Page 134 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

Just like the one Rabin wore on his back.

Abishek must have shown it to him, and Rabin had wanted to honor his mentor.

She stared at it, contemplating so many things.

Her father’s lies. The mistakes she’d made.

But this moment had been inevitable. The king didn’t know that breaking the seal would free the vanshaj and break the curse on the Aazheri. This would give every side something while taking so much away.

She heard Loka telling her this was her only choice. She heard her mother’s voice floating from the stone the night her entire course changed.

She will be the one to free them all.

She reached for the pillar, her hand hovering an inch away.

Her heart thundered in her chest, and her body trembled.

Could she do this? Could she unleash a scourge upon everyone?

A shadow swept over the room, and a heavy thump shook the ground.

She spun around to find Rabin standing in the archway, staring at her with his glowing red eyes.

They narrowed on her as he took a step, huffing as he approached.

“Rabin,” she whispered. “You’ll soon be free of this. I hope.”

Then she turned around, inhaled deeply, and slammed her hand against the pillar, calling on her nightfire. Her anchors spun, gathering in the center before a thick ribbon of magic blasted from her hand, channeling into the pillar in waves of power.

Magic as dark as night, sparkling with a million stars.

Tears ran down her cheek as the stone absorbed her nightfire bit by bit. She held on, waiting for some kind of signal. The pillar began to glow around the edges with silver light.

Slowly, it grew brighter and brighter until her magic cut off. This was it. Kishore had said all magic in Taaranas would stop when the seal was opening. It would free the vanshaj, break the mystic’s enchantment on Rabin, and…

She took a step back as the pillar became a beacon of glowing white light. Widening her stance, preparing for what came next, she felt the hairs on her head rising from static energy as the air around her vibrated.

A high-pitched noise filled her ears, and then… the seal shattered, exploding in a shower of silver radiance. The floor opened up, revealing a dark hole. She heard voices. Chanting. The sound of iron and boots striking the earth.

With a gasp, she stumbled back, barely catching herself as clouds of black smoke billowed up from another world.

She’d known it was coming, but nothing could prepare her for the horror of watching swirls of shadow transform into the demon army that had lived in her dreams for months. They screamed and wailed, the sound inhuman as they flowed from the seal in a rush of fire and fury.

She watched hundreds of them—thousands of them—emerge and enter a shimmering portal that opened in the wall as they approached. They were headed for Rahajhan. She stared up, imagining everyone at home, hoping this had worked. That the vanshaj were free and that everyone could hold on long enough for her to finish the rest.

As more and more demons flowed out of the seal and entered the portal, she felt her heart crack beneath her ribs.

It was then she remembered Rabin.

She spun around to check that he’d returned to his rakshasa form but instead of Rabin, she was greeted with three familiar figures standing in the doorway.

Her father stood flanked by Kishore and Ekaja while Rabin lay in a crumpled heap on the floor.

Abishek lifted a hand and blasted out a beam of fire, striking her in the chest before she went flying, and everything went dark.

FORTY-SIX

“No, you fucking don’t!” Yasen screamed as he ran for Abishek, his sword already drawn.