Taming Darkness
Chapter 21

-Darius-

Lycus moves to Kalen's side, his hand ghosting over his shoulder. He leans against him, trying to pull him away from the darkness threatening to swallow him. His depression is heavy, like a suffocating cloud, not just for Kalen but for all of us. Without Aleera, he is an unhinged mess. Only she can dispel the shadows threatening to overtake him. Tobias, on the other hand, has lapsed into silence since we found ourselves back here. Silent and troubled, he is clearly lost in his thoughts, every bit the same as I am, trying to reason out her plan. Aleera wouldn't have risked abandoning Kalen. Even if she has a plan for all this, her actions will still have consequences. She's forgotten the most important thing about our bonds: without her, there is no us.

If anything happens to her and her plan goes awry, there's no way we can survive losing her, not now when we're all connected to each other-our bonds finally complete.

Loud screeching caws echo close by, and my eyes shift to where Tobias stands still, staring out the window. Does he not see it? From his blank, empty stare, I figure he's trapped in his own mind. But I do-that flash of bright feathers in this dark hellscape. Ryze lands on the windowsill. She screeches again at Tobias, and almost automatically, he scratches her feathers. She shakes her head and calls to him again, but he continues to stare. Ryze screeches angrily before biting him hard enough to make him jump. "What is it, girl?" I ask, approaching the annoyed Ryze. "Why did you leave her?"

The bird ignores me, and as I reach the window, the training fields divert my attention. They are covered in Aleera's Phoenixes, all peering up at our window.

Kalen looks up as their calls penetrate his prison of darkness. He gasps at the sight of them all and moves quickly, shoving me aside so he, too, can stare at them. Hope blooms within him, only to falter shortly after. He must have thought she would return with them, but that would be too easy. His hope visibly wilts away as she hasn't returned triumphantly as he had hoped.

Ryze nudges my hand, nipping at my fingers. She screeches at me, trying to get me to show her my palm. Her feathers ruffle, and she bites me harder.

"What?" I snap.

"Finity," she tries to speak, but the Phoenix still clearly hasn't mastered speech. "Leera," she adds, biting my finger again. Does it have to be the same one?

I hiss at the abuse and quickly turn my hand to show her my empty palm. I have no food for her right now. Her tongue flicks over my wrist, and fresh power surges through my hand as my infinity mark lights up with fiery energy.

The beacon is set off, and through the connection, I feel her. It's just a small glimpse, but the bond confirms that she is alive. I feel my own glimmer of hope ignite inside of me. However, she moves farther away until she fades away completely. What? My brows furrow as I reach out again, but there's nothing there anymore. Ryze ruffles her feathers before she zaps me once again with her magic.

The jolt of power courses through me, forcing my muscles to go rigid, but it grants me the clarity I so desperately seek. "We aren't powerless; she sent them home," I mumble. Her intentions become crystal clear.

She isn't sacrificing herself; she's leading us to them.

"The Phoenixes," I whisper.

Lycus wanders over to me, finally wearing clothes. He peers over my shoulder, staring at the legion of magical birds.

"What about them?" he asks, his voice sounding oddly detached compared to what I'm used to. He c***s his head, seeming to think; the cogs are turning in his pretty little head.

A deep chuckle escapes Tobias, and he shakes his head as he stares at his glowing red wrist. The surge of power Ryze had given me shines on my mates as well.

"She sent them home to us," Tobias declares, pushing off the wall beside the window and snatching his jacket off the couch.

"Where are you going?" Kalen asks as I follow suit.

"To get our mate back. We aren't the only things bonded to her. She sent them home," I explain to Kalen with a nod at the birds.

Kalen scrambles to his feet, takes a step forward, then stops. He peers back at Ryze, and the glimmer of hope from before blooms through him once more. He shakes his head as a crooked smile reaches his lips. "She was never trapped." The words leave him with a laugh. "She was trapping them." He grins.

I toss the door open, and Tobias rushes past me and disappears. Lycus continues to stare obviously into the distance. Thank God he's good-looking; it really helps to cope with his sheer lack of brain cells occasionally.

I raise a brow at him, waiting for him to catch on to anything we just said. Kalen is long gone with Tobias. I wait until the lightbulb finally goes off, and his eyes bleed black to that of his beast.

"She is leading us to them!" Lycus announces with a grin. There's so much pride in his voice, I almost feel sorry for breaking his moment of brilliance... Almost.

Yet, as we make it outside, her army awaits. Their caws are loud as they circle like a tornado above, each screech renewing and sparking power in each of us, every loud caw lending us power.

We aren't powerless.

We have the Phoenixes, we have the bond, and I can feel her feeding us energy through it. I don't know how she manages it, but I get the distinct feeling that she's biding time, searching and looking for something, and when she replaces it, she will call on us. And we'll be ready when she does.