I nodded, my throat tightening.“I had to.”My voice cracked under the weight of it all.“Her last breath—her final plea—was for me to finish what we started.To destroy him.I couldn’t stop, Amir.Not when I had the chance to give her peace.Not when her whole life was stolen, ravaged by Salvatore.”
He stepped back as if the truth had struck him like a blow, his hand briefly gripping the doorframe to support himself.His eyes, once filled with love, now flickered with betrayal.
“I know I promised you,” I whispered, trembling.“I swore I would stop practicing alchemy and let it go.But I couldn’t.Not with her dying wish bearing down on me—constant, suffocating, like a breath I couldn’t release.”
Amir’s face twisted into a storm of rage and disbelief.“You lied.”His voice cracked like thunder—pained.“You lied for years.While I loved and trusted you, you were crafting a weapon behind my back.”
Tears welled in my eyes, but I didn’t look away.“I did it for her,” I said, my voice barely a breath.“For the part of her that Salvatore stole.For the revenge she never lived to see.”
He shook his head as if trying to make sense of a nightmare.“You think this poison—this obsession—will bring you peace?You think your mother would want you to die chasing revenge?”
I stepped forward, the firelight dancing across the tears on my cheeks.
“I think,” I said, steel beneath the sorrow, “she would want me to finish it.And I have, Amir.The poison is ready.”
I paused, the memory lancing through me, cold and unrelenting.
“Do you remember that masquerade night?When I tried to strike Salvatore, when I threw the poison, and it failed?”
My voice faltered, just for a breath.
“I thought it was enough.I thought it would end him.But I was wrong.”
My eyes locked with his, fierce and unflinching.
“This time...I made sure it’s perfect.When Roman returns to Solaris and his wife rises to face Salvatore and Lazarus, this poison will have fermented long enough to strip them of their power and make it a fair battle.”
Amir’s voice cut through the firelit silence, low and tight.“Where did you get the Noctyss flower?The Alchemy Book of Solaris?Lazarus took everything from your cottage.”
I met his gaze, unwavering.
“When Roman left for the war...I was alone.I went back to the Carpathian Mountains myself.I found a withered Noctyss flower, clinging to life in the shadows—and I brought it back.Slowly.Patiently.I nurtured it and breathed life into it.And I hid it away...where no one could find it.”
“And the book?”he asked, suspicion and wonder woven through his voice.
I gave a faint, bitter smile.“I didn’t need it.I memorized every word.Every instruction.They’re etched into me now—I became the book.”
His expression darkened.“And the blood of darkness?You needed it to complete the poison.”
I stepped closer, my hand brushing his.
“I took your blood, Amir.You didn’t know, but I had enough.Just enough to make it strong...and potent.”
His breath caught, eyes searching mine.
I didn’t flinch.
“I did what I had to—for her.For us.To end this.”
He stared at me, breathless, shaking his head in disbelief.
His voice cracked then, softer, breaking under the weight of it all.“Elizabeth...my love...you should have told me this sooner.”
My heart ached, every beat a dagger.“I couldn’t, Amir,” I said, stepping closer and reaching for him.“If I had told you, you would’ve stopped me forever.And I needed to finish this—I had to keep it from you.I’m sorry...I’m so sorry, my love.”
I reached for him—hesitant, trembling, desperate to feel his warmth.My fingers brushed his hand, and for a breathless moment, he didn’t move.I just stood there, caught between everything we’d built...and everything I had shattered.
“Please, Amir...”My voice broke on his name.“Forgive me.”
