A Final Showdown

‘December 27th, 2017’

‘North Pole’

Eve

Barron and I were sparring, limbs against limbs, and it was the most intense sparring I’d ever been a part of.

He was powerful. Probably the most powerful person in the entire world.

For every move I made, he countered with an equally strong one.

If I weren’t so dead-set on destroying him, I would’ve kept him around to practice with. But as the hours passed, I could tell he was getting tired.

Me, I couldn’t even feel the exhaustion. My determination was unwavering.

In order for my daughter to be safe, for my mate to live his life, I’d have to destroy Barron Von Logia. And I wouldn’t stop until I did.

It was that simple.

So I kept fighting. And when I saw he needed to take a break, I slid my ring off my finger and threw it into the air.

I grabbed the scythe with one hand and thrusted it through the air until the spear was touching the skin just on top of Barron’s jugular vein.

You know, the big vein in his neck.

For the first time in my life, I saw Barron’s eyes widen with fear. But he wasn’t looking at the blade. No, he was looking behind me.

“Hi, Barron,” I heard a voice say. And it was a voice I recognized.

It was Kimbringe’s voice.

“Kim, what are you doing here?” I said slowly.

I could feel how close I was to impaling Barron’s neck, to ruining him forever.

I heard Kim’s footsteps move closer to us until he was standing right beside us. “I haven’t seen Barron in centuries. Isn’t that right, Barron? In fact, we only see each other when I get a vision.”

“A vision?” I asked.

“That’s right. I get visions of the future. I’m the only Deity who does. They’ve been tried and tested to be true over centuries and centuries.”

“What was your vision, Kim?” I was seething, trying to passive-aggressively let him know that ~now was not the time.~

“It was of this fight, coincidentally enough. And all the fights that come after between the two of you. See, Barron, you might not lose this battle, but you don’t win either. You’ll never win. Not against Eve Knox.”

“I don’t believe you.” Barron seethed, his eyes narrower than ever.

“Well, believe what you’d like. But I’m telling you. Eve will not stop until you are destroyed. And there is no way you win. In fact, the last vision I saw of you? You were lying at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.”

“I can’t die! I’m a Deity!”

“I didn’t say you were dead, Barron. Just frozen.”

I looked at Kimbringe, and in that moment, I knew he was telling the truth.

The good Deity couldn’t lie, not even if he wanted to. When I turned back to Barron, he wasn’t there.

Again, the bad Deity had disappeared. But this time, I wasn’t worried he’d come back.

“Are you ready to go home?” Kimbringe asked me, and I nodded. I didn’t have the energy to do anything else.

He grabbed both my hands, and then we were teleporting out of the North Pole.

***

When Kimbringe teleported us back to the Pack House, I ran to the infirmary to check on Snow. But Daisy met me at the door.

“I need to see her!” I demanded.

Daisy put a hand on my shoulder. “She’s in a deep sleep, Eve. You can see her, but she’s not awake.”

“A deep sleep? What does that mean?” I wondered if I’d knocked her out too hard, if she’d hit her head or gotten harmed.

“Don’t worry, I put her under. Her body’s taken a lot. Her mind too. Giving her time to rest means that she’ll have time to heal herself. It’s the best thing for her right now.”

“I want to see her.”

Daisy nodded.

She guided me through the infirmary until we were at the window outside Snow’s room.

I could see her through the glass, asleep on the infirmary bed. Her eyes were closed, her hair splayed out all around her face.

She looked like an angel.

“You can go in if you’d like,” Daisy offered softly.

But I shook my head. “I’ll let her rest.”

The truth was I was worried my presence would disturb her. And I didn’t want to be responsible for failing her again.

“Where’s Killian?” I asked the Healer, looking around at the otherwise empty infirmary.

“He’s been healing well. We moved him to his own room upstairs.” I closed my eyes for a second, relief flooding through me. They were both okay. Everything would be okay.

After I left the infirmary, I went straight to Reyna’s room, but it was empty. So was Anya’s.

I looked everywhere—the library, the courtyard, the ballroom. I was about to collapse into a puddle of exhaustion when I heard my stomach grumble.

~The kitchen.~

Kids were always in the kitchen.

I tore through the Pack House, hearing their voices as soon as I neared the kitchen’s entrance.

“Don’t you dare!” Anya screeched.

“Or else what?” Reyna taunted.

I turned into the room, a smile stretching across my face.

There were Anya and Reyna, staring each other down. Reyna had a cookie in her hand, about to take a bite.

The second Anya saw me, she exhaled.

