Colt had seen everything and damn was he pissed.

He reached Amneris and Leo in seconds, Carmin and Nikki letting him pass as they covered the two.

Leo was giving Amneris and earful for being an idiot. He didn’t know why, not until his eyes landed on Amneris, the glow of her form, the sheer raw power radiating off her. She’d accessed more power than she’d ever possessed, but how?

Her power never went from cyan to white. White meant she was tapping into the power of the Photon Core itself, not her photon powers. It was a source of pure energy, the exact opposite to Enliatu’s Silent Core powers.

“What did you do?” Colt demanded.

“That day we had lunch,” she answered, voice as distant as her smile.

Carmin and Nikki turned, their opponents forgotten. Amneris glanced toward them. A flash of lighting from the side turned all those around the to dust.

Colt grasped her shoulders, flinching as he was hit with a jolt of her power. “Why would you do this?”

Amneris shrugged. “It was the only way to be sure.”

It was a struggle. Colt could see that. Amneris was struggling to keep it under her control, to not lose herself entirely to the mass amount of power she now held. But how had she got it? A deal with Naiu herself? A bargain? What was the catch? No doubt it was big.

A flash of light and Amneris was gone. Colt sensed her reappear across the field, taking on Enliatu once again. Colt cursed, rushing toward her. So many stood in his path and, while he hated the idea of slaughter, he summoned his khopesh and took them all down. He had to reach Amneris before she lost control! The thought spurred him on.

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For reasons she didn’t know, Carmin found herself confronting Tara. The Terpolite woman was not involved in the battle, merely an onlooker. That changed the moment Carmin came within range. Fire magic was pointless in this weather for any purpose other than keeping her wings dry. She could still fly.

A single flap of her wings was all it took to reach Tara. The two women rolled down a grassy mud-and-snow covered hill. Carmin rolled to her feet. With a roar, she pounced. She struck with her katana. Tara spun to the side. She flipped to her feet, arming herself with a strange-looking red-and-silver sword. The slight red glow told Carmin the blade was infused with Scarlet Budtorite, the famed rare crystal of her homeworld and only thing which could truly harm Amneris.

Tara lashed out, the blade a blur of red and silver as it was brought upon her. Carmin deflected the strikes with ease. The steps were like a dance to her. One she’d known for thousands of years.

Carmin grasped Tara’s arm, bringing her free hand down on the woman’s wrist. Tara cried out in surprise as she dropped the blade. Carmin flipped her into the snow, preparing to make the killing blow—

It was deflected by an indigo shield, the forced causing Carmin to stumble back.

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With a small laugh, Tara stood. She begun brushing off the mud and snow as best as she could. Carmin angled her sword, eyes set of the woman, ready for any move that may be made.

“Never saw you as a fighter,” Tara said, frowning at her dirtied silver armour.

“I am not much of one,” Carmin admitted, “but I do so when necessary.”

Tara looked over her, brows raised. “For a Dragonoid, you fight an awful lot like a cat. What would your predecessors think?”

“They would be impressed I have the skills of two beasts on my side.”

Tara shook her head a sheathed her blade. “I have no reason to fight you, Carmin. Stay out of my way.”

Carmin frowned as the woman turned away. Yes, it was true. Tara clearly had no interest in fighting her, nor in the battle itself. It was ironic, even more so considering this entire thing only happened because Tara had the nerve to release Enliatu from the Void.

Carmin lowered her blade. “Why are you doing this?”

Tara turned. “Doing what?”

“This.” She waved a hand toward the battlefield. “Why start a war?”

She shrugged. “Because I can.’

“Wrong answer,” said a male voice from behind.

The two women whirled around to find Kek. In an instant, he had a knife at Tara’s throat. A small trickle of crimson appeared under the blade.

Carmin took a step forward. She stopped at the man’s glare. It was quite a sight. Here was one of Amneris’ greatest enemies, the man who constantly tried to make her life hell. And yet, here he was, filled with nothing but rage, all directed toward Tara.

“Now, Ta,” he said. “Why don’t you answer the woman’s question honestly?”

“Since when are you one of Amneris’ lapdogs?”

Kek tossed Tara to the ground, throwing the knife. It embedded into the ground just beside her face. Tara, despite her fear, continued speaking. “Why do you keep going back to that bitch? I thought you hated her more than anyone.”

“I do,” Kek growled.

“Then why are you helping her.”

Kek pulled a pistol from its holster. It was shoved into her face. “Shut the fuck up!”

Carmin placed her gloved hand on the pistol, lowering it. “Don’t. Tara is not worth the effort.”

“Are you kidding?” Kek said. “You just tried to—”

“I know.” She knelt beside Tara. “This whole thing, it’s all about jealously, isn’t it? Amneris has something you want. She has the loyalty of her people.”

Tara growled. “You have no idea what you are talking about.”

Carmin stood her ground. “And because of that jealousy, you released the one person who could get rid of her, the one person who could destroy everything she has. All out of spite.” She shook her head. “Even your own brother joined us to stop you.”

“Colt is dead,” Tara spat. “He died for the cause over a year ago.”

Oh? Carmin glanced to where Colt rushed toward Amneris. “So that’s what I saw . . .” She turned to Kek. “You know, don’t you?”

He looked down, the pistol hanging limply in his hands.

“Do you realise what you have done?” Carmin asked Tara. “You are going to destroy all of Creation because you can’t deal with the hand life dealt you.” Tara made to interrupt, but Carmin cut her off. “All of Creation, Tara. No one will survive. The people behind me won’t be the only ones to die. Billions upon billions upon billions will be caught up in this.” She stood, crossing her arms. “All because of your jealously.”

Carmin took a step away, Kek by her side, when Tara called out. “Wait!”

Carmin didn’t wait. She kept moving forward. She had to return to the fight, had to see if there was anything she could to do to stop her vision, no matter how against her the odds were.

Tara appeared in front of them. “Billions of people?”

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Somewhere in his rage, Colt had lost his khopesh. It didn’t matter. He continued forward, crimson power wrapping around his form as he moved through the warriors, tearing them apart with his bare hands.

They shot him, restrained him, cut him, tried to stop him with anything they had. But nothing worked. Colt cut them all down with his power, his rage. He barely recognised it as his own.

Somewhere to the side, he saw Nikki shift into a sabre-tooth, leading a pack of feline Shifters into the soldiers blocking his way. Nikki tilted her head toward where Amneris and Enliatu battled. He didn’t need to be told twice.

Colt whistled. Aten landed at his side. Colt climbed aboard and they took off at a gallop.