Tate slipped her hand into his, trying not to flinch at the icy feeling of his fingers.
His pupil nictated as his lips parted in a macabre smile that was more nightmare than expression of pleasure. “You feel sorrow for both of us.”
“Yes, Thora is my friend.”
“But I am not.”
This time it was Tate’s turn to smile. “You share too much in common with my bonded for me to feel nothing.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Tate caught sight of the emperor and Tyne slipping into the cell. Tyne stood on his tiptoes to get a better look at Thora, pulling an expression when he caught sight of the painful looking half-shift.
Thaddeus tugged him back and Tyne gave him a look as if to ask what did he do.
“Kindness. An emotion we weren’t familiar with until we came here.” The dragon’s gaze turned distant. “I did not mean to come to this land. I was curious and by the time I realized it was too late.”
“Is there no way to save you?”
The dragon shook his head. “We are both tired. Perhaps if our bond was like yours and the little queen’s we might have hope, but our trust in each other was broken long ago. There is no hope now.”
Tate’s breath caught. “Then reclaim that bond.”
The dragon’s hand flexed in hers. “Too much has happened on both sides for us to ever extend that trust again.
“Try,” Tate pleaded.
“I do not wish to, nor does he. This is our end. Please allow us to go.”
Ryu’s breath caught on a choked sound of pain. When she looked up, his face was an emotionless mask, only the redness of his eyes showing the agony he bottled up inside.
Tate looked back down at Thora, a sense of loss carving out her insides. This wasn’t the first person whose hand she’d held as they died, but it never got easier, no matter how many times it happened.
Her relationship with Thora hadn’t started off on the best foot but she’d grown to respect him. Not just as a person but as a commander. There was no one who was as devoted to the dragon-ridden as him. She could honestly say he always had their best interests at heart.
Her throat tight, Tate nodded.
“If there’s one thing I could ask, it would be to feel home one last time,” he said with a nostalgic expression on his face.
“We can do that,” Thaddeus said, speaking up from behind Tate. His emerald eyes met hers when she looked up.
She moved back as Archie and Ryu moved forward. She stood and backed away as they picked Thora up and carried him out of the cage.
Peter stopped beside her as preparations for the journey to the surface got underway. “This feels very strange.”
“What? Finally killing your enemy?”
His last words to Nathan had given her the clue she’d needed to understand his motivations. Why he kept coming into her orbit despite it being far safer to stay away. And why he’d kept Christopher company for so long.
She’d like to say she should have seen it, but there was no way she could have known his complicated history.
“Your father was just as fixated on revenge.”
It was a trait Peter would be better off not imitating. Though by the looks of things it may already be too late for that.
“You know, I wasn’t lying. My father really did put me to sleep without my permission,” Peter said.
Tate slid him a look. “Something tells me he had more reason than just ensuring a better future for you.”
It was awfully convenient that Peter woke near the same time as Nathan’s resurrection. This was exactly the sort of Machiavellian plot Kenneth would have arranged.
