The air at the mouth of the cave was freezing. It felt like tiny knives pressing against Killian's face. He stood tall, blocking the entrance. Below him, the mountain was covered in red lights. These were the King's drones. They moved through the snow like hungry eyes, and their loud, mechanical humming filled the silence.
Killian gripped a heavy metal crowbar. His knuckles were white. He was a billionaire with private jets and bodyguards, but right now, he was alone. All he had was a piece of iron and his own strength.
"Hurry up!" he shouted into the dark cave. They are right on top of us!
Inside the cave, the smell was different. It smelled like wet stone and electricity. Sarah and Leo reached the edge of the Star-Pool. The water didn't move. It glowed with a bright silver light that seemed to beat like a heart.
"Put her in," Leo whispered. He gripped his sword, his eyes peering toward the cave opening. As the King's son, he knew what those drones could do. They wouldn't just catch people, they destroy them. "Killian can't stop them all, Sarah. If the drones fire their lasers while she's out here, she's dead."
Sarah's eyes were full of tears. She looked down at Faith. This was her daughter, the girl she had hidden in the slums for eighteen years. Faith looked small and broken. Her skin was gray, and thick black veins were spreading across her neck like ink.
"I'm so sorry, baby," Sarah breathed. She gently lowered Faith's body into the silver water.
The reaction was instant. And it was scary.
The moment Faith's skin touched the water, the silver pool hissed. It sounded like water hitting a hot stove. The black poison in Faith's veins began to boil. It moved under her skin like living snakes. Faith's back arched. Her body went stiff with pain. A loud, broken scream ripped out of her throat. The sound was so raw that it made Leo jump back in fear.
At the cave's entrance, Killian flinched. Hearing her scream in pain felt like a punch to the chest. His gold eyes flashed. His inner wolf was snarling, begging him to run to her. But the first drone was already there. It was a black, flying machine with a glowing red eye fixed right on him.
"You want her?" Killian yelled. His voice was full of rage. You will have to go through me first!
The drone fired a red beam of light. Killian didn't move. He couldn't. If he dodged, the beam would hit the cave and kill everyone inside. He swung the metal crowbar with all his Alpha strength.
CRACK.
The metal bar smashed into the drone. The vibration was so strong it nearly broke Killian's arms. The machine spun out of control and crashed into a snowbank. It exploded into a ball of orange fire. But as the smoke cleared, more red lights appeared. Ten, Twenty. The whole sky was turning red.
Back at the pool, the screaming suddenly stopped. There was only a terrifying silence. Faith's eyes snapped open.
Leo gasped and pulled Sarah away. "Something is wrong! Get back!"
Faith's eyes weren't white or gold anymore. They were solid black. They looked like two empty holes that swallowed the light. She wasn't just healing, she was drinking the pool. The silver light was stirring into her skin.
The cave began to shake. Rocks fell from the ceiling like glass spears. Then, slowly, Faith began to rise. She didn't climb out, she floated. She was hanging in the air, surrounded by a circle of silver and black light.
The "Dud" was gone. The weak girl who had been bullied and sold was gone. Something very old and very powerful had taken her place.
"Killian…"
Her voice wasn't a whisper. It was a roar that made the whole mountain tremble. It sounded like a hundred people speaking at once.
Outside, the drones were only a few feet away from Killian. He was ready to die. His body was bleeding and bruised from the metal scraps of the drones he had already smashed. But suddenly, the machines stopped. Their engines went quiet. One by one, their red eyes turned blue. Then, they just shut off.
Killian watched in shock as the expensive weapons fell out of the sky. They thudded into the snow like heavy rain.
He dropped his crowbar. He was breathing hard, gasping for air. He didn't care about the drones anymore. He turned around and ran toward the cave.
Faith was standing there.
She looked completely different. Her skin was glowing, as if she had swallowed a star. The black veins were gone. Now, there were faint silver marks on her skin that looked like glowing tattoos. Her hair was flying around her face, even though there was no wind.
But it was her face that made Killian stop. She looked cold. She looked far away. The girl who had smiled at him in the apartment was gone.
"It's done," she said. Her voice was calm, but it felt as heavy as a stone.
She lifted her hands. Tiny sparks of blue lightning danced between her fingers. She looked at the drones in the snow, then she looked toward the King's palace in the distance.
"The King wanted a weapon," she said. Her black eyes finally looked at Killian's gold ones. Now he has a Goddess.
For the first time in his life, Killian Nightshade felt real fear. He was actually scared! He had spent millions to save her. He had fought for her. He had almost died to protect her. But looking at her now, he realized he didn't know this person at all.
This wasn't the girl who had jumped on his car to save her life.