CHAPTER SIXTY
Krunas Aeterna, extender of life. Immortality and power will make the worlds cower.
—Lock Scroll, the Arx.
Ifound my feet as the ash settled. Olienna’s shield held tightly in place around us. A blanket of confidence fell over me as she stepped to my side. Her violet eyes slid to mine, and I gave her a nod, despite feeling utterly spent. Her lips tilted into a smile as she narrowed her gaze on Daimos, who had fallen to his knees.
Done. He wasdone.
Olienna took another step toward the dark king, whose eyes were shut tight. His shoulders shook as his jaw went rigid.
What was he doing?
Something small and distant tugged on me.
Realization dawned as I glanced again toward Olienna. Her eyes were wild, so much like Daimos in his crazed attacks. Her smile had widened into a grin, her too-white teeth gleaming in the dim light hiding behind the clouds. A wolf on the hunt, attacking his mind.
A scream finally wrenched from Daimos’s throat.
“They…” he gritted out through his teeth. “They willannihilateyou…” A manic laugh escaped his lips. “You especially. You will pay… He iscomingfor you. He’s…”
Olienna’s upper lip curled into a snarl as she stepped closer. Whatever damage she inflicted caused Daimos to fall forward and wail, his hands flying to his face.
He looked up, yellow eyes bleeding as they landed on me. “Do you know what she did?” the dark king cackled. “They called her the Betrayer?—”
Betrayer…
A weight dropped in my gut as she lifted both hands, readying her final blow. Dread pitted in my stomach… I’d been here before… Before a dying king who held vital information. Hatred and curiosity warred within me in the split second it took for Olienna to take one deep breath and let out a war cry.
“WAIT!” I screamed as she threw her hands forward with an animalistic snarl. Nothing left. I had nothing left to stop this. I reached as deep as I could go to find any last bit of power. Empty.Empty.
I threw my hand toward Olienna and Dark King Daimos as someone slid theirs into my other.A spark. Astraeus’s power sizzled through my veins, where it summoned the Transcindiel and Obscura.
A wall of darkness sliced through whatever invisible line of magic Olienna used on Daimos.
The two of them snapped their heads toward us, eyes wide as they landed on Lord Astraeus. Twisted rage fell on Olienna’s face, and Daimos spewed droplets of blood on freshly fallen snow as he choked out a laugh.
“You’ve found them!” Daimos cackled, eyes wild with greed. “And you’ve brought himhere?” The dark king howled with crazed laughter.
What?
My mind whirred, powers wavering as Astraeus continued to keep them from falling back into that chasm. His bloodied hand had a steel grip on mine. I resisted the urge to look at him, and instead found myself staring at Olienna, whose gaze had turned murderous.
“Drop his hand, Lyvia,” she commanded, her voice lethally quiet.
“Don’t,” Astraeus breathed, tightening his grip, a shield of his own forming around us.
Listen to me, Lyvia,her voice urged in my mind.This man is not to be trusted. Drop his hand. Drop your shield.
I want to hear what Daimos has to say,I responded.
Daimos is full of lies,she purred. He is the reason your father is dead. He is responsible for the ashen. Your friends are dying because of him. He will kill you next.
A wave of trust, of confidence, oflovewashed over me, and I blinked at Olienna. A soft smile formed on her lips as she inched closer. Her fingers drifted to the shield Astraeus threw up between us. My grip slackened in Astraeus’s hand.
“Lyvia,” he growled, squeezing, holding onto the connection his power needed to reach me.
My eyes remained locked on Olienna’s. On those beautiful, violet irises. What would it be like, I wondered… To have a mother who looked at me like this? Who loved me like this?
