“Goddess, you know I believe in you,” I told her. “Youcankill him—but we don’t have the means to do that right now. We need to prepare.”
Before she could reply, a surge of primal, crackling energy filled the air with an otherworldly hum as Shay and her party materialized before us.
“Master Fawn!” Shay's urgent cry sliced through the air, and Silas carefully let go of Fawn’s waist. “We heard about the monsters coming toward your home, and Declan sent us immediately. Let us help.What the hell is that thing?” Shay's words tumbled forth, each one carrying a fragment of her steadfast determination.
“Shay, you need to get your party out of here!” Fawn's hands shot out, grasping Shay's shoulders. A halo of spirit magic emanated from Fawn, a manifestation of her desperation. The magic flickered like a fragile flame, caught in the midst of an unforgiving storm since we had been drained so low. “That monster is Matthieu, an abomination thatcannot be killed.You need to go—now!”
A pang of raw, visceral fear threaded through Fawn's words, a jolt that struck me to my core. Ihatedhow fearful she was about losing another person, and I woulddestroyMatthieu for doing this to her.
“Master Fawn…”
The world seemed to hold its breath as Matthieu roared, swinging a heavy claw toward Fawn and Shay.
Two of Shay’s party members jumped in front of them—a guy with brown hair and a woman with white hair who tried erecting a shield of wind.
But the shield didn’t hold up against Matthieu’s swing. His colossal claw descended sideways, and the sharp bones of his claw cut through the flesh of the two mages’ abdomens like butter, slicing them in half.
“Kevin, Celeste!”Shay’s anguished cry reverberated, electricity licking up her form as she moved in front of Fawn in a protective stance. The other two mages with her flanked her sides. “Protect our guild master!”
Fawn’s shock and pain rippled through our bond.
“Master Fawn, you need to leave. We’ll distract him and this horde.” Shay’s voice cracked as she glanced back, and her eyes filled with sorrow.
This mage knew exactly what she was doing.
She was sacrificing herself for my goddess—and that was the highest honor.
“Shay,no, I can’t lose another person.” Tears rolled down Fawn’s cheeks as Aimon pulled her to his chest to stop her from intervening. “Not to him.”
“This isourdecision. You’re our guild master, and you can stop him and save Hexarium.Go while you can.” Shay turned back to Matthieu just as he swung his large arm again—but Shay shot a bolt of electricity at him.
“I need everyone to lend me power through the bond,” Casper instructed, cutting through the intensity of the atmosphere. The bond that connected us pulsated with a flicker of power from all of us, except for Fawn, who was too drained to aid us.
Matthieu's agonized shriek pierced the air before fire spewed from his mouth. An inferno consumed Shay and her two members in a blinding blaze, their sacrifice etched in the searing tapestry of all of our memories.
A beacon of light bloomed, engulfing the six of us with its radiant embrace just as the monster horde approached.
Shay and her heroic party made the ultimate sacrifice for us—for Fawn as their guild master. Guilt swarmed around my mind before I realized that I would’ve sacrificed anything, and anyone, for even the slightest chance to avoid Fawn getting hurt.
Maybe that made me a bad person, but it was the truth. I was more than fucking grateful for Shay’s sacrifice.
There was no other option. We had drained our magic drastically. There was no choice but to go—to save Fawn so she could be the one to defeat Matthieu once and for all. I was determined that no matter what happened, we would find a way for us to honor them—all of them.
We appeared in the throne room within the Lethium Empire’s castle, where Emperor Lloyd sat on his throne with Emperor and Empress Lovington, and a man I hadn’t met before standing alongside them.
Fawn’s body trembled in the cradle of Aimon’s embrace. Our bond radiated her desolation, a frigid numbness that gnawed at her core. It was an anguish so deep, it resonated in the very marrow of my spirit.
My heart ached to obliterate that numbing emptiness, to swallow it with my darkness and never let it see the light of another day. Spirits knew my darkness should’ve been capable to do at least that for the mage I loved.
Emperor Lloyd seemed surprised when he saw us, but his expression morphed to sorrow as his gaze landed on Fawn. “I’m glad you’ve all returned safely. I wish I had better news to share, but it’s with a heavy heart that I must tell you that the Allura Empire has fallen.”
“But we plan to take our empire back,” Empress Lovington murmured, pain clear in her expression.
“We will, Mom,” the man assured her with a solemn expression.
I realized he was the emperor’s and empress’s son. I’d heard stories of him, but I’d never met him.
He was the spitting image of his mother with the same shade of blonde hair and blue eyes. He even had their calming aura.
