I stand my ground, not willing to show weakness, even as I break inside. “Do what you must.”
Kyros retreats a step, withdrawing the sword from my throat. His muscles bunch as he pulls his arm back, ready to thrust it into me. I squeeze my eyes shut, but the killing blow doesn’t come as I’m shoved out of the way. I catch my balance before I fall, my eyes flying open to Cary standing in my place, a sword plunged into his chest.
“No!” I cry out. As angry as I’ve been, a part of me will always love the man who raised me.
“You fool,” Kyros spits at him. “You’ve only delayed the inevitable. With you out of the way, what’s to stop me?” He closes the distance between them, pushing the blade in to the hilt. “You’ve lost, Cary. You failed.”
Cary chokes, and blood sprays from his mouth, but he smiles an odd sort of smile. One of acceptance and . . . cunning? “Shewill always bemydaughter.” His eyes dart to mine, and he whispers, “I love you,” right before he plunges a golden dagger into Kyros’ heart.
“No!” the trapped goddess wails.
Kyros blinks in shock. Once. Twice. His free hand goes to his chest, and then he collapses. An explosion of light shoots out of his body, heading straight for me, and I scream as it hits me with a fiery heat. Knowledge of the realms floods my mind in an overwhelming rush, and I grasp at my head in agony. It’s so much . . . too much.
I’m on the ground, staring up at the night sky, unable to move, when smoky grey eyes meet mine. I want to sob in relief as Kian pulls me to his chest, holding me tightly as I allow all my tears to fall.
“Love . . .” he whispers. “It’s okay. We’re going to be okay.”
“Are they really gone?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.
“Kyros’ body disintegrated into ash,” Kian says. “Cary is dead.”
I squeeze him, and he flinches. “Gods, are you okay?” I pull back, searching for the wound on his abdomen, but it’s sealed shut. Thanks to our connection?
A low chuckle comes out of him. “It’s not so bad anymore, surprisingly.”
Loud sobs grab my attention, and I twist to look at the weeping goddess. “I have so many questions,” I whisper.
“Let me just say, the gods are incredibly screwed up,” Kian replies.
“Watch it. Apparently, I’m one of them now.”
Kian cups my face in his hands, examining me closely. “You’re incredible, Rae. You saved me.”
I shake my head, even as tears pool in my eyes. “I didn’t do much . . . Cary sacrificed himself for me . . . for us.” I take abreath before continuing, “I’m grateful to him, but at the same time, he was a terrible father.”
Kian squeezes me to his chest again. “It’s a complicated thing, to love one who treats you poorly. It’s okay to have mixed feelings about it all.”
I take a deep, shuddering breath, shoving those thoughts away for later. “We should probably deal with the angry goddess.”
“You’re right.”
Helping me to my feet, Kian wraps an arm around my waist, as if he doesn’t want to let me go, and we make our way over to the golden net.
“Is that Dylan?” I gasp as I take in the barely recognizable body and shudder at the gruesome display.
“Yep,” Kian says. “You can thank Kyros and Cary for that.”
Gods, I hope I can burn the image from my brain. I do not wish for him to take up any space in there ever again.
“What did you do!” the goddess shrieks at us.
“We did nothing,” Kian says diplomatically. “Cary is the one who killed Kyros.”
She screams again, and I want to throttle her.
I kneel down before Luna, allowing the goddess in me to shine a little brighter. “Kyros is gone. His power is now mine.” As I look upon the goddess, I’m filled with a sense of knowing. Flickering images of her history with Kyros flip past in my mind. Gods, Kian was right. Incredibly screwed up.
Luna glares up at me, showing surprising strength in spite of the enchanted blade pinning her to the ground.
