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Animals, gods, and monsters of the deep race toward us.

“Merge.” Bastian bends over to pick up a heavy shield from the tipped over rack. “All of us, now! It’s our only chance.”

Normally this many people merging would require a ritual and Fusion Root Vine tea to help facilitate the bond. Except we’ve already merged together for sparring. Our powers know each other. Agnar’s earth, Bastian’s fire, Rafe’s air, Sterling’s water. My own flames burn higher and brighter than ever before, and with my expanding power, I can now merge with another fire elemental while protecting us both from any dangerous repercussions.

We choose to stand together, not from fear or obligation, but from love.

It’s time to show the gods what that kind of power can do.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Our magic rushes together like rivers converging into a single devastating flood. Fire, water, earth, and air amplifying and building into something that makes my very bones hum.

I’ve never felt anything like this before, not even when Lark and I merged with the others in the past.

This is different. Vaster. More practiced.

Five consciousnesses touching at the edges while remaining distinct. The sensation is at once intoxicating and terrifying, like flying through a hailstorm.

Through this connection, I feel Lark’s fierce determination, Bastian’s protective fury, Agnar’s reckless courage, and even Rafe’s calculating precision. All of it feeds into a swirling vortex of power with me at its center.

Though Leesa doesn’t have access to her magic and isn’t part of the merge, she stands with us shoulder to shoulder, her face a mask of firm resolve as she wields her fire magic-imbued sword.

From the corner of my eye, I flinch as Agnar’s rebuilt barrier begins to crack under the pressure of divine power. Our initial line of defense, already failing.

Earth responds with a thought, solidifying the wall yet again.

A second wall shoots up on the other side. Ice forms over the barriers, rising higher, growing thicker, stiffening and reinforcing the earth. Then I angle them, creating a funnel that leads straight to us.

A killing ground.

In the air above us, a monstrosity that defies description crawls through a wound in reality.

Six limbs jut out at odd angles, supporting a torso that folds in on itself. The fucker’s face, if you can call it that, resembles shattered glass caught in a moment of explosion, each shard reflecting a different aspect of divine fury. Its movements are fluid yet wrong, like a predator from a world with different physical laws. I’ve never read about anything like it in our bestiaries or histories.

Agnar readies his sword, flexing his fingers on the hilt. “What the actual fuck?”

I shudder when the entity’s power washes over me. “It’s a god.” The creature’s broken-glass face shifts in my direction. “One we’ve never seen before.”

The thing lunges, covering ground faster than seems possible. At the last second, it springs into the air, intending to land on top of us. Broken glass flares wide, maw opening to bite and tear.

“It’s the God of Broken Things! That’s just one of his shattered pieces. There are more.” Bastian’s eyes widen with recognition. “More broken pieces than stars in the sky, the books say. His name is impossible for humans to pronounce. He’s taken on this form for battle.”

Lark calmly follows its moves.

In the blink of an eye, a white-blue haze forms overhead. Fire, the kind used to make steel, creates a protective dome around us.

The monstrosity burns without a sound, disintegrating into fine ash.

Lark blows the gray powder from her sleeves and shakes it from her hair. “Agnar, Leesa, Rafe, protect our sides. I’ll make sure nothing gets the drop on us from above. Sterling, we’ll keep them lined up for you.”

Amazing. Woman.

She thinks of everything.

My love for her courses through my veins and warms my heart, and I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face despite our shitty situation.

I stalk forward, drawing on our merged power. “Got it, love.”