I didn’t understand—not at first. Not until a flicker of movement appeared ahead of me.
Harvest.
He appeared just in front of me, smile sharp, eyes glowing with cruel delight just as he disappeared again.
My back tingled.Shit.
He’d ported behind me.
I tried to yank my blade from the gut of the creature I’d just slain, but I wasn’t fast enough. A shadow fell over me.
And suddenly—I was wrapped in darkness.
But not from Harvest.
Luke stood in front of me, sword in hand, his body radiating rage and resolve. He glanced over his shoulder, not at me—but at whatever loomed behind.
And I realized…
He hadn’t come to stop the world from ending.
He came to stopmefrom ending.
“Why back away, Harvest?” Luke murmured as he took a step forward. “I’ve been running in circles trying to get close to you. Why the distance?”
I couldn’t see Harvest’s expression to tell what was happening. When Luke locked eyes with me, I knew Harvest must have fled again.
Luke clenched his jaws as he wiped my cheek. “I said stay put.”
“You mean wait to fade?” I countered. I eyed the wound on his chest. It was there, but not as severe as I thought it would be. He hadn’t been mortal yet. But now?
Sensing my gaze on his chest, he looked down and stiffened. “Don’t, Kitten. I don’t have time to bleed to death. Your family can’t stop this.”
My throat burned with anger and hurt.I love you.The words clawed at my tongue, desperate for release. But I couldn’t say them—not now.
Love might be a cruel thing after all.
Luke wiped my cheek, his touch light—unbearably soft. “When fate comes knocking, and the vortex opens, eyes on me.”
Then he vanished.
And I said nothing.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Kara
We closed the portals.
By the time the last of Harvest’s creatures and dragons fell, the vortex had already opened. The air trembled with its pull. Every breath burned in my chest. Every step felt like walking through ash. I was beyond exhausted—beyond pain—so when the tug in my chest grew unbearable, when that invisible thread yanked at my soul to look toward the crossover, tears welled and blurred my sight.
The swirling channel of magic glowed in the distance—a beacon. It called to me like home.
To my end.
I couldfeelthe finality in my bones. It was in the tightening of my flesh, in the hollow ache of my heart, in the wary acceptance pressing into my soul. This was it. The end of all things.
Whether we’d saved what remained humanity or would vanish within the hour, I didn’t know anymore.
