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“You were meant to,” Cora sings with a smile, but when she focuses on me again, her smile fades. “Do you still feel it?”
I shift uncomfortably. “Feel what?”
“The urge to die?”
I can see the pain in her eyes as she asks that question. She mourned me, had already gone through grief, and now here I sit. I’d fallen from that tower by my own hand, and I can see the fear in her eyes that I’ll do so again. Slowly, I look over at my monsters, taking them in. Love fills my heart, and I know the answer to Cora’s question without a doubt.
“Not anymore,” I admit with a slow smile. “Not anymore.”
Chapter
Forty-Nine
KAI
“Why are you in this castle?” I ask as we walk through the halls. We’d grown tired of the courtyard, and I needed to move. I’m so filled with anxious energy and excitement that I can’t seem to sit still. My monsters follow behind us, along with three of Cora’s. The king, Raz, and a naga she calls Nero. He slithered up a few minutes ago with a wink to me and a, “I knew you were alive,” thrown my way. I’ve liked him ever since.
“We originally planned to build a home in the Shadow Lands,” Cora admits, “right in the center of the three realms, but we were met with . . . Well, not everyone was happy about the wall coming down. My monsters thought it would be better for us to remain here until things become more stable.” She sighs and glances over at me. I can see the strain around her eyes despite her attempts to hide it. “I thought bringing down the thorns and connecting the magic would save us, but I guess happily ever after is never that easy.”
I bite my lip as she talks, thinking over her words. “The violence you were met with, were they speaking out against the monsters specifically?”
Cora glances at me with furrowed brows. “How did you know?”
“That’s actually why we came to see you,” I begin. “There have been groups of humans traveling through the Dead Lands, capturing and killing monsters. We’ve stopped a few of them, but there are so many—”
“Wait. They are hunting monsters?” Grim asks, storming forward. “Did you say they are hunting them?”
I nod. “They are.”
“And they are doing a pretty good job of it,” Weyland adds with a frown. “They attacked our cabin and came after Kai.”
“Why would they come after you?” Cora asks, frowning. “No one should even know you’re alive, let alone come after you specifically.”
I grimace. “Well, about that . . .”
Cora stops us. “What is it?”
I glance over at Rook, who nods his head, offering comfort. “Merryl is leading them.”
Cora’s brows shoot up. “Merryl? Your ex-fiancé who couldn’t be bothered to save you?”
Anger fills me at that statement, anger that’s reflected in Cora’s eyes. “One and the same.”
We start walking again.
“Well, that’s a problem.” She looks over at Grim. “We’ll discuss what to do about this once the others arrive, but for now . . .” Cora sighs, and I know she’s about to bring up everything else. “I should apologize, Kai.”
This time, it’s me who stops us. “For what?”
“For not showing up to save you fast enough. I should have been there—”
“Cora,” I rasp, turning her to face me so she can fully hear my words. Cora has a way of taking the world on her shoulders, and I need her to understand. “You have nothing to apologize for. I . . .”
I realize that I need to tell her everything, that I can’t leave anything out. “When you stepped through that wall and the gilded king came for me, I blamed you for a while,” I admit, looking down at our joined hands. She flinches at my words, so I rush to explain. “I thought that somehow, you taking my place led to me being in his clutches, but that was silly and selfish of me. Neither one of us could have predicted what happened, and ultimately, you saved me, but it was my duty to save myself and I failed. It wasn’t up to you. You did the best you could, and I appreciate that you came for me when you did. Neither one of us could have changed my fate, and I wouldn’t want you to.”
I smile, pulling her into a hug. “If things didn’t happen the way they did, I never would have met my monsters. I never would have made my way back to you. You were just a girl, Cora, yet you protected me all my life. It should have been the other way around.”
She sniffs, and I know she’s crying. Her arms wrap tighter around me, holding me in a death grip, as if she’s afraid I’ll disappear.
