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“Arluin,” I breathe, “you killed my father.”
“I know you might hate me for it, at least for a while, but this was the only way we could be together. Don’t you see?”
I don’t blink. I continue gazing into his cold, dead eyes.
He presses his lips to my forehead. “Now that there’s nothing in our way, will you marry me, Reyna?”
His kiss shatters my heart.
I am already broken, but I break even harder. Somehow the fragments of me are stronger than my entire self.
An anguished cry rips from my lips. I shove Arluin back with every ounce of my remaining resolve. My palms dig into his chest so deeply that my flesh stings with the force. But I fight through the pain. I push and push until I am freed from the shackles of his arms.
“No,” I gasp, my breaths raw and heavy. “Never touch me again.”
His dark brows knit together. “You no longer wish to marry me?”
“You killed him! You raised his corpse!”
“You promised you would marry me no matter what,” he says quietly.
My nostrils flare. My entire body shakes.
Arluin steps closer. I lunge for the crystalline staff lying at my feet. My fingers close around the shaft. I raise it, holding it out like a ward between us. But the staff doesn’t stop Arluin from continuing forth.
I shrink back. My feet meet the edge of the Aether Tower. Winds rush upward, seeking to claim me. I stand my ground. Against them, against Arluin.
“Don’t come any closer!”
“All I want is you,” he whispers.
I shake my head. Frantically. As if to break free from the chains of this nightmare.
He extends his hand, taking a step forth. And then another. “Come with me, Reyna.”
“Never,” I snarl, my fingers clenching around the staff. “I would sooner die.”
“Reyna—”
There’s nowhere left to run. He is almost upon me.
I turn and fling myself off the Aether Tower.
But the gales don’t seize me. Arluin’s fingers close around my wrist before they can.
“Let go,” I growl, clutching the staff. My legs dangle in empty air. But I don’t fear the height; I fear Arluin’s grasp.
“No,” he gasps. “I will never let you go.”
Our gazes lock together. His eyes are unyielding. As are mine.
We both reach for our magic. I am first to unleash mine.
“Ignira!”
A fireball surges from my hand—the one Arluin holds by my wrist.
“Okraz,” he mutters. Darkness pierces my skin.
