She had saved Millicent, though.
But what Millicent and I would never know is whether she had saved her daughter because of the verse that said—Together, they will remake the realms as they usher in the end.Because of that, she knew Millicent needed to be alive. Or was it done out of something akin to familial love? It was probably the former, but that was going on the assumption the verse was about Millicent and me.
It didn’t matter either way. Because at the end of the day, Isbeth had ensured Kolis was free to come for one of her daughters. And, gods, that was…
It was beyond sick.
All of this was.
The facets of the diamond glimmered as I exhaled slowly and lowered my hand. How could any of this have happened?
Better yet, why hadn’t Eythos just found a way to let Sotoria die and stay dead? My eyes sprang open. If he had, I wouldn’t be here.
And, gods, that messed with my head.
So did the realization that this could be why I’d felt different since awakening. Not as if I were someone else but that I was…changed.
So did the fact that I was the object of Kolis’s obsession. To be honest, I wished he only wanted to take the embers and kill me. It was preferable to the alternative. Because that…
That made me think of the bars I’d seen and everything Kolis had put Sotoria through. It made me think of Teerman, his lessons, and what I didn’t remember—what I wouldn’tallow myselfto remember.
I squirmed, my hand tightening around the diamond as my skin crawled. Itched. I shook my head again as if that couldsomehow make the feeling of being soiled go away. Prove none of this was real. That his love was the reason I had to be the one to kill him—something the Fates failed to mention.
Something like this can’t be okay.
But it didn’t matter.
Because Seraphena had spoken the truth when she said he would come for me. And I could see what would happen when he did.
He would bring death.
He already had to Stonehill. Except this time, it wouldn’t be against people I’d never met with names I’d never heard.
Because of his sick obsession, Kolis would bring death to everyone I cared about. That’s why people had already died. Why more would.
I could see it so clearly—like having a vision. And it…terrifiedme.
People I cared about would die.Theywould die despite the Joining. Survival wasn’t guaranteed. And I? I would beluckyif I died with them. Something bitter and slick made my chest tight.
Fear.
I didn’t choose this.
I’d had no say in what Eythos decided or mymotherplotted. Eythos had decided to take my life and turn it into a weapon. She had plotted to take my life and use it as a tool for revenge.
My entire life had been this way until I chose myself in New Haven. Chose to have experiences. To love. Tolive. At least, that’s what I naïvely believed. But had any of it been a choice? Or had it been fate? Had it beentheFates?
The possibility of that shouldn’t affect me. I should be used to it. But it did. That rage I’d felt since Stonehill clawed its way out of where I’d tucked it away. It moved through me like smoke from flames smoldering for what felt like eons. The essence followed, coiling and stretching.
Something like this can’t be okay.
Opening my eyes, I forced a breath—in and out—then looked at The Star resting in my palm. I was wrong when I said it was like a tomb.
It had been a prison.
My fingers curled around the diamond’s uneven edges as the essence inside me pulsed hotly, my veins catching on fire.
Eather erupted from my hand in an intense, silver-gold glow tinged in black as the fury settled in my chest, heavy and hot. It sharpened every breath and heartbeat until the diamond caved in with a sharp crack.
