Hector’s palm cradles her face. “Neither did you. That’s all that matters.”
Sable gnashes her teeth. As a last resort, she shoves herself off Hector’s lap, falling onto the stone floor. I let out a horrified gasp. The dagger twists and plunges deeper into her, curving up as her back settles onto the floor.
She’s ending this. It’s her last attempt to have control.
Her cry is a twisted braid of mocking laughs. Tilting her head back, she locates me, her expiring gaze piercing me like arrows. All the color vanishes from her face, bleeding out onto the floor. “I order my magic?—”
“Don’t let her speak!” Titus roars. Flames shoot from his hands, aimed at Sable, but as they near, a smirk plays on her lips.
I feel it instantly. Her departure severs something deep in my gut, something that holds my feet to the ground. Hector scrambles back, suffering burns on his thighs. Titus’s magic fills that corner of the room. Hector drops and rolls on the floor. Sofia runs through flames, grabbing her brother with her cuffed hands.
Titus surges forward, a torrent of fire and savagery. Sable’s body is unmoving, a dead branch Titus can’t shake from his rage-filled mind.The claim of killing her is stolen. Only her silhouette is seen as fire consumes it. Then her shape changes as the flames begin to tear and rip into her.
Burned. Nothing but bones, then ash. It’s not our way, but Sable was never a fae at heart. She was something scarred, mutilated, and forced to twist so she could stand and survive.
I plaster my eyes wide, watching her burn away. “Now you’re free of that harrowing flesh and broken bones, Sable. I’m sorry I was not your shield. I was forced to be a different kind of weapon,” I whisper.
Titus looks back at me. I don’t share the relief that courses through him. He doesn’t realize what he did—that he burned a fae.
It will haunt him. I wish I could remove it from his mind. I pray someone can.
Titus walks through the fire and grabs the Vitalis and the sword.
“I’m on your side, as is my sister. Everett sent us,” Hector shouts, hands held in the air as his mouth twists in anguish from the burns on his legs. The bottom of Sofia’s long dress is singed off, but the skin on her legs looks untouched by the flames.
Titus stops, peering at his trophies.
“Everett, he did it.” I focus on my struggling heart. “As did I.” A lone tear falls on my faint smile. My desires and regrets are irrelevant. As Elderan said, it’s about survival and the future of our world.
We’re so close-minded, selfish; it’s not about Blackthorn, not even about the Vitalis. Kingdoms and runes won’t matter if there is no one left alive. This was never about finding my happiness; it was about hope. Without hope, survival is fruitless. In tough times, hope dulls the suffering, and in good times, it intensifies the joy.
The earth sways as promises are fulfilled. I begin to wobble forward, too overwhelmed to remain standing. Biting my tongue, because I know what I must confess next will tarnish everything. I look upon my mate, at his beauty that is about to sicken into heartbreak and cruelty.
His strength will be tested, never fully mended; his hope in happy endings, in victories, is all about to be erased.
“We did it, Selene,” Titus laughs. It’s a beautiful sound that kisses my heart.
It sends me off, allowing me to let go. To accept what I ignored. The signs were there all along. Everett never lied; he only suppressed the truth, just as he withheld his magic of foresight from Titus.
Because Titus would have seen that Everett’s victory, unfortunately, meant Titus and me would lose.
“Selene?” Titus’s smile falters.
Oh no. He knows.
I search our bond and do everything in my power to silence it. It’s… easy because… should I confess it now, or wait till he realizes what has happened?
I lose my footing and fall forward. My knees hit the stone floor. I don’t feel the impact. Only his love for me.
“Selene!” Titus drops the book. Handing over everything we fought for.For me. His mate.
Now I understand, brother.In order to win, you have to lose more than you’d ever imagined.
Chapter
Fifty
Titus
