Everett warned me; I ignored him, and in that bliss, I found love. But ignorant bliss is a cloud. Clouds move, dissipate. They make way for a new horizon.
My true purpose is to heal the book so Titus doesn’t have to start from scratch.After that, I am useless.
“That’s the plan,” Hector replies. He steps back, eyeing the book with a deep longing. “Sable is going to get me the book; you will heal it.” He glances at Sable, showing a strange kind of affection. “And then I’m going to help Sable destroy everything.
“Now get me the book, baby.” He guides Sable to the cage.
I can practically feel her anxiety churn my stomach. She reaches for Torin’s cage, hesitating before plunging her hand inside. The steady beating of the heart skips a beat and then panics, wildly filling the room, invading our ears, trying to change our own hearts.
Sofia slaps her hands over her ears, then looks back at Titus and voices, “Not yet.”
She wants Sable to free the book before we attack. Titus struggles, pushing his wrists against the tight cuffs. It’s stuck on his thumb. I recoil in discomfort as I witness him breaking his finger so he can slip free.
Sable’s fully inside the cage now, hovering over the book, her death magic spreading out from her feet, crawling up Torin’s wall, spreading her rot.
How long will it take until Torin’s cage crumbles?
“Pull the sword out,” Hector orders her. She obeys, wrapping her fingers around the sword. But there’s no way she can pull it free; it’s dug deep into the rock.
Her spine tenses, her shoulder rolls back. “I feel…” she tugs the sword. Metal lacerates rock. The sword begins to move! “Powerful.” With a tilted head, her gaze lingers on the sword, more so than on the Vitalis. Sable pulls it forth with some unknown magic.
How did she do that!
Hector looks back at his sister as if he’s falling with no net. Sofia nods as a tear drips down her cheeks.
Sable swings the sword somewhat clumsily. The tip touches Torin’s cage; one small touch, and the heartbeat stops.A ripple of energy surges, howling and thundering, then just as Everett’s magic vanishes, so too does Torin’s death cage. A static charge stings us all.
I breathe in tight, electric air, quickly exhaling it. My lungs scream for deep breaths.
The Vitalis is free. No one dares to move. Titus exhales a million emotions in one breath. His thumb is swollen and broken, but he frees his other hand and then coats his fingers in fire.
I begin to smile. Am I celebrating too soon?
He looks at me with lust, longing, stability, and promises of forever. “I love you,” he states. Fire licks up his forearms. He pulls his arm back, and a larger ball of fire fills his palm. The room flickers with orange shades, altering the others.
I step aside. My smile is wide, ready to watch him fight, not only for my honor but for a future where everyone can be free.
Titus twists, ready to throw. Right as he swings, I turn to look at my twin.
What happened?
The certainty of the future Everett died for is in question, tossed like a coin. What side will it land on?
Chapter
Forty-Nine
Selene
Isee myself, wide-eyed and panicked, tear-filled, astonished, unable to grasp what has happened.
Sable can’t comprehend it. Neither can Titus or I.
My heels lift. A part of me wants to rush towards Sable, even after everything. Memories have me stepping back.
Hector stands firm, a feather strong enough to fly yet delicate enough to be plucked free. Deep down, he can’t understand either.
Was it fate that compelled Hector to do what he just did?
