Yorick cast a basic charm spell on Nephrine, but she shrugged it off as if it were nothing. He tried a more advanced one too, but again, she refused to succumb. Yorick wondered if she had some sort of protection against it. She seemed to be holding her ground against the force of the black hole, too, despite Eden’s efforts.
He knew one other spell that could help, but it would take all the magic he had left in him. If it didn’t work, he’d be as useless as a puppet. But he had to try. He’d gotten them into this mess, after all. So he threw everything he could into the spell, ready to pay the ultimate price if he needed to, staring directly into Nephrine’s eyes as he did.
Slowly, her gaze iced over with fear. Just as Yorick had experienced too many times for his liking, her body was betraying her. Freezing up, refusing to fight, as swirls of arcane energy held her in place. Her hand still gripped the diadem, but she could no longer move. It had worked.
Yorick ran forward, dodging Liam as he staggered backward after a hit. He ducked around Calamity, back on her feet, and lunged for Nephrine. Her eyes widened slightly as Yorick approached, as dark as the gaping black hole behind her.
His plan had been to dislodge the diadem from her hand so it was sucked in as the dagger had been, but the moment he connected with her, he knew he’d miscalculated. The slightest touch sent both of them in that direction as well, powerless against the force of Eden’s spell.
In the space of a single second, Yorick swung from confusion to terror to resignation. This was the price for his folly. His pride. And he would happily pay it. He looked directly into the black hole, surprised to find that there were no stars beyond. Nothing at all. Just darkness. And that felt fitting, really. The only stars he needed were behind him.
He watched as Nephrine and the diadem were consumed, blinking out of existence, and smiled. Even if he had to give his life, he’d done what he’d come to do. He could be at peace.
But just before the darkness took him, he felt a tug at his neck, and he dropped suddenly to the floor. It knocked the wind out of him, and he closed his eyes for a second, trying to figure out if he was still alive. He thought he must be; he was in too much pain for this to be the peace he’d been headed for.
He opened his eyes, and stood over him was a dragon made of stars.
Chapter35
Amy
The holiday let in Manchester was abuzz with activity when I arrived. It felt weird to be in the city and not see any of my old friends, but they were all several miles away at the wedding on Chris’s family estate, and I felt better than ever about my decision not to go. I’d taken the train up– without Phil, there had been just one too many people to ride in one car, so I’d sacrificed myself in the name of some alone time– but now I found myself genuinely excited to be there. I walked through the door Chloe held open, letting the chaos of my friend group envelop me.
“Thank god you’re here!” Chloe squealed as she shut the door behind me. She pulled me in for a hug, forcing me to drop my duffel bag. “No one else knows how to curl long hair.”
“I tried!” I heard Fatima yell from the other room. Chloe just rolled her eyes and pulled me down a long corridor, presumably towards her room. I barely managed to grab my bag again before I was yanked away.
“Grey would come say hi,” she said, “but they’re currently dyeing their buzz cut gold.”
“Oh good, you’re here!” Jack called as he appeared through another doorway. “I have something for you.”
“Oooh, gimme!” I said, holding my free hand out. But Jack just pointed further down the hall.
“It’s in your room,” he said, and I followed his direction to the last door on the right.
I creaked open the door to find a small double room– when we’d booked, we’d obviously thought I’d be sharing with Phil. But I wasn’t mad about having the bed to myself, even if I would rather have had Phil with me.
Though it was probably good he wasn’t there, because there wouldn’t have been room for him. There was barely room for me around the giant white box sat on the bed. Actually, maybe Phil was inside it– it certainly looked big enough to hold a body.
I turned around to look at Jack for an explanation, but he was pulling the door shut behind me, fending off Chloe and her curling wand in the hallway.
I turned back to the box, which was so big I wasn’t sure how Jack had managed to get it through the door. There was an envelope taped to the top with my name on it. I opened it and pulled out a folded white card, four stars embossed in gold leaf on the front in the shape of the Aries constellation. It was beautiful. Elegant, even. Perfect.
I flipped the card open, not at all surprised to see Phil’s chicken scratch handwriting inside.
Amy, I’ve been dreaming this up for you since before you were truly mine, and I don’t believe in letting a good dress go to waste, especially for someone as beautiful as you.
I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to hurt you. I hope you know that you deserve a knight in shining armour, not a fool.
My breathing hitched as I put the card back in its envelope, then set it aside on the bed and lifted the lid of the box to find the dress he hadn’t wanted to go to waste.
I gasped. It was so stunning that it literally took my breath away for a moment. If I’d thought the card had been beautiful and elegant and perfect, those words had entirely new definitions now. This would certainly beat the dress I’d brought with me.
I hadn’t been able to bring myself to buy a new dress for the ball after what had happened with Phil, opting to bring along my outfit from the festival instead. It wasn’t very formal, but I’d hoped Chloe could help me spruce it up a bit. Now, though, I was relieved I hadn’t bought anything else, because no matter how wonderful it was, it would have paled in comparison to the piece of art inside that box.
There was a knock at the door, and they’d barely rapped a second time before I yelled for whoever it was to come in. Chloe rushed into the room and pulled the door shut behind her.
“Ooooh, let me see!” she said, peeking around me. When she saw the dress, she gasped just as I had, her hand coming to her mouth. “Holy shit, Amy, that’s incredible.”