“Eve, tell her not to eat it! It’s the last one!” she whined.

Reyna whipped her head around to me. “You’re back!”

I laughed, looking between the girls. “I’m back,” I said, and then I turned on my heel and headed upstairs.

I’d pay Killian a visit later. First, I needed to see Raphael. I needed to show him the truth.

As soon as I reached his door, I flung it open. He was pacing, eyes glazed, the TV on behind him.

At the sound of the door flying open, he turned to me. “You’re back! Snow’s in the infirmary. Daisy’s letting her rest.”

“I know. Give me your hands,” I ordered Raphael, ignoring how handsome he looked.

I couldn’t be distracted by the way his dark hair fell into his eyes or by the way the stubble on his cheeks had grown, making him look hot in a bad-boy kind of way.

“What?”

~“Take them,”~ I repeated.

He sighed, taking my hands in his.

That was all it took for me to be able to dive into his mind, into his psyche, and create a channel, just like I’d done with Reyna. The framework of his mind was obviously more complex, but I didn’t care.

I was prepared to be exhausted.

After I’d navigated through his mind and created the channel, I got to work on my own psyche. I opened it up, letting my memories free fall down the channel that connected us.

And then I watched his face as he started seeing the memories, one after another.

I sent him the one from 1516 first, when I was Angeline, a nobody, working for Lord Maynard.

He saw the cruelness of Lord Maynard for himself. He heard the warnings Farrah had given me about my looks.

Then he saw the night we first met. The night he claimed me as his own.

Memories kept sliding through the channel, one after another—the night of the Yule Ball, when he took my innocence, my virtue.

The morning after, when he was gone.

Pain tore at the features on his face, but still I kept sending the memories.

He watched as Farrah helped me escape Maynard Manor and as I learned the truth about my brother.

He watched as I arrived at Solomon’s manor, and as I heard that Farrah had been executed for helping me.

Raphael’s face contorted when he watched me tell Solomon that I was pregnant.

He let out a growl when he saw Barron approach me in the forest, when he saw him steal Snow from my arms.

I sent him more memories: the day I became a complete vampire, drinking Jotham’s blood; the night Llinos came to me with the mission and I grew my wings; the day Barron came back into my life and offered me the deal.

I showed him everything, without holding anything back.

When it was over, when I had no memories left to show him, I pulled my hands away.

My head was pounding, my whole body was beyond exhausted, and my mind felt… drained. But still, I needed to see his reaction.

I needed to know what he’d do.

I watched as he rose from the couch, as he walked around the room. Then he looked at me, tears in his eyes. “We met when you were a girl.”

“Yes.” I nodded.

“We… and I… left you,” he got out.

“Yes.”

His hands moved through his hair, an expression of pain I’d never seen before on his face. Then he crouched to the ground and slammed his fist into the floor.

“GAH!” He growled, bringing his fist into the hardwood again. And again.

I ran over to him, grabbing his arm, holding it back. “Raphael! Raphael, stop it.”

“I ~left you~,” he cried, gazing up at me. “And I don’t even remember why. I don’t know where I was going! I don’t know why I didn’t say goodbye!”

“It’s okay,” I said, stroking his hair. “It was a long time ago. It’s okay.”

“It’s NOT OKAY!” he thundered, standing up and walking to the other side of the room. “I don’t know how you can even look at me! I’m a monster… a sad excuse of a man. You were so young… and I… I took advantage… and you were ~pregnant~.”

“Raphael, look at me,” I said gently, walking toward him. “I forgive you.”

“How can you forgive me? I hate myself for doing that to you. I won’t be able to forgive myself for that, not now, not ever.”

“~Raphael~,” I said again, and our eyes locked. I was right in front of him, so I reached out, rubbing his cheek. “I forgive you. Do you forgive me?”

“Forgive you? What could I have to forgive you for?” he said, grabbing my hand and bringing it to his mouth, kissing it.

“For not… for not protecting Snow. For not protecting our baby.”

“Eve,” he whispered, pulling me right into him, “you did. You rescued her. ~You rescued her~,” he said, right into my ear.

We were both crying, our cheeks wet with tears, when I gazed up at him again.

“I love you.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt that current of electricity come back tenfold. It was like my entire body was on fire.

Every cell inside me was dancing, yearning for him.

Ecstasy ran through me, and I felt the shift in him, too. We were both grinning, holding each other as tight as we could, eyes lit up with desire.

I had done it.

I had let him in.

The mating lock had been sealed. We were, formally, officially, technically… mates.

And holy hell, was I horny.