“Help her!”I shouted at Sloane, whose resolve faltered as she flicked her gaze between Calia and Jasper. When she did nothing, staring at me instead with a gaze filled with remorse, I began shouting again.
Help her.
Help her.
Help her.
Elios stilled, nostrils flaring as Leonora turned to face him. “I had hoped you would put up more of a fight,” she pouted, running the tip of her finger along the edge. “But I suppose it really would be easier to kill you and be done with it.”
“Kill me then,” he spat. “But know that your death will surely follow.”
She offered him a smile filled with victory. “That is a chance I am willing to take,” she said, running the blade along his chest. She stopped above his heart, digging into the flesh and drawing a single bead of crimson. She tapped her chin with a single finger, maliciousness bright in her eyes. “But you know, you are right! Thank you, for this helpful counsel. Perhaps Ishouldfirst attempt to sacrifice someone of lesser power. I would not wish to anger my future equals, and I do have a perfect substitute…”
Elios began thrashing in his bindings as Leonora laughed, backing away slowly. “Do not do this, Leonora,” he warned, voice cracking. “Her life will not bring you godship as you seek!”
She paid him no mind, turning the full force of her hatred on me as she had done so many times before. All my life, I had allowed her to spew venomous words that seeped into my skin and poisoned both my mind and my beliefs. Now, the power she craved was readily at her fingertips, and she would use it like a blade, cutting into me until I was no longer recognizable.
The bindings sliced into my skin as I tugged against Ballard’s power, knowing there would be no escape and yet incapable of doing nothing. I would gladly rip flesh from bone and sacrifice my limbs for a chance of freedom.
“Any last words?” Leonora asked sweetly, crouching over Calia’s body. She cackled as my wife lifted a shaky arm and reached toward me. “How pathetic.”
Calia did not flinch, meeting my gaze with unwavering acceptance while I raged against her imminent death. She was far braver than I.
I feared the unknown and what waited for us after we took our final breath. I did not think I could traverse the plane of eternal dark alone.
She can’t have my last words,Calia said, reaching out through her thoughts. This was her goodbye, but I did not want it. Not yet. Not when we had just found our way back together.
“No,” I whispered out loud, not caring if my mother heard me beg. Let her listen and see the man I had become—one that overcame the wickedness she attempted to plant inside my mind.
Because it did not take root.
Calia smiled.You’ll be okay. She’s taken enough from me, I won’t let her have you too.
I shook my head, feeling the keen bite of the jagged cords of wicked magic dug into my skin. Blood rained to the floor below, the gaping gashes revealing the sinew beneath. Despite the pain, I would not stop, for if she would not survive this night, then let it be my end as well.
I will always be yours,I began through tears,as I have been since the night ran red. And will continue to be until our days burn bright, whether on this plane or the next.
Leonora clicked her tongue in disgust as she watched. “Fine then, keep them to yourselves.” She flipped the dagger in her hand before letting loose a shuddering breath. “All these years…” she murmured, tracing the decorative hilt. “And now?—”
Abruptly, Elios and I both crashed to the ground, free from our wretched bindings. The echo of a single gunshot reverberated off the walls, the silence broken by Leonora’s incensed, howling cry as she raised her head and took in her surroundings.
Sloane stood beside Jasper, holding him upright as he lowered the smoking gun to his side. She buried her head in his chest, soft sobs wracking her frame as Ballard’s corpse slid down the wall to land on the floor with a wet, pulpy sound. Unknown voices drifted in from down the hall. My apprehension gave way to relief as I heard the thundering boom of Castor shouting Calia’s name.
“It is over, Mother,” I panted, swaying slightly as I lurched to my feet. Each breath seemed harder to take than the last, but I could see the end before us. “You have failed.”
She looked around for a means of escape, more like a caged animal than the fearless, hateful tormentor I knew her to be. “No, I have not,” she whispered, finally turning crazed eyes on me. “Not yet.”
Time seemed to stretch and bend around us, becoming unbearably slow as I realized Leonora’s intent. She raised the blade above her head, flicking her gaze toward Calia.
Despite the nauseating shock of agony that threatened to seize my limbs, I lunged forward, knocking Leonora back just as she brought down the knife. Pain sliced through my chest as another gunshot cleaved the air. Blood sprayed my face, spattering me in a gory mist as a perfect bullet hole appeared between my mother’s eyes.
I would have thought death to be instantaneous, but I watched as the woman who had sought eternal life and power was faced with the proof of her own mortality. As she took her last breath, I felt almost disappointed at the ease with which she met her end.
She had deserved far worse.
Turning slowly, I faced Jasper and Sloane. Their expressions crumpled, the witch running forward in horror. “Rion?—”
I glanced down to where the hilt of the dagger protruded from the center of my chest. Through my waning adrenaline,the creeping promise of death crept in. I did not feel the bite of concrete as my knees buckled and I crashed to the ground.
