His skin returned to its warm brown hue, his eyes glittering with brown fire, no trace of the darkness that had taken hold. I flung myself over him, hugging with every ounce of strengththat remained in me. My mind reeled, but I didn’t care about answers. All that mattered was the warmth of his hands on my body, and the love that exploded from my heart.
“I hope it’s not past tense,” he added wearily, probably because I was squeezing the daylights out of him.
I laughed through my endless flowing tears. My nails dug into him, anchoring myself because I never wanted to let go.
Garbled groans moaned several feet away.
“You son of a bitch,” Dante growled upon his storming approach, no beast form in sight.
I positioned myself between Marvoe and Dae, unwilling to lose him again should the dark wielder rise. But Marvoe looked barely human. His skin held a blue tint, his body frail and emaciated. He’d given so much of himself to the dark magic that when it receded, he barely had anything left.
Dante mounted him, rearing his cocked fist back, and delivered a cracking blow to his jaw. “This is for Mira.” Another blow sent blood spewing from Marvoe’s busted lip. “This is for Jasper.” A matching hit to his other cheek. The now disfigured face beneath Dante’s towering frame appeared dazed. “And this. This is for Argora Vale.” Dante’s hands enclosed around Marvoe’s throat. The hideous version of a man kicked and squirmed, attempting to pry the fingers locked in a death grip.
“Magic doesn’t make you powerful. Or using threats to force others to bend to your will. You prayed on those who felt oppressed, weaponized them by feeding them lies of grandeur. But you never cared for them. Never cared for anybody but yourself. That isn’t what made you powerful, it’s what made you weak. It’s why you’ll die here, surrounded by no one who loved you. Oh, andthiswill require no blood.” Dante’s arms flexed and a sickening crack rang out.
Marvoe’s eyes bulged and his body convulsed until it didn’t. For good measure, Dante shifted into his beast form. I lookedaway, but still endured the skin-shredding, gut-spilling, bone-breaking sounds from Dante ripping the corpse in half.
“Gross,” I muttered, returning my attention to Dae. He sat up, but winced from his arm. “We’ll get you a healer,” I promised, ready to seek out the king or the Prince of Duski, if either remained.
An odd silence surrounded us. No screams, no weapons. Just a still forest. None of the god gifted magics remained within me, but I sensed no lingering tension in the creation around us.
“Ro…” Tio said, limping as he approached, holding Melody’s hand. His eyes were wide, marveling at the untainted forest. The blonde beauty just stared, mouth hung open.
Dante fell to his human knees before me. “I owe you everything,” he said, pressing his hand over his heart, blood smeared across his knuckles.
“As do I.” King Nicholas held Nora in his arms and knelt. Her eyes fluttered, and I sobbed in relief. Marco and Alaina made their way to me as well, the prince’s arm wrapped around her neck, using her for support. He lowered himself onto his knee beside his cousin.
Three rulers of separate kingdoms bowed their heads on behalf of their lands, their people, their loved ones. I had no words, because this wasn’t my glory. We’d all fought today, had been willing to sacrifice ourselves to stand together.
“I think that earns us a lifetime of favors to call in, don’t you think, Ro?” Tio perfectly broke the silence, wearing his charming smile before planting a kiss against Melody’s temple. “And we all made it. Oh, I mean, oops.” Tio extended his arm, using his magic to lift the fragments of a broken Jasper that’d scattered along the forest floor on the east side of the clearing.
“Has anyone seen Evenita?” Alaina’s eyes scoped the battle scene as the reduced number of soldiers gathered in theaftermath. Her piercing blue gazed searched for answers. I offered a look of shared heartache and slowly shook my head.
The time wielder bit the inside of her cheek as her eyes turned glassy.
“She wanted me to let you know it was alright. I think she knew it would play out this way.” I wish I could show Alaina how peaceful the old woman looked in her final moment.
Marco looped his arm around her calf from where he knelt and rested his cheek against her thigh in solace. Dante lowered his head and drove a hard punch into the soft ground, watering it with falling tears. Evenita had touched all of our lives. I doubted we’d all be here today if it hadn’t been for her.
Prince Nicholas reached out and gripped Dante’s shoulder, and collectively we offered a moment of silence.
Until a few floating chunks of rock rolled on the ground beside us. “My buddy said you could fix him again,” Tio timidly mentioned.
“He can wait,” Alaina snapped, barely keeping her composure intact. A few of her long braids had fallen from the coil atop her head, and she whipped the long pieces behind her, holding her chin high though I sensed she wanted to break down.
Tio pursed his lips. “Fair enough.”
“Is it over?” Nora’s voice was heavenly, though weak. Her head hung limply to the side against her husband’s chest.
“It’s over, my lady. We won.” Nick pressed a kiss to her head, balancing her in his arms while still on bended knee.
“On behalf of the three kingdoms, I offer you an endless trove of treasure, access to anything you wish, Ro Collins,” Prince Marco said.
Nick shot him a questioning, sidelong glance. “You’re only doing that knowing it’ll come from our pockets and not yours.”
Marco feigned insult before deciding he didn’t have the energy to muster offense and simply shrugged. “I mean, it’d be such ahassle to travel across the ocean for something she could just get here.” The snowy-haired prince grinned, not relenting his hold on Alaina.
Nick shook his head with a laugh. “I agree with my generous cousin over here. Anything you want, Ro, you name it.”
