Theo and Tavrik moved in beside me, their shoulders squared.Danger crackled in the air like lightning ready to strike.
But none of it mattered.
We didn’t know how to use the stone.
Zaheera had led me to it, set the pieces in motion, yet never once told me how to wield its power.
A clever, wicked thing.
Her voice, sharper than any blade, pierced the silence.
“You thought you could trick me?You foolish girl.”
I was a fool.A stupid, naive fool to ever believe I could outmanoeuvre her.To think I could make my way back here unseen, save my mother, and walk away unscathed.
To believe the universe owed me that much mercy.
Zaheera smiled—a cruel twist of satisfaction.She was enjoying watching my thoughts unravel.
“I looked for you when I could no longer sense you,” she continued.“I reached for you, but you were not there.”
I swallowed hard, the taste of copper flooding my mouth.
“And then I found you.”
She stepped closer.“Lying there… clutching the stone.”
Her words slammed into me.She had seen me.
Zaheera tsked, shaking her head with mock disappointment.“Did I not warn you, mortal?”her hand lashed out, her finger snapping out like a whip as she pointed at me.“You let yourself be blinded.For him!”
Her words sliced me open, dragging my worst fears into the light.
“You let desire cloud your judgment.”Her gaze dropped, ember eyes tracking downward.She brushed her foot against my mother’s lifeless hand.“This… is your fault.”
It hit.like a slap across the face.
Every moment of hesitation—every selfish, stupid decision had led to this.
If I had just done what she asked.
If I had let go of Dalkhan, my mother would still be alive.
Theo went rigid behind me, his sharp breath breaking the silence.Tavrik’s hand hovered near my shoulder, not quite touching.They knew.They could see it happening—the doubt sinking its claws into my skull.
Zaheera revelled in it.“You will do what needs to be done.”
She stepped over my mother’s body like she was nothing more than debris, skirts brushing against her cold skin.
Rage rose in my chest, but my feet were rooted to the ground like I’d turned to stone.
Zaheera was so close now.Too close.Energy radiated off her like waves of heat from a furnace.Her eyes—those evil, ancient eyes—bore into mine, finding every weakness.
Theo slid in front of me like a shield.
Zaheera’s gaze darted dismissively over his frame, then her attention landed on Tavrik.
“And if you don’t, perhaps I should take them too.Perhaps I should showyouthe terror your mother felt in her final moments.”
