Not much.Not enough.But enough that I can breathe again, enough that the spreading stops.
Interesting,the voice muses.The blood bond is stronger than I anticipated.But it won’t save you.Nothing will.I am patient.I am inevitable.And when you finally break—and you will break—I will be waiting.
Then, suddenly, it’s gone.
The presence, the voice, the crushing weight of its attention—all of it vanishes like it was never there.
I collapse against Vex, shaking so hard my teeth rattle.He holds me tight, one hand in my hair, the other still pressed against the mark, and I can feel his own trembling through the bond.Whatever he did to push the creature back cost him too.
“Is it gone?”I finally manage to ask.
“For now.”His voice is rough.“But it’ll be back.And next time it’ll be stronger.”
“How do you know?”
“Because that’s what these things do.They test you, probe for weaknesses, then come back harder.”He pulls back just enough to look at me.“But we’ll be ready.”
I want to believe him.Want to believe we can actually win this.
But I can still feel the mark on my shoulder, still feel the echo of that ancient, terrible presence in the back of my mind.And I know with a certainty that makes my stomach turn, this is far from over.
In fact, it’s only just beginning.
Outside, the wind finally begins to die down, and the first rays of dawn break through the clouds.The storm is passing.
But the war has only just started.
“We need to get back to the clubhouse,” Vex says, already moving.“Get dressed.We leave in five.”
I nod, stumbling out of bed on shaky legs.My whole body feels like I’ve been in a fight—muscles aching, head pounding, the mark on my shoulder still burning with residual cold.
But I’m alive.
And more importantly, I’m stillme.
The devourer wanted me to break, wanted me to surrender, wanted me to give up everything I am to spare the people I love.
But I didn’t.
And I won’t.
Because Vex is right, this isn’t just about me anymore.This is about everyone in this region, everyone the Kings protect, everyone who would suffer if that thing breaks free.
I can feel it out there, waiting.Patient.Inevitable.
But I’m not alone in this fight.
And maybe it will be enough.
I pull on my clothes with hands that won’t stop shaking, and try not to think about the whispers I can still hear, faint and distant, calling my name.
Tessssssssa.
We’ll be waiting.
And when you come to us, and you will come to us, we will welcome you home.
I ignore them.
