The momentary elation from our perceived success quickly crumbled. Our forces were exhausted. Even though the dark ones had lost their magical boost from the darkness, they were still unyielding in their need to kill. Those who fought for Thames knew if he won, they would be rewarded for their undying loyalty. At least I’m sure that was what they believed. It was exactly the sick and twisted mind games Andras played his entire miserable life. It would seem he learned from the best.
Thames stood among his people as they fought around him, watching, waiting for me to make a move. He knew, just like I did, it would come down to us in the end. He was perfectly content to let his army die while biding his time for my final move. I hated the bloodshed and death. So many innocent lives lost for nothing more than this Fae’s greed to dominate a world.
“You've given your heart to a monster, and while he lives, you’ll never be rid of me.” Thames’s laughter echoed as loud as the thunder rolling over us. “You failed.”
Kade grunted as he sent his shadows to destroy the few dark ones closest to us, buying us time as Thames was pushed back by the force. His magic was as weak as mine, exhausted from the fight and the enormous amount of energy we’d just expended eliminating the darkness.
Kade turned to me, panting and desperate, “Lana?—”
The look in his eyes held a resignation I would not accept. “No,” I cried.
“Lana,” Kade yelled, and my eyes widened in shock when his pupils flashed black. He raked his hands through his hair. “We can’t escape this any longer. Your light, while it holds the darkness within me at bay, doesn’t work on me like it does with everyone else.” He paused. “We’ve tried everything. You can’t save me.”
I couldn’t form a response, the words lingering on my tongue unable to be spoken. The truth I refused to believe for so long had finally left his lips.
You can’t save me.
“I can try again.” Adjusting my grip on the dagger, I moved closer to Kade. “It will work this time. It has to work.”
Utter delusion overtook every rational thought. I reached to grab his arm, but instead, he tugged me closer to him. Kade rested his forehead against mine as he held me against his body. “Lana, it’s time,” he whispered. “A willing sacrifice of life,” he said, repeating the damned prophecy. “I am willing. I will not let myself be the reason Thames remains alive.”
“No!” I screamed at him again, slamming a fist against his chest. “I refuse to lose you. After everything we’ve been through.” My voice cracked, and a sob wailed out of me as the overwhelming burden of his words suffocated me. “We are so close. It can’t end like this.” Tears streamed down my face.
Cassandra battled a dark one a few yards away, and after taking down her opponent, ran to us. She looked at Kade, who nodded at her. An unspoken acknowledgment that ripped through me as I realized this wasn’t a shock to her.
“You knew,” I screamed.
Cassandra grabbed my arm. “Time runs short.”
I shoved her off, turning my blade on her instead. “You will not take him from me.”
Her own eyes filled with tears. “I can’t make this easier for either of you, but I can buy you as much time as I can to say your goodbyes.”
Cassandra stepped away, but Kade moved toward her, pulling her into an embrace. “Thank you for everything. For all of those years when you were the only one looking out for me, healing me, protecting me. I owe you my life.”
She smiled. “No, Kade, I owe you mine. I have lived a thousand years separated from my sister. Until you, it was a lonely existence. You were the son I never had.” She kissed his cheek, patting it once before pulling away. “Be strong.”
Kade nodded once, and Cassandra ran, leaving us behind. “Thames,” she yelled, her voice loud and filled with a millennium of rage. “You’re mine.”
Thames drew his sword and readied himself for Cassandra’s attack, but I couldn’t watch.
My heart pounded in my chest so painfully I wanted to fall to my knees. I’d rather die than live one day without him.
Sweat and blood dripped down in rivulets, touching every part of my body. Kade’s shadows swirled at my feet, snaking up my legs, calling to my light as it rose to the surface, exhausted but responding to the love from its shadows.
It’s time.
I didn’t know if it was the shadows or my light telling me, or both.
“We can’t give up,” I whispered.
Kade took my hand, the one holding Apollo, and pulled me back to him. “We’ve tried every way to get this darkness out of me, and it hasn’t worked. I am the last piece of it; the last connection to Thames. When I am gone, you can destroy him.”
He lifted my chin with his other hand and kissed me, sending every ounce of love through his touch. Filling the empty wellof sadness heaving in my chest with a devotion so pure, it obliterated everything.
When he broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against mine, stroking his thumb across my cheek. “You have to kill me, Lana. With your dagger, with your light, let my darkness explode. It’s the only way.”
My body trembled. “You’re my mate, my love. I can’t be asked to do this. It defies everything we are made to feel.” The world turned black around the edges, and I couldn’t catch my breath. Panic and rage fought for dominance, and I threw the damn dagger on the ground at our feet. “You’re my soul, Kade. I can’t, I can’t.”
