He stumbles, his body taut with struggle, and for a brief second, I see the flicker of his true self behind the shadows. Then he surges forward, collapsing into my arms.
I clutch him tightly, breathless with relief and fear, but the moment shatters as steel thuds onto the balcony. I glance over my shoulder to find a wall of Reapers with Orios at the forefront. Kaelus staggers to his feet.
“Reapers,” he commands, “secure the prince and princess. Now.”
Orios looks over at Daed, propped against me, and releases a heavy breath.
“Reapers,” he says, “the king and queen are not themselves. Restrain them and await further orders… from Commander Rook.”
The Reapers bow their heads, storming toward King Kaelus and hooking him under the arms.
“This is treason!” he booms. “Release me!”
They drag him from the balcony while the others move toward Lanneth, who still tears at her neck to free herself from the smoke clogging her throat. I watch as her glamor flickers, struggling to maintain her mask until it falls away completely, revealing her true face.
“This isn’t over,” she gasps, smoke oozing from the corners of her mouth. “Baev’kalath will be your tomb.”
Daed pulled himself back from the void, but Lanneth is lost to it, her soul forever entwined with the abyss. I understand now more than ever that she will never stop and it would be so easy to watch her choke to death right in front of me, but I can’t. I thought I could. When I made the choice to come to Baev’kalath, I had even entertained the idea of killing her myself. But as I look down on this evil, hideous beast of the void, I feel only pity for her and a part of me is relieved that I have not let these Fae take my humanity on top of everything else.
“Daed. Release her.”
“No!” Zyphoro yells, fury etched on her face. “Kill her! Let this end!”
I shake my head, resolute. “She will be spared to live out her eternal life in the dungeon she kept you in.”
Zyphoro clenches her jaw, then spins on her heels, taking to the sky in a flurry of ire.
“Are you sure?” Daed murmurs weakly, doubt flickering in his eyes.
“Yes,” I say.
With a flick of his wrist, the smoke dissipates from Lanneth's mouth. She drops to her knees, gasping and spewing tendrils of darkness onto the stone. Just when I think it’s over, she wipes her mouth and glares at me.
“Stupid girl,” she snarls.
A lash of shadow shoots from her hand. Instinctively, I extend my own hand, halting the onslaught with a pulsing green light emanating from my palm.
“What is that?” Lanneth’s expression shifts from rage to confusion. She pours more of her power into her attack, but the light holds strong.
She channels her malice and venom, sweat beads forming on my forehead as my teeth grit in response. Our powers collide, a fierce beam of light morphing from green to black, ignited by a blinding white flare that forces everyone nearby to shield their eyes from the brilliance.
I can feel her energy pushing me backward, but I plant my feet, resolute as an ancient tree. I dig deep within myself, feeling the rune on my neck burn and pulse like a living thing.
As Lanneth pushes to her limits, the inverted crescent on her forehead smokes and sears into her skin. But as I push back, I sense a heat building in the same spot on my forehead. WhenLanneth’s eyes turn black, I see the symbol of a tree, burnt white into my skin, reflecting at me.
I don’t understand how I’m holding her off. Her power dwarfs mine; she walks with the void. I may have some scrapes, but I feel nowhere near the pain needed to summon this kind of magic.
Then I realize where it comes from.
More magic wells up within me, blossoming from deep inside. The rain no longer drips on my skin; it’s absorbed. The lightning and thunder? I take that too, for they are all part of nature.
I am nature’s fury, and I don’t need to bleed to hurt her. I carry my pain with me always.
A hard bolt of luminous green light explodes from me, shattering Lanneth’s smoke and slamming into her with the force of a hurricane. She is knocked off her feet, screaming as she’s flung across the balcony and into the wall.
The light fades to nothing, and I collapse to my knees, gasping for breath. Daed crawls to me, wrapping his arms around me as we lay exhausted in each other’s embrace, our heavy breaths mingling in the stillness. Suddenly, the rain stops. The relentless crashing of the ocean and the rumble of thunder fade into silence, and the silver clouds masking the moon dissipate, bathing Baev’kalath in its pale glow.
Cautiously, I trace my fingers over my forehead, relief flooding through me as I find the mark has vanished. But as I lower my hand, I catch sight of faint tendrils of smoke weaving between my fingers before they disappear. I gasp and twist my hand, searching for evidence, but there’s nothing. Exhaustion weighs me down. Perhaps it was just my imagination. But with a child of smoke and vine growing inside me, who knows what secrets the void holds or how deeply Gygarth’s teeth sink into my family.
