Page 181 of Tale of the Heart Queen

Slowly, Tyr lifts the ark above his head and closes his eyes. We wait in silence, sharing looks around the circle. I glance over my shoulder at Hylene and Erevan. She tips her chin, offering me her silent support.

As I turn back to the center, the Mirror begins to glow, and I assume Tyr must be speaking with it. His body trembles as he holds the ark over his head, his lips moving softly as his ashen hair falls around his face.

A soft yellow beam arches slowly from the surface of the Mirror, hitting the ark. The object glows with gilded light before eight more beams spring from the ark and find their way to the centers of our hearts.

I tense as one hits me, bracing for the impact. But there is no pain, only warmth like a sunbeam through a window. Golden light spreads over my chest like I’m being dipped in bathwater before it ripples over my shoulders and down my arms, melts down my legs, and then rises up to my throat, where my skin tingles.

Tiny crackles spark against the lines of the marking that has kept me a prisoner for so many years. With my breath held, I feel it slowly burn away. I watch as the lines flare on my brothers’ throats until, a few moments later, the light dissipates before the Mirror returns to its usual reflective surface.

We stare at each other, and tears burn my eyes. The sight of their smooth, unblemished skin is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Emotion swells in my chest and a sob cracks out of me. A tear leaks down the side of my face, and I wipe it with the back of my hand. It acts as a signal because then we all move, circling together in a tangle of arms and wings, embracing each other as we share in the collective grief of our trauma.

“It’s over,” Rhyle says, and I look up. He hooks a hand around the back of my head and presses his forehead to mine. “It’s over, my friend.”

“Captain,” says Jareth, and we break apart as all seven of my living brothers stand in a line, pressing their hands to their chests and bowing their heads.

“Captain,” they murmur in unison.

“Thank you for everything you did to protect us,” Rhyle says, and I can barely respond over the pressure squeezing my heart and my ribs as I nod.

“Any of you would have done the same,” I answer when I can speak, knowing it’s true. These are good men, and every last one of them might have done great things. Any of them still could. “I am honored to have served at your side, and I would not have survived this without any of you. But from now on, there will be no more captain. From now on, I will only be Gabriel.”

Hylene and Erevan rush over, also wrapping me in their embrace. We hug for a minute before I feel Tyr’s eyes on me. I pull away and turn to him, walking over and falling to a knee.

“No,” Tyr says. “There will be no more of that either. For your service to Aphelion, you will all be granted anything you need or desire to live in comfort until the end of your days. I know it cannot make up for everything that happened, but you will never want for anything in this life again.”

I stand up and nod, dragging Tyr towards me in a messy hug as he wraps his arms around me. It’s been so many years since we’ve touched one another like this. I remember the strong man he used to be, but that man is gone.

I don’t know what the future holds for any of us, but as I pull away, I know I will always care for him. We walked a path so dark that we nearly lost our way, but together, we stumbled into the light, and no matter what happens, I will always be there for him.

He seems to understand what I’m saying without words and nods before the first smile I’ve seen in so long barely creeps to his face.

“It’s time to destroy it,” he reminds me. “This will never happen again.”

As my brothers and I dress in our tunics and shirts, Tyr places the ark on the floor. We all circle around him, staring at it. So much power and destruction are contained in that small object. If Herric had never gifted it to our first king, then all of this might have been avoided. It occurs to me how the tiniest acts can ripple over time, changing the entire course of our destinies. What might my life have been had I never been bound to Tyr?

Maybe now I’ll get the chance to find out.

Tyr watches me, waiting for a signal to proceed, and I nod.

Another reason no others were invited is that we don’t know what will happen when we destroy the ark. I was hoping Nadir would send more information, but no further letters have arrived, and I worry about what that might mean.

Erevan continues refusing his help, and I’m trying not to be angry with him. I understand his convictions, but sometimes I wish the bastard weren’t so damn noble. Our gazes meet, and I’m sure he can read my thoughts. Neither one of us agrees with the other, but this isn’t new for us.

“Everyone back away,” Tyr says, and we do, but only by a few steps. I can’t fight the instinct to protect him, that deep-rooted need to throw myself over the explosion if it would save his life.

Tyr shakes out his hands and then rolls his neck. He hasn’t allowed anyone else around him while he’s tried practicing his magic. I have no real sense of how much control he has. But he told me he was ready, and all I could do was trust that.

I’m almost shocked when Tyr lifts his hand and golden sparks dance at his fingertips. His shoulders lift with a deep breath, and he concentrates a beam of light into the ark. It sinks into the surface. My brow furrows when nothing seems to happen, but Tyr doesn’t stop. After another second, the ark begins to glow.

I take a step back, my arm crossing over Hylene as I shuffle her behind me. Though she makes a sound of protest, she stays where she is, rising up on her tiptoes to peek over my shoulder. Her body presses against mine, and I wrap an arm back around her waist to keep her safe.

Tyr continues filtering magic into the ark as sweat beads on his brow, his mouth pursed in concentration. The ark jumps and twists, and then a plume of smoke billows from its surface, forming into the shape of a woman wearing a long flowing gown.

“Zerra,” I breathe. I recognize her likeness carved into the ark. Tyr flinches in shock, nearly releasing the control on his magic. “Don’t stop!” I shout. “Keep going!”

Gritting his teeth, Tyr hangs on as the ark glows brighter. Zerra turns around, and I almost choke when she faces me, her eyes filled with loathing and her expression twisted with pain. She doubles over, clutching her stomach before her back arches and her arms fling out. Her head tips back and to the side as her mouth opens wide in a soundless scream.

I press Hylene harder against me as black veins form across Zerra’s skin, climbing up her neck and down her arms like a crystal vase cracking into pieces. She twists, her body bending like a blade of grass blowing in the breeze.