Rune said nothing at first, his chest hitching with a breath. Awed by the raw force of her full power now that she had ascended to divinity, and by the undisputable threat.
Death skimmed his nape, sharp and certain.
He smirked.Your temper hasn’t changed, sweetling.
She hissed at him, baring her fangs.
He chuckled low in his throat, savoring her fury. You are right, that strike should have been my end. So tell me, oh terrible Goddess of Death, why am I here? And why is my bride…?
“Alive?” Sunnëva took a breath, and her divine light faded, calming the icy temperature that had briefly filled the cavern. She looked toward the thin shaft of moonlight spilling from the cavern ceiling. “Perhaps the gods are cruel and seek to torture you with your one desire,” she said idly, her blue eyes falling to his chains. “Or perhaps… your father took pity on you.”
Rune stared at her, speechless a moment. Then it was his growl rumbling in the cave. The God of Life had never shown mercy.
Not towards him.
The dead cannot be brought back to life,he said flatly.A holy law of the Heavens your mate made very clear when I begged him for Alora’s life. Elyon would never break his own decree.
“Do not trouble yourself over how it was done.” Sunnëva mused, her voice softer now. “All you need to know is that this is your second chance… Rumiel.”
The sound of that name was living coal in his stomach. He had renounced it a long time ago and hearing it now fed his rage.
Second chance?He snarled.To do what?
“To make the right choices. Only then will Alora have a life.”
Rune stilled at that.
“Fail,” Sunnëva said quietly, “and fate will follow the path it was always meant to.”
The pitch in her voice sent a shudder through his chest. Wrangling with hope and sudden dread.
He growled a demand, low and hoarse. “Explain.”
“There is but one end to this story, Rune.” Sunnëva looked up and he followed her gaze to the opening in the ceiling with a view of the night sky. “When the Blood Moon rises, if you cannot save your bride, she will be lost forever. No amount of blood you spill, no magic you steal, no ungodly power you claim will ever save her. For Alora’s soul will be erased from existence.”
A tremor rippled through Rune’s scales, his wings pulling tight against his back, mirroring the cold shock that hollowed him out from within.
Sunnëva met his gaze, her face carved in sorrow and finality. “And you will be cast to the darkest pit of the Abyss beneath the Netherworld for all eternity. Tortured with knowledge that she died because of you.”
CHAPTER 7
Alora
Alora lay curled up on her window seat, staring out over the moonlit garden that no longer looked like hers. Her arms hugged her knees. Her breath fogged the glass. The garden beds were choked with thorny vines, overgrown and neglected, much like the path her life had taken.
Now she was dragged into a cage.
She should have run away the moment Lady Zinnia sent her letter. Anywhere had to be better than here, better than marrying someone she didn’t choose. Alora looked down at the doll on her lap.
Sighing, she lifted her gaze to the mountains. And beyond it all, rising into the clouds, was that same jagged peak. She didn’t know why it pulled her gaze. Why the sight of it made her chest ache and stirred something more.
A soft click against glass startled away her thoughts.
She blinked, sitting up. Another click came, a pebble bouncing off the windowpane.
Alora leaned forward and searched the shrubs below.
A cloaked figure stood below in the moonlight, looking up at her with a familiar grin. He pulled back his hood and her heart swelled with joy.
