Gaps in the broken wood have light spearing through before a shadow falls and another fist thunders against the door. Claws rip and pull at the gap in the bottom of the door as the demons search for a way inside.
If they breach that door, we won’t stand a chance.
And they’re close.
So close to breaking through the doors. The hinges whine and the locks creak. I swallow again and breathe in through the burning in my throat.
Fuck. What do we do? Where are our troops?
“Key.” Lachlan’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. “Ye ha’ to go find the gods and bring them here.”
I shake my head. “They’re almost through the doors. You’ll be slaughtered!”
My friends gather around us, heaving breaths. The throne room is a tomb. Dead bodies littered all over the floor. Julius’ oily blood drips down the stairs of the dais, mixing with that of the guards on the ground.
Mina stares at the door, her shoulders rigid, but there’s a hollowness to her eyes. She’s completely drained. “But you’re the only one who could hear the gods before. You have to find them.”
Mathilda stands beside her, leaning into Tane’s side. He gazes down at her, exhaustion and acceptance set in his jaw. “They can end this.”
Freya, Odr, and Piominko slink past us. She turns around to look at me. “We’ll hold them off as long as we can. To give you time.”
Realization dawns.
They know they’re going to die. They’re sacrificing themselves to buy me time to rally the gods and end the entire war.
I shake my head. Tears fall in a race down my cheeks. My throat burns as emotion clogs it. “I can’t”
Lachlan tugs me against his chest, squeezing me tight and placing a kiss on my forehead.
“Ye can.”
I shake my head. Loose hairs that have slipped my braid snag in his armor and rip from my scalp.
“I can’t leave you. You’ll die.”
He gazes down at me, with all the love in the world teeming from his eyes.
“I’m so sorry. But ye ha’ to do this next part on your own.”
My eyes squeeze shut, tears falling in a steady stream, as I shake my head.
“Go, Key. Save the world. I will find ye again.”
I break. A sob erupts from my chest as I tremble.
“No.”
The wood of the door splinters. A large piece of it slams into the marble floor, sending pieces scattering and sliding down the hall.
“Here they come!” Freya yells, as demons flood through the crack in the door.
“Lena, listen to me. The gods will end this war. And only ye can find them. Go!” He pleads, pulling away from me.
My heart splits right down the middle.
If I stay and fight, it won’t make much of a difference. We’d all fall together. But we’d be together in the end.
If I leave, they will die, but the world might be spared.
