The King stood on the marble stairs of the palace, looking down at Faith with greedy eyes. He didn't look like a father or a leader. He looked like a hunter who had finally trapped a prize.
"My Catalyst," the King whispered. His voice was cold and smooth. You have no idea how long I have waited for this moment. The power you are holding….it doesn't belong to a girl like you. It belongs to a King.
Faith didn't back down. The silver markings on her skin flared with a bright, angry blue light. "I am not a prize," she said. Her voice shook the windows of the palace. "And I am definitely not yours."
Kill the men! the King roared, pointing at Killian and Leo. But bring me the girl alive! I need her heart beating to take the Source!
A dozen Alphas in black armor charged forward. They weren't normal wolves. Their eyes were a sick, glowing red, and their claws were tipped with green poison. Killian didn't wait. He met the first guard with a roar, his fist smashing through a helmet with the strength of a true Alpha.
Leo was right beside him, his sword flashing in the moonlight. "Watch the claws, Killian!" Leo yelled. If that green metal touches your skin, you're dead!
Faith stood in the center of the chaos. She wasn't fighting with her hands. She was fighting with her soul. She raised her arms, and a wave of silver energy exploded from her body. It hit the guards like a physical wall, throwing them across the courtyard and crushing their armor against the stone pillars.
The King's face twisted with rage. He saw his best soldiers falling like flies. He reached into his heavy black cloak and pulled out a long, thin dagger.
It was the Void Blade. The metal wasn't shiny: it was a deep, flat black that seemed to suck the light out of the air. It looked like a hole in reality.
Faith, get back! Leo screamed, his face turning pale. The Void Blade can cut through the Source itself!
The King lunged. He was faster than any shifter Killian had ever seen. He blurred through the air, moving straight for Faith.
Killian saw the black blade aiming for Faith's chest. He didn't think. He threw his body in front of her, reaching out with his bare hands to grab the King's wrist.
The moment the dark energy from the blade touched Killian's skin, he let out a choked scream. It felt like his arm was being dipped into acid. He could smell his own skin burning, but he didn't let go. He couldn't.
You….will not….touch her, Killian hissed. His gold eyes were bloodshot from the pain.
"Let go, you fool!" the King spat. He kicked Killian in the ribs, sending him crashing into the stone fountain.
Faith saw Killian hit the ground. She saw the blood on his hands. Something inside her snapped. The "Goddess" side took over completely. Her eyes turned solid black, and the air around her began to scream.
She didn't run away. She stepped toward the King.
"You want my power?" she asked. Her voice sounded like thunder. "Then take all of it."
She reached out and grabbed the Void Blade with her bare hand. The dark metal hissed against her silver skin. The black stone began to crack. Bright, blinding white light started to leak out of the cracks in the dagger.
No! the King screamed. He tried to pull the blade away, but Faith's grip was like iron. "It's too much! The blade can't hold it!"
"Then let it break," Faith said.
BOOM.
The explosion was louder than a bomb. A massive dome of white and silver light swallowed the entire courtyard. The force of it shattered every window in the palace. It ripped the trees out of the ground and tossed the heavy stone statues like they were made of paper.
Killian was thrown backward by the blast. He hit the marble floor hard, and his world went black.
When he finally opened his eyes, the garden was a wreck. Smoke and dust filled the air. The beautiful fountain was now just a pile of crushed rocks.
"Faith!" Killian gasped. He tried to stand, but his legs felt like jelly. He crawled across the rubble, his eyes searching through the haze. Faith! Answer me!
He found her near the edge of the broken fountain. She was lying facedown in the dust. The silver glow was gone. The black in her eyes had vanished. She looked small, pale, and covered in blood.
Killian gathered her into his arms. Her body was limp. Her skin was cold. "Faith? Please, baby. Wake up."
Faith's eyes flickered open. They were her normal, warm brown eyes again, but they were dull and tired. She looked at her hands. The silver marks were still there, but they were dark and faint, like old bruises.
"I….I can't feel it," she whispered. Her voice was so small he could barely hear it. The Source. It's gone, Killian. I'm empty.
"It's okay," Killian said, pressing his forehead against hers. He didn't care about the power. He only cared that her heart was still beating. "I've got you. You're safe."
Leo stumbled over to them, clutching his bleeding side. He looked at the stairs where his father had been. The King was gone. Only a scorched mark remained on the marble, along with a few drops of dark, steaming blood.
"He's alive," Leo said, his voice trembling with a mix of fear and anger. "The blade absorbed enough of the blast to save him. He's hiding somewhere in the tunnels below. But Faith….she used everything. To the world, she's a Dud again."
Sarah ran from the shadows, falling to her knees beside them. She checked Faith's pulse with shaking fingers. "Her core is burned out. It will take weeks, maybe months, to see if it ever comes back. Right now, she has no scent. No power. Nothing."
Faith looked at the palace, then back at Killian. A single tear tracked through the dust on her face. To everyone else, she was a failure. She was a Dud who had lost her luck.
But Killian didn't look at her like she was a failure. He looked at her like she was his entire world.
"We have to move," Killian said, his voice turning into the hard tone of a commander. He lifted Faith into his arms. The King might be wounded, but he still has guards. We need to get out of the city.
Where? Sarah asked.
"The North," Killian said. "I have a house there. It's a fortress. No one goes in or out without my permission. We hide her there until she finds her strength again."
As Killian carried her toward the transport, Faith rested her head against his chest. She felt weak. She felt like the same girl who had been scrubbing floors in the slums.
But as she looked back at the palace, her eyes narrowed. She might be a "Dud" today. She might be empty today. But she was still the woman who had broken the King's blade.
And she wasn't done yet.