I liked seeing fear on her.
“Tell me one last thing—was it all worth it? Was all this bloodshed worth it?”
Her throat bobbed, but she remained silent.
“Answer me.” I pressed the blade in—a drop of blood pooling under the cut, dripping down her pale neck.
“You say you did this for your partner—would she be proud of what you’ve done? All the devastation you’ve caused? The lives you’ve ruined? The lives you’ve taken? All this—all this to lose in the end.”
“It all started innocently.” She thrashed beneath me, but I dug my knees in deeper.
“But it didn’t end that way,” I cut her off, I didn’t want to hear her pathetic excuses—I changed my mind.
“You’re done destroying lives. I, High Queen Lennox Adair, sentence you to death.”
I sliced my blade across her neck like I had imagined doing so many times before.
Blood spurted from her lips, her eyes going wide and glassy as she gasped her final breaths, before falling silent, her head lolling to the side.
My chest rose and fell; my body numb.
I pressed my fingers to her neck.
I needed to feel it for myself. Feel that she was actually dead.
Her skin was already cool under my fingertips, now sticky with blood.
Her pulse didn’t flutter under my fingers. I was met with utter stillness. She was dead. Adreona was dead.
But where were Keziq and Luka? Had he managed to kill her? Had she stayed dead? I brushed my thumb over my mating mark as I rose, eyes scanning the forest as I sheathed my extra sword.
I took off in the direction he had followed Keziq.
There he was,running toward me. “Keziq?” I asked without missing a beat.
“She’s dead.” He looked over his shoulder at the ashes smoldering on the forest ground. “Really dead.” He met my gaze again. “Adreona?”
“Dead,” I breathed.Dead,they were both dead.
I looked up at the sky, tears clouding my vision as the sun shone down on my face.
“I did it,” I whispered. A tear slipped down my cheek as a smile broke out on my face.
“We did it.” A sob broke free from my throat—this feeling—I had never felt such relief. Every burden I had been holding on to these months—for years, felt like it had been washed away.
“Lennox.” I finally turned toward Luka, blinking back tears. His face searched mine, his brows pinching together as he scanned for signs of injury.
“We did it.”
A smile broke out on his lips,.“We did it.”
He caught me as I leaped into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he swung me around, cheerful sounds erupting from both of us.
“You were so fucking badass.”
“I’m sure you were too.” I pressed my lips against his. “It’s hot when you shed blood for me.”
He groaned. “Don’t fucking say that here, we can’t fuck on a battlefield, Lennox.”
