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Nearby, the dead queen lay on her back, contorting her limbs as she struggled to get back on her feet. Her robe had fallen open, revealing a necromancer’s unmistakable enchantment etched into her chest. The swooping scabs were red and raised, recently carved.
Bile rushed up my throat, and I swallowed hard against the burn. That poor woman had suffered such brutal atrocities before dying a horrible death. He didn’t even give her a chance to rest in peace.
As I raised my scythe, ready to put her out of her misery, Colin grabbed the staff on Angela’s next jab. He swung her around until she crashed into a bedpost. Her head smacked against it with a loud crack, and her hands slipped off the staff.
Groaning, she slumped to the floor.
My heart—and hopes for victory—grew heavy with dread, and my shoulders dropped.
We’d failed.
Colin’s eyes widened as he held up Abaddon’s Last Hope. The staff shimmered and warped in his hand, contracting as it returned to its original shape. The sigils etched along the sword’s steel blade and hilt pulsed once with a soft white holy light before it faded away.
Shadowy tendrils rose from the sword, looping their way up his arms and lying across his shoulders. Spectral whispers teased me from where I stood, too soft for me to understand. Colin’s grip on the hilt tightened, his eyes shining with excitement. Almost rapturous.
Testing the sword’s balance, he twisted it in his wrist. A giddy smile tugged at his lips. “So much hunger, such power, and it’s all mine.” He raised his gaze to mine, and I knew I faced my death yet again. Except this time would be the last. “Let’s see what it can do.”
He swung at me with a snarl.
I raised my arm, deflecting his blow with my dragon scales. The blade slid along my protected skin with a high-pitched squeal until the sword’s magic washed over me and nullified mine. My scales retracted, leaving me as vulnerable as a human.
With a maniacal gleam in his eyes, Colin laughed and swung again, slicing across my ribs before I could knock the blade aside with my scythe. The gash stung, but I leaped to the side as he came at me again.
I faced his next lunge full-on without thinking, expecting my scales to protect me as I’d become so accustomed. My eyes widened, realizing my mistake too late.
The sword slid through my stomach like a knife through butter until the hilt hit my skin, and I stood toe-to-toe with Colin. My breaths came out hard and fast, but shock numbed the truth of the wound.
Smiling maliciously, he twisted the blade.
Excruciating pain ripped through my middle, and I grunted and stumbled back. He withdrew the sword, only to plunge it through and out my back once more. Warmth gushed down my legs. I reached up to stop the flow, but it was pointless.
I staggered to my knees, my body tingling as my strength fled.
Colin rested his boot against my chest and pushed, toppling me onto my back. It had taken little force, and I hardly felt the floor beneath me.
“I’ll tell her you said goodbye.” He positioned the sword over my heart. “Right before I claim her as my queen and fuck her so hard, she forgets your name.”
The glass wall overlooking the city below shattered and exploded inward from the force of a deafening screech. Shards of razor-sharp glass flew in all directions, embedding in walls and furniture and raining down over me.
As my vision blurred and darkened, I was sure I was dreaming. Wings of fire beat against the wind outside the palace, and an angel of death landed gracefully on the floor. Her features contorted with lethal fury, but nothing could take away her beauty.
My mate.
Listening to her negotiate with Xavier the day before and witnessing her growth firsthand, I’d finally accepted she didn’t need me—or anyone else—to defend her. She was a force to be reckoned with and more than capable of protecting herself.
Our love and commitment to each other surpassed any perceived faults or weaknesses. We complemented each other perfectly.
Had this day gone differently, we would have lived a wonderful life and grown old together, dealing with obstacles as they came together. I loved her with every ounce of my being, and I urged all my love through our bond.
Death had come for me today, but she would live knowing how much I loved her and always would. Someday, I would see her again.
Ready to meet my maker, I exhaled and let the impending darkness overtake me.
28
WEDNESDAY MIDDAY
Thane exhaled, and our soul link pulsed with an intense love that nearly brought me to my knees. The link vanished, leaving behind a gaping hole in my heart. I was too late.
