His eyes found mine, black as the void, bottomless and merciless. His aura flared black with red streaks pulsing through it. They were hungry and wrong, clinging to him like a second skin. A new fear swallowed me whole. Not fear of the creatures he’d slain—fear ofhim.
“Zaph?” The word tumbled out of me, weak, small. My voice was barely more than a breath.
He shuddered, his chest rose sharp with a ragged inhale, and his knuckles were white around the sword hilt. It was like he was pulling himself back from an edge I couldn’teven see.
“I told you not to call me that.” His voice was rough, deeper than before, threaded with something that didn’t sound human.
I froze, staring, afraid to move. Slowly, agonizingly slow, the darkness bled away. Black faded to red, and red simmered into gold, until the storm around him dimmed and left him standing there, almost a man again.
The breath I’d been holding burst out of me in a sob. I moved before I could think, throwing myself at him. My arms wrapped around his solid chest, my cheek pressing against heat and muscle and the thrum of power still coiled under his skin.
“Oh my God, Zaph.” My voice cracked, my body shook so hard I thought I’d collapse.
For a heartbeat, he stood stiff, as though the concept of comfort was foreign to him. Then, slowly, one of his arms circled me, heavy and cautious, like he didn’t trust himself not to crush me.
When I dared to look up, I found his eyes were still too dark, his aura was still shivering with black veins. But a small, self-satisfied smile played along his lips. "Finally."
I blinked. Finally what?
"Finally, you call me by my rightful title."
I stared at him, pushing away from him. Was he for real? "I didn't mean…" I stammered. "… it's an expression. I meantmyGod. Not you, you arrogant?—"
“We need to get out of here,” he interrupted, still smug. It wasn't a suggestion either; it was an order. But at least his coloring had returned to gold.
My lips parted to protest, the name on the tip of my tongue.Ed.The thought of him slammed into me so hard my chest ached. For a heartbeat, I saw his crooked grin, heard his laugh, felt the tug of his hand as we clung to each other on this planet. My throat tightened.
But the silence answered me.
The ruined streets gaped empty, nothing but broken stone and smeared blood. The echo of my earlier calls still haunted the walls, mocking me. I knew with certain clarity that Ed was gone, that the others were gone. If they had survived Rotodex being swallowed by the black hole, they wouldn't have made it past the… Mmuhr’Rhong. It was foolish to think otherwise.
The courage that had burned so bright when I screamed at Zaph guttered out like a dying candle. My legs felt weak, my chest felt hollow. I swallowed hard and gave a short, jerky nod. “Okay.”
The word scraped out of me like broken glass.
For once, he didn’t smirk. He just reached out his hand again, golden light bleeding faintly through his skin. Reluctant, shivering, I slipped my hand into his.
“Hold on,” he said.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My courage was spent, my heart too heavy.
So I held on. And let him pull me away.
A heartbeat later,we were gone from the ruins. The ground solidified beneath my boots, the air stilled, and when I looked up, we stood before my stronghold. Pale stone stretched into the void, black spires carved with runes older than empires, and the walls were humming with Arkhevari power. No Mmuhr’Rhong would ever come here. None would dare.
She was safe.
I hated the storm she’d woken in me.
I should’ve felt triumph at cutting down those monsters. Instead, all I felt was rage—a rage so hot that my aura had flared black, that the Abyss itself had nearly swallowed me whole. That had never happened before. Never.
In battle, my fury burned red, clean, controlled. The color of war. But out there, when her scream tore through me, the black rose. Not a streak, not a crack, an ocean. Ithad wrapped me, consumed me, until I could taste the void on my tongue.
Worst of all? I couldn’t deny why.
It wasn’t the Mmuhr’Rhong that pushed me to that edge. It washer.
Because for the first time in eons, I hadn’t been fighting to win. I hadn’t been fighting for duty or to hold the line for Auris Prime.
