Neither did I.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Leviathan crashing into the ocean and thanked the Fates that the chant had worked. I should have felt relieved. I should have celebrated. Instead, I was watching Maelis attack our friends, and every breath I took burned worse than the last.
Had she not recognized Lythandra? Had something gone wrong?
I tried to stand.
Pain lanced through me.
My limbs barely responded, a groan escaped me.
One of Ignara’s soldiers struck me.
I hit the ground again.
Blood filled my mouth. The haze returned.
I tried again, I had to get to her. Pushing up onto my hands and legs, I would crawl to her if I had to. If she still had the Luminaris key, maybe we could get out. Maybe none of this had to end like—
Ignara struck me with magic.
Agony.
I hit the dirt, shaking.
My heartbeat was slow. Too slow.
Around me, the battlefield blurred.
Figures moved.
I couldn’t make out who was who anymore.
But I saw Maelis. She raised her hand again, magic burst from her fingers. Veridus and another God went flying and they didn’t get up.
My mind struggled to keep up, but my heart was already there. Already splintering beneath the weight of it.
Because she wasn’t panicking.
She wasn’t afraid.
She was in control. Calm. Choosing.
Another hit to my stomach, my head spun.
I barely felt it. The ache inside was worse.
The rumors.
The ones I’d laughed off.
Lythandra’s message.
Whispers that Maelis had met with the Fraction.
That we were lovers. That I’d betrayed everyone for her.
I thought it was just fear.
