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Vesper turned around. His beautiful face looked almost bored. “What are you–”
A burst of energy erupted from my hands, sending a shockwave through the stone chamber.
I reeled backwards, as Vesper’s body slammed up against the pillar hard. His eyes widened in surprise and fear.
He put a hand to his belt, pulling a dagger from it, then lifted his arm.
I let out a choked sob and raised my hands again, just as he released the dagger.
This time the magic surged forward with a force that was almost palpable, crackling through the air like lightning during a storm. A metallic tang filled my mouth. Blood or magic, I wasn't sure.
The energy hit Vesper, clothing his body in a radiant aura of light that pulsed with intensity. For a moment, it was beautiful.
At first, he seemed frozen in place. Then his body began to convulse as the energy tore through him, writhing as his mouth opened in a wordless scream.
The magic seemed to pierce every fiber of his being, searing through flesh and bone, ripping him apart.
I fell to my knees, tears flowing freely down my cheeks.
I could feel the warm blood seeping from my chest. I knew just what I would see if I looked down.
I closed my eyes instead. Shutting out the picture of Vesper's agony.
When I opened them again, he was gone.
A pile of ash lay beside Excalibur.
My vision blurred. My breathing was growing ragged.
I slipped backwards against the stone, my head hitting the ground with a dull thud.
The pain in my chest was bad now.
I closed my eyes. When I opened them, Orcades was there.
The fae woman from the chamber beneath the lake gazed down at me with a hint of pity in her lovely lavender eyes.
Then she walked over to the pillar and picked up Excalibur, weighing the heft of the blade in her hands.
“Ferrum deae. At last.” I didn’t know the meaning of the words, but she said them with immense satisfaction. “Now it begins again.”
The pain in my chest had lessened. It was changing to something else. An icy numbness.
From a distance I thought I heard the sound of shouting. A voice so deep and familiar it filled me with peace.
Orcades’ head swiveled in the direction of the sound. I watched as her lips parted in a savage hiss. “Siabra!” She looked over at me accusingly. “You came here withhim?”
She crossed back over to me. Her rose-petal lips parted. “Would you have given the blade to thesiabra? Then die knowing this, little sister–it will spill their blood instead.”
Before I could blink, she was gone.
I let my eyelids fall closed. In my mind, Draven’s voice rang out over and over, shouting my name. His voice was more powerful than the sea. More primordial than the stars. My name was on his lips as he promised unspeakable darkness to any who came between us.
Icy tendrils were spreading across my belly, my chest. I tried to move my legs and failed.
I thought of Vesper. Soft lips against mine. Holding my body close to his as we stood under ancient trees in the dark forest.
But the sweetness of the memories were gone. All I could see was his cruel face. The pile of ash.
