Page 161 of Psycho Gods

We’d started with one hundred. Forty-one dead after two battles, and we had two more left; it didn’t take a mathematician to recognize that we were doomed.

So.

Many.

Dead.

In front of me, runes glowed across Lyla’s dark skin as she raised her hands above her head, palms together, in the gesticulation of eternal energy flowing through the universe. It was the ancient sign of death, symbolic of how a soul lifted above a body and rose into the valley of the sun god.

The weight of eyes prickled across the back of my neck as soldiers watched me.

I stood apart from the rest.

The High Court had requested that I partake in the ceremony to help raise morale and demonstrate leadership.

Their request had come in the form of an order.

Dick had pulled me aside in the strategy room and said I was a symbol of hope across the realms.

Apparently, it was widely known and accepted that the fae queen had manifested both fae and angel abilities. Her power was the stuff of legends.

The problem was she didn’t exist. It was all a ruse.

The headlines apparently loved that the fae queen was best friends with a powerful shifter from the beast realm.

Dick pulled me aside earlier and told me that I united the realms like no one ever had before.

Now in the snowy forest, Lyla extended her arms forward so her pressed-together palms were pointed directly at my heart and the energy of the dead was directed toward my soul.

The witch stared at me.

I stared down at the steaming dirt.

She pulled her hands apart and turned over her palms.

Something tugged inside my chest and expanded, then sizzled into nothingness like I was leaking from the inside.

Lyla’s eyes widened, and she took a step away from me. She opened her mouth like fate itself was going to ask me a question, but no sound escaped her lips. Instead, she lowered her glowing arms to her sides and stood perfectly still.

She glanced over at Dick, and then back to me, like she wanted to tell me something but couldn’t because he was present.

Her expression was horrified.

Ice dripped off my fingers.

Finally, the ceremony ended. An RJE device swirled as Dick, Lothaire, the cloaked man, Lyla, the other witches, and the journalist all disappeared.

Branches rustled.

It was eerily quiet in the aftermath of the humming.

The snow picked up and the sky darkened.

The realm’s weather was unpredictable, and blizzards arrived with no warning.

My teeth chattered.

The soldiers realized the funeral service was over, and they hurried back to their barracks. No one wanted to linger in a storm.