Her name was a desperate command. She reached for him, her fingers brushing his arm as the guard restrained her. He was almost to the door, his gray eyes still locked on her as the guards dragged him into the hall.
The door closed behind him with a heavy and final click, the iron muffling Will’s shouts as they took him away.
Aya forced herself to hold Vi’s stare as the guards unshackled her, keeping just her hands and feet bound as they tugged her to the middle of the room. Natali stood at Aya’s shoulder, the king having commanded them to guide Aya through the ritual.
‘It’s supposedly like healing,’ they explained, their voice a whisper. ‘You pour your power in the same way. But instead of keeping it tethered to you, cut it off. Release a kernel of your essence.’
Aya’s hands shook as she raised her palms.
‘You should go,’ Viviane said softly, the words directed at Josie. They were the first she’d uttered. But the princess merely pressed her lips together and shook her head.
Even in betrayal, Josie would not leave her.
‘Consider this a mercy,’ Dominic spat at Viviane. ‘Be thankful, my love, for my niece might spare your life.’
Aya could feel Aidon’s eyes boring into her, as if he could mark the power rallying under her skin. She let him see every bit of hatred she felt as she met that gaze. He was worse than his uncle, worse than this whole entire godsdamn kingdom that valued nothing but power and riches and gain.
Stay anchored in the light, Lorna had warned.
This – this was not an act of light. It was an affront to her gods.
She should kill Viviane. Should end her swiftly and painlesslyand figure out the rest from there. But Vi lifted her chin in subtle defiance.
‘I’m not done,’ was all she said.
It was confirmation enough as Aya dove into that depthless power, clinging to the memory of Josie’s subtle shake of her head, of the love that anchored these two even in the midst of a betrayal that could have brought this kingdom to its knees.
She placed her hands on Viviane, her affinity lashing out as it searched for something to anchor to as it flowed into Viviane. A blinding light swirled around them, the guards shouting as it grew and pulsed throughout the room. A scream ripped from Aya, pain flaring in the cavity of her chest as she sawed against that flow of power, as she focused on separating it from herself. Her body strained against the power that bucked wildly in her.
I never want to leave you.
‘Almost there,’ Natali breathed, their voice an anchor against the pleading of her mother in her mind.
Aya was going to die. She knew it as certainly as she knew the shade of the gray eyes she’d never see again. The pain was agonizing, but she focused on the soft encouragement coming from Natali.
You are nothing like those people, Aya.
Another hair-raising scream tore from her chest as the light gave a final, searing pulse before it sucked back into Aya. Viviane collapsed, Aya falling with her. There were hands on her, dragging her away from Vi’s body, followed by a pinch in her arm as they injected her with something. But Aya was reaching for Viviane, desperately searching for something that showed the woman was unharmed.
Josie broke free of her hold and was on the ground in an instant, pulling Viviane’s head into her lap. Her fingers found her neck, searching, searching …
Aya’s breath caught as her friend met her gaze, relief flickering through those brown eyes as she nodded.
Natali stared at Viviane for a moment in concentration before they said, ‘It was successful. Her power is raw. And it is limitless.’ Those amber eyes found Aya’s, and they were colder, far colder, than Aya had ever seen. ‘Once Aidon has her power, there will be no need to keep the saint, Your Majesty. You could even use the human for the prince’s siphoning should you wish to dispose of the saint sooner,’ they said with a nod toward Viviane’s limp figure.
Aya doubled over and emptied the contents of her stomach on the floor. The guard holding her swore as she released her, and Aya gasped, forcing air into her lungs as she looked toward the king.
She would kill him. She reached for her power, only to hit a solid wall inside her.
The injection.
No matter. She’d use her bare hands. She lunged for Dominic, but Aidon was there, his arm catching her chest as he forced her back. Aya hit the iron table with a deafening sound, the impact reverberating down her spine and knocking the wind out of her.
‘You disgust me,’ she wheezed as he towered over her. She hated him. Hated how he’d fooled her, hated how she’d let herself be deceived. She opened her mouth to curse him from here to the deepest layers of the hells, but he was already walking away, his steps slow and steady.
A pair of guards seized her, pinning her arms to her side as Dominic strolled forward. His hand was cold as he grasped her chin, forcing her gaze to meet his.
‘Icouldkeep you, you know,’ he said, his voice soft with contemplation. ‘The Visya the Diaforaté take power from typically become shells of themselves. Nearly soulless beings,left to wander in their misery. But with your limitless power, we could take it again. And again. And again. Would you ever start to feel emptiness, Aya? How long could I pull from you until your soul begins to break?’
