onto Erebus, but I forced it down and told it to be patient. He finally saw me for what I was: a nightmare. I was the ruler of all the gods in the universe and was finally strong enough to fight against him. The girl he met was powerless and weak. The woman in front of him was violence and sun incarnate. I was destruction and light. Eventually, he whispered something that almost broke me in half. Almost. "This is not what I wanted, Lianna." he drawled.

He looked me up and down. Down and up until he finally met my eyes like wildfire. I tilted my head to the side. "Of course, this isn't what you wanted, bastard god. You only sought me out to become a god out of your own selfish need to control me for eternity. But I never wanted your brother's flimsy ass divinity to stop you. I needed more and luckily the Fates and I agreed." I gazed over to Aether who stood beside Zeus and Apollo. "Sorry, dude. I didn't mean to insult you."

His smile quirked to the side. "No need to apologize, Soari. It is a fact."

I nodded, turning toward Erebus now. He was seething head to toe but said nothing, letting him conclude what I am and how I gained so much power in such a short time. After a minute, he spoke and I wanted to laugh. To do something other than stand here in front of him. "Agreed on what?" he demanded. His shadows snarled at me and my own behind me, but Lyka hissed louder and made them curl into a little ball.

I stared at him for a long time until he eventually flinched. Actually, fucking flinched because the godhood within me was too strong for him to bear to look at. But Amias, my husband was in awe of everything I was...even now. He did not look away once when I transformed. Did not flinch. "We agreed on your death, of course. Don't worry, we already picked out your replacement so you do not have to worry about that."

"I felt you die, Lianna. The bond we share broke in half when your heart stopped beating," he said, ignoring my threats. To him, I was the only one standing at the border between Ambrosia and Faylinn. I stole a glance at everyone I ever loved that was brought back to life. Mom, whose scarlet hair brightened the darkness surrounding us. Her golden eyes are ferocious as she fights with her healer magic and blades. She fought against the broken bone of her leg agonizing every step she ran. She never gave up, not when she desperately wanted to do so. She was our heart. Dad was snapping off necks next to her with his fangs with nothing but grace and elegance. He was the blade, of course. Uncle Christian and Grandpa Charles fought side by side. Christian the hope and Charles, our dreamer. All of whom are alive right now as I am.

"You know better than to think the great Soari Breevort could ever stay dead. I told you that moments before you came here, Erebus. It was all a plan. A trick. One I carefully and quietly planned behind everyone's back. You saw my family's tears. Their grief was real because I needed it to be. And yours was just the icing on the cake."

He trailed over to my family, who no doubt were about to kill him on the spot before I stopped them. Then to Amias, who was the subject of his hatred and jealousy. "You knew?"

Amias raised an eyebrow, smirking. "She did not want to only end you. Soari wanted to break you into a million pieces as you did with her and I happily obliged. You see that is the difference between you and me. I see everything that she is and did not back away, did not change her to fit my own fantasies of what she could be. But you, Erebus, saw her as an object to possess. To control. I asked her to marry me because I love everything that she is and I will continue to love her when I'm dead. It still amazes me that she said yes."

Of course, I would say yes, golden boy. You're the only one for me.

Erebus snarled as he turned his focus on me again, ignoring Amias holding my hand even though I slightly burned him. "You made me kill you so you can come back as this...being?" I did not speak a word which made him sneer at me. Oh fun, this was. "I grieved for you! For months, you were haunting me in my nightmares and all along you were alive,and what? Building an army? Fucking this lowly Vampire?"

"You want to destroy my world!" I yelled. "The world that so many of these Gods and creatures behind me love so dearly, who have fought to protect for centuries. Do you think I wouldn't do the same? That I wouldn't lie and deceive my way into ending you once and for all?" I smacked my lips together at his army of shadows behind him. "You keep your souls hell-bent on vengeance as your pets so you don't feel the loneliness in yourself. The ones I stole from you..." I trailed off, sliding my hand down Lyka's side as she stood proudly next to me. Her scaly skin makes my powers hum in my bones. "They are so much worse. And so am I."

"Keep on believing you can stop me, Lianna. Many tried and failed. Their own worlds are nothing but a pile of dust in the universe and yours will be in a matter of minutes," Erebus clenched his jaw. "This is how our game ends."

I laughed like a maniac and I could have sworn it made everyone wince behind me. Erebus took a step back as though it hurt him to be this close to me—to my power. My body was close enough to burn his entire army to ashes yet he did not care enough to protect his precious creatures. Sad. "What? Are you too afraid of my power to fight me? Or is it because you know I will win in the end?" When he didn't say anything, I waved my hand over to my army of Gods. Vampires fighting against shadows. Fae, Werewolves, and Witches doing the same. My entire family stopped to stand around me, my mother creating a shield for all of us as Emmeline helped her. My twin siblings formed a barrier of fire and ice within seconds, glaring at our common enemy. "Tell me what power looks like to you. No wait, I can guess. It is destroying entire worlds because you were angry they did not love you or worship at your feet. You forced me to marry you because you so desperately wanted a companion other than your shadow creatures for eternity. Power, to me, looks like my mother who fought against all odds to give me the life I have right now. She would read me story after story of her adventures when I was little which made me want to go out and make my own. Power is my sister, Kalama. It is my brother, Aeson. It is our Father, who loved despite the world telling him he was a monster that could never feel it. Power is my aunts and uncles. My cousins. Power is my four best friends, who were always next to me during my worst moments." I took a steady breath, continuing as though my life depended on it. "Power is two notorious soldiers who I've grown to love over the past few months. Power is the Guinevere brothers that kept going even when they lost everything. It is the Gods on my side wanting a better world for mortals and supernatural creatures combined. The way that I see it, it is not only the magic we have in our veins that make us powerful, but the love we have in our hearts to never give up even though we desperately want to. They make me strong, Erebus. They make me brave enough to face you now even though you terrify me to my bones. But if you kill me, just know I will be dragging you to hell myself in the process."

"I'd like to see you try." he snarled.

And at that, the game is close to the end credits.