Destin POV
It is not hard for me to find Gracus. I only had to follow the storm. When I approach his tree house, he is waiting for me outside. He doesn't acknowledge me, but leaves the door to his house open. The idea of being trapped inside his house with him is not inviting, but it doesn't look like he is going to give me a choice.
I don't shut the door behind me, but the space still feels too small. He is sitting in his kitchen with his hands drumming angrily on the table. His black eyes are focused straight ahead, and his black magic rolls off him in anger. Not wanting to play into his show of power, I slam the tome down onto the table. His eyes flicker to the book, and a smile creeps across his lips.
"Is this supposed to be a peace offering?"
I sit down across from him and shove it in his direction. "I don't give a fuck what you call it. Stop acting like a toddler. Call off the storm and the war."
He pulls the book closer to him, while his black orbs bore into my skin. "I suppose you know what the twins are."
Leaning back in my seat, I cross my arms over my chest. "So, you do know why I am here."
He rests his elbows on the table. "They were not to leave the Immortal Realm?"
"Why?"
It is a simple question, but he can't seem to find an appropriate answer. His eyes drop to the table, and his shoulders sag. I wait for him to provide me with the answer I am looking for, but when he doesn't find his voice, I push him a little farther.
"Fine. Why are you punishing Macy for my mate's actions?"
He chuckles but still can't meet my gaze. "I may no longer be a Fae, but I am not stupid. I know she was in on your little plan all along. She betrayed her kind by letting your sorry excuse for a mate leave with what is mine."
The chair falls to the ground behind me when I jump to my feet. I wrap my hands around his neck, fit him from the ground, and slam him into the wall. His feet dangle from the ground, and for the first time in his life, he looks concerned. "Do not speak to anyone about my mate again?"
He tries to regain his composure, but the harder I squeeze, the quicker he begins to crack. "You wouldn't kill me over someone who isn't our kind?"
I let him fall to the ground and kick him in the ribs. "Even as a Gray Creature, you are still an elitist. Fuck you."
Gracus rolls painfully onto his side, but he isn't done opening his stupid mouth. "Onyx was supposed to deny you. We knew of her mother's plans, and reuniting you with your mate was not a priority. Keeping the twins in the Immortal Realm together was the plan. The werewolves do not deserve a new god. They turned their backs on their goddess."
Grabbing him by the collar, I pull him off the ground and punch him. Blood trickles down his face. "Selene is disgusting. She made you what you are."
Gracus laughs. "Perhaps, but even I know better than to defy a goddess."
I punch him again for good measure before letting him hit the ground. "Pathetic."
"You will come to see I am right. They all will."
His words strike me as odd. I look around the house, and it is empty. "Where is Artemus?"
He wipes the blood from his lip. "She left. We had a disagreement."
"She is siding with Macy?"
When he doesn't answer me immediately, I have my answer. "You are a fucking fool. You are willing to throw your mate away over your holier-than-thou attitude. You should be ashamed. The werewolves aren't lesser than."
"You are just like that bitch of a queen. She doesn't see a problem with merging the realms, and I would rather die."
I look down at the pathetic man at my feet. "Do the rest of the Gray Creatures feel the same way as you?"
He gets to his feet and tries to stand taller than me. "What are you going to kill me?"
"First, you insulted my mate. Now, you are insulting my queen. I am within my rights to kill you."
He rolls his eyes. "We used to be the same. What happened to you?"
I have kept a blade hidden in my boots for as long as I can remember, and my hands itch to reach for it. I could end this. Here and now. I will disappear into the Human Realm and live as a fugitive. No one would come looking for me, and outside of Artemus, I don't think anyone would care. Still, I don't reach for my blade.
"Leave Macy alone. The twins will return when they are of age."
My first mistake is turning my back on him. I feel the heat of the iron too late. He severs my left wing from my body. It falls to the ground behind me, and I scream out in pain. I bend over to reach for my knife, but the pain is too much. I stumble forward, and Gracus takes the opportunity to slice through my other wing.
Fire and rage burn through my body, and I spin. Blindly, I grab for his knife, slicing my hand across the blade. I can hear him laughing manically when I finally twist it from his grasp. The handle slides in my hand as I thrust it into his chest. I trip over my fallen wing, taking both of us to the ground. The weight of the fall presses the blade deeper into his chest.
Black spots fill my vision, but I hear a woman scream before the darkness takes over. My body is ripped off Gracus, and I am rolled to the side.
"What did you do?"
I try to answer her, but I am unable to speak. The iron is poisoning my body, and I know I am dying. Someone grabs my face, smacking it gently. "Damn it, Destin. You have to wait up."
My eyes struggle to open, but there is only darkness in front of me. I reach for the woman, but she is gone.
"In here," she shouts. "You have to save him."
I don't know who she is talking about. Me or Gracus, but it doesn't really matter. I am as good as dead anyway. I let the darkness consume my mind, and my breaths come fewer and farther between. There is no white light waiting for me on the other side. Only visions of Wren, Charlie, and the twins. My whole life, flashing behind my eyes. I take my last breath and let my story come to an end.