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I can hear Essos breathing heavily me, ready to keep fighting. All around me, the battle continues. There is no reason for me to risk everyone if I can end this now. This is the best way I can save everyone. My hand presses to my stomach, knowing that Pom is my strength. I’m fighting for something better than power. It might be a cliché, but fighting for love makes me stronger. I turn to Essos, locking eyes with him.
“Go to Callie. You need a healer. Essos, I will love you for every eternity. Nothing, no power, can change that,” I vow before digging into my deep well of power and forcing everyone out the door. They slide across the room, confused more than anything else, uncertain of who is making this happen. Even Posey hesitates, which I use to my full advantage.
I barely register the surprise on Essos’s face before slamming the door between us shut, locking Posey and I in the room together.
Alone.
I double-tap the pendant and watch, mystified, as the armor rolls out. It changes the soft material of my dress into a wearable shield, the pieces sliding and locking as I stare down my opponent. It only covers my torso, which I was warned about, but it leaves the skirt of my dress, meaning that the Power Eater dagger is still hidden from view. Tink promised the shield would protect against the God Killer, but watching extra protection cover the swell of my abdomen sets my mind at ease. The shield also serves as a reminder that the God Killer blade is still in play. Last I saw, Xavier had the one without the stone and Essos pulled the other from his chest. I can’t take my eyes off Posey, so for now it’s going to have to stay a wild card.
The fighting continues on the other side of the door, but one sound rises above the others. It’s the desperate plea from Essos as he pounds on the door, trying to fight his way in. Why isn’t he getting help from Callie?
I roll my neck and clench my jaw, hands raised toward Posey.
“Let’s finish this, bitch,” I snarl.
CHAPTER36
It’s just me and Posey now. I didn’t think I could do it again, take another life, but it’s amazing what the right motivation can do. I have to put an end to her scheming. The new dagger sits against my leg, and I take the barest second to glance behind me, where the God Killer is just stupidly lying there after being dropped.
I snap my gaze back to Posey, who grins at me, thinking she has the upper hand. She raises her hands, mania in her eyes.
I can hear Helene join Essos in screaming for us to open the door. I don’t know what that means for the fighting, but I need to keep my mind on my opponent. It’s how I’ll survive.
All that training with Kai, Finn, and Essos is going to boil down to keeping Posey down.
“You can’t fight Fate, honey,” she says. “Just accept the new world order and maybe I’ll let your child live.”
It was the wrong thing to say because I roar with fury and punch her right in the face, aiming not for her mouth or cheek, but the spot that looks like her skull is coming apart on her forehead. She howls and tries to come at me again, but I have another swing ready and I drive my fist forward. It’s so satisfying, the crunch of her nose as my knuckles connect, that I do it again. She screams in anger, blood pouring down her face. I want to do it again and again and again.
“You messed with the wrong family.” I reach into my pocket for some of the powdered red algae. I palm it, and when Posey advances on me, I blow it in her face.
She stumbles back, surprised and coughing. In her effort to get more air after breathing in the irritant, she inhales deeper, ensuring more of it is clinging to her lungs. I can see it already starting to work through her system, the veins on her face glowing red briefly before fading back to black as the algae invades.
“What did you do?!” she screams, clawing at her face.
She has one last trick up her sleeve, the God Killer. She summons it to her before her powers are totally gone. I attempt to draw it in my direction, something I should have done earlier, but it doesn’t budge from it’s path. Instead, I try to dive for it, but I’m too cautious to slide across the floor because of my stomach. It slips through my fingers before landing soundly in her hand. The metal glints in the light, and I fight the urge to take a step back as I scramble to my feet.
“I am going to carve that child from you like a roast turkey, and I’m going to show your husband and his pathetic spoiled family precisely what I’m made of. This child will have the same fate as all the others before it.” I go still, one last piece sliding into place, and I want to drop to my knees in fury.
“It was you.” I whisper, a hand going to my abdomen. The life within me kicks furiously, a reminder that Pom is still here ready for me to fight. “All the miscarriages. They were you.”
“I needed you raw and weak so when Galen came, you were easy prey. But you and Essos never could keep your hands off each other. I shouldn’t be surprised that his seed took root in youagain.”
I want to scream and scream for how far her deception and crimes go. “Why? Why, Posey? Why do any of this? Why me?”
Posey grips the dagger tight, finally blinking away the tears from the powder. The veins on her face remain thick and dark, casting her as a ghoulish figure.
“Because I wanted a kingdom. I just chose the wrong king. Nothing I could do would get Essos to stray from you. I thought Xavier would be powerful. He was, after all, King of the Gods! Why wouldn’t he be? But he’s lazy and left Essos in charge of everything, and once I realized, it was too late, and I was already married. I even put my daughter in his path and hestill chose you.I would have ruled this realm fairly and been beloved by all, but instead, you and your family made me a laughingstock. You and Helene were too good to talk to me. Your brother too interested in others to even sleep with me.”
“Posey, did you ever stop to consider that no one respects you because they can see that you’re a fucking sociopath?”
Posey coughs, and I bide my time, talking to her until I can be sure she’s totally powerless.
“I am Fate itself. I wield more power than my two sisters combined. You can’t stop me. No matter how many twists and turns you take, I will beat you. I am the one who will cut your thread once and for all.” She runs at me head on, which I deflect easily, shoving her to the side. She expects this and spins behind me, her fist connecting with my spine. If I were still mortal, I would have had my back broken by the hit. Even without her powers, Posey is strong. The armor Tink made me protects me from the worst of it, but it still causes me to cry out in pain.
We trade blows and I try to get the dagger from her, but she’s not attacking me outright with it. I take a blow to my cheek, once, twice, a third punch until I catch her fist in my hand and squeeze. I feel her bones grinding against each other. She pulls out of my grip and I’m caught off guard as she slams her foot into my knee. I scream as my kneecap shatters. I was able to absorb the hit to my back though the armor, but this awkward angle nearly snaps my leg in half. I can hear the choked sounds of Essos screaming my name. He hasn’t stopped, but he still needs help. I can’t help but think about the gush of blood from when he pulled the dagger free from his chest. I don’t know if I can survive this if he doesn’t.
“Don’t you think your beloved should watch you die again?” Posey grabs my throat, squeezing. “Make him watch. Open the doors.”
