“I gave you the chance to make the right decision of your own free will, Daedalus. But I see you need instruction.”
“No,” he murmurs, but the defiance in his voice feels frail.
Lanneth extends her hand toward him, her canines elongating as she grins. “You belong to the void, Daedalus. Youalwayshave. Youalwayswill.”
Her fist clenches, and when Daed’s eyes roll over into pitch black, my heart shatters. In an instant, he belongs to her again.
“A shame I am not so easily controlled,” Zyphoro snarls, her voice filled with ferocity.
“True. To have you both would lay the world at our feet, not just the Sundered Kingdoms. Had we known there were two, we would have fed your mother more of the void to ensure The Father Below took root in both of you.”
Zyphoro shivers, and for the first time, I see her strength falter. “What did you say?”
Lanneth’s smile widens, cruel and triumphant. “You two are arguing over who killed the beautiful and just Queen Veloria when neither of you deserves recognition.I did it. I killed the Queen. I cut open her belly and pulled Daed from her before using the same blade to slit her throat. The Father below feasted on what was left. If I hadn’t noticed you flailing around inside her, you might have been the second course. I suppose I saved your life. You’re welcome.”
No words escape Zyphoro’s lips. She stands frozen, her dagger hanging limply in her hands, rain streaming over her, masking the moisture pooling in her gray eyes.
“So be at peace with that, Zyphoro,” Lanneth taunts. “Before your brother kills you.”
Kaelus staggers to his feet, blood seeping between his fingers, his complexion fading like the light. “Lanneth. Enough. Don’tforce them to kill each other. You can tether Daed, and Zyphoro can return to her cage. We have the girl now. It doesn’t need to go this far.”
“This is what you wanted, Kaelus!” Lanneth screams, her fury resonating in the air. “This is what you asked for.Power. Unlimitedpower.I warned you of the cost, and you paid the price willingly. You can’t go back now. The Father Below won’t allow it.”
“I am done with the Father Below,” I declare, stepping out from behind Zyphoro. “I’ve come for your crowns, and you will give them to me. If you do so willingly, I will show mercy.”
Lanneth sputters with laughter, the sound growing louder, echoing off the walls. “Silly girl. Don’t you see I control your husband? One word from my lips, and he’ll crush your windpipe and snap your spine in two.”
“No, he won’t,” I assert, the conviction in my voice stronger than the fear coiling in my gut.
“Really? Why not? Because you carry his child? There are countless ways to hurt you while keeping you both alive until you’re ripe,” Lanneth hisses.
“No. Because he loves me, and I love him.” I approach Daed slowly, willing him to see me through the murky void that surrounds him. I know he’s still there, trapped within this darkness. He just needs to hear my voice, and I will guide him back to me.
“Daed,” I say, my voice soft but steady. “Can you hear me?”
Zyphoro reaches for my hand to pull me back, but I brush her away. I know what I’m doing.
Standing before him, my heart pounds like a drum, each beat laced with dread. The man I love is trapped behind a veil of shadows, his once vibrant gray eyes now swallowed by the void. Lanneth’s sinister influence coils around him, pressing in on us and suffocating the bond we share.
“Daed,” I whisper, my voice trembling as I reach out, my fingers brushing against his cheek. “Please, come back to me.” But he remains unmoving, a statue of cold indifference, as if my very existence has slipped from his mind.
“Daed!” I plead again, my voice rising above Lanneth’s cruel laughter that rings out like a death knell.
“Restrain the princess!” she barks at him, her voice dripping with malice.
Before I can react, Daed’s hand moves with unnatural swiftness, seizing my wrist with a grip like iron. Pain shoots through me, and I gasp as fear floods my veins. “Daed, please!” I cry out, desperately trying to reach the man buried within. “It’s me! It’s Amara!”
His grip tightens, a vice that threatens to crush my bones. My nails dig into my palm, drawing blood, but I don’t care. “Husband,” I whisper, desperation threading through my words. “I love you.”
In that moment, something flickers in his eyes—gray battling against black, a spark of recognition fighting through the darkness. Lanneth’s shrieks grow louder, but Daed seems lost in a struggle of his own.
“Enough, Daedalus!” Lanneth commands, her voice a whip crack. “You will obey!”
Suddenly, he tenses, and I hold my breath as a tendril of smoke forms in his hand. He launches it at Lanneth, and the dark projectile slams into her, filling her mouth with a choking cloud.
Her eyes widen in shock, and horror washes over her face as she claws at her throat, gasping for breath. The grip she held over Daed slips, and I feel a rush of hope—could he truly be breaking free?
“Daed!” I shout, feeling the swell of emotion rise in my chest. “Fight it! Come back to me!”
