“And what about me?” My fingers press into her skin, beating it as one would an unmoving heart, demanding it come back and be held accountable for its crimes. “What about my days? What about my future without you?”
“The man I love has… undying hope. Do not let… my death extinguish that. It’s what… the world needs to survive. Survival does not mean we all get to live, it means those who survive can retell our stories. Sing our sorrows so they can heal.”
“I wish I had never loved you!” It leaps from my lips in a desperate attempt to save what is left of my shattered heart.
It sickens me, kills every emotion, every dream of a future and family, and every connection I ever made is tainted, poisoned.
“It’s okay,” she nods, eyes humble as if she can see a future where I survived.
She grinds her teeth, fighting to utter her next words. “Sometimes, it’s okay to sink, because once you’re at the bottom…” Her words are short, quickening, fearing she can’t finish them. “You get to watch all your loved ones swim away. Swim, my love, swim for us, find new shores, make the world a better place.”
She blinks rapidly. Scared.
She can’t see anymore.
I press my lips to hers. A barely-there smile touches her lips.
“I’m here. I won’t accept this.”
“Don’t let… the tide of my death… overtake you. I love you… I want you to love again, for me… for us. Find… happiness. Survive.”
“No, no… no, Selene, please. Please!”
She widens her eyes, turning her head to where I dropped the Vitalis, as if she can sense it without her sight. “I order my life magic…”
No, no, no! Gods no! No!
I try to clear my vision so that I can see her. Then, I close my eyes. This is a nightmare. Everett would never force this outcome onto my shoulders. No man who has found his mate could bear this.
This is wrong.
We didn’t win.
Selene continues, “To heal the pages of the Vitalis, to restore what has been scarred.” She turns, and I open my eyes, sensing her blind eyes gazing upon my dark shadow.
I promised to be her shield, to cover her from outside attacks. The true beast was her; she was her end. Her untold truths, her sweet kisses, and the lying promises of a future. I needed to protect her from herself, from her willingness to accept this fate.
She never wanted a mate; she fought us, ignored us. I should have listened.
Instead, I stood by her side as she played wife to another, sister to a man who cursed me, baited me.
It was all a lie.
Love is a lie.
A lie I would swallow again if I could have just one more day with her. One day… that’s all I had with her. Our bodies joined only once. One time… does that make this easier or more unjust?
“Restore all the scars. Mend his heart when it’s time.”
Chapter
Fifty-One
Titus
Light slams into my chest. For one heartbeat, I’m back on the battlefield, swords clashing, people roaring and screaming. The scent of death surrounds me. My hands are heavy; Everett’s dead body weighs them down.
His magic invades me, fusing with me.
