“It’s not your fault,” Selene sighs, her voice barely audible. The shine of her hair turns matte. “Fae magic dwells inside of us; it hears our inner thoughts. You did all you could. Your fire burned Sable’s words from the air, but she thought them before she spoke. Sable set her magic free. What’s done is done, my love.”
Sable’s magic.
Death. Rot.
Selene barely manages a nod.
“No!” I shake my head, urging my ears not to listen. “Sable didn’t win. She did not force her magic to kill you! We can reverse it, just as we did Torin’s cage.”
“Titus,” she tries to swallow but fails. “It’s done.”
“Fight for me!” I roar. “Fight!” A cavity rips open my chest, revealing my heart. Just as Everett’s magic bonded with me, Sable’s does with her. I can see death over Selene, grabbing her, claiming her as its mate and not me.
Just as I had no choice, neither does Selene.
“I am fighting. These last few moments are my peace.”
“No!” I scream. “I burned Sable!”
“I saw it in her eyes as the flames consumed her. She ordered her death magic to kill me.” Instead of slackening, her body starts to stiffen just as bodies on the battlefield do. I know what comes next, after the heart stops.
She’ll bloat, then her body will start to disintegrate and decay.
“It’s okay, my love,”she rasps.
“It’s not okay!” My flames erupt from my body, covering us for a moment. I control their heat, keeping her safe. Warming her cold skin. “Sable did not win! You’re not dying!”
“I’m not scared; I’m angry, but I always knew this was my path.”
I am flesh no more. Solid stone forced to remain unmoving as Selene speaks the truth she kept hidden.
“Titus…” Selene struggles to raise her voice over the fire. I lower my flames. Watch as the green in her eyes turns as leaves do in the fall. “You never wanted a long goodbye, so I will tell you this.”
“No! I refuse to let you die. Heal yourself! You have life magic. Healing magic!” My wild eyes find Sofia and Hector. “Heal her! Do something!”
“I have never been able to bring someone back from death, Titus. Sable’s magic will live and fight until I am gone.” Selene’s voice is so faint, it’s only the mate bond that alerts me to it. “Do not let this all be for nothing. Do not let my death be in vain.”
“You’re not dying!” I start to stand with her in my arms. Instead of molding to me as clothing does, she’s stiff as a board.
That’s when I sense it. A scent I’m used to smelling on the battlefield.
Decay.
Sinking to my knees, I gently place her on the floor. I look at her mate mark; it starts to sink into her grey flesh, withering away. I glance at my mark on my living, healthy skin. It’s there, but it's starting to fade.
“I am dying. I knew this was my ending. Everett warned me.”
Her admission is a knife in my back. A shock that forces me to cry more. I claw at my throat, trying to thin the thickness choking me. Deep breaths are impossible.
Panic. I’m having a panic attack.
There’s an ache in my chest that is killing me. I don’t fight it. I allow it to spread because if she dies, then I need to as well.
“You… knew,” I gasp between grief-filled breaths. “Yet… you let me… love you.” I almost shove away, but I grab her hand, her hard, cold hand.
No! That’s impossible. She’d never be this cruel. Never trick me into loving her to fulfill Everett’s mission.
“Loving you was my only tranquility. I spent my final days happy.”
