My mother’s warning followed.
He will die to protect you.
The poison tightened around my heart.
A sob tore free, raw and breaking.
Every kiss.
Every fight.
Every moment.
All of it led here.
To this.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, the words dissolving into salt. “I’m so sorry.”
62
Nerina
Covenant Ship
The world tilted. Water tore from my lungs as I broke the surface, choking on smoke and salt. Hands caught me before I could sink again. Hard wood slammed into my ribs as I collapsed onto a deck slick with blood.
The roar of battle thundered around me—steel striking steel, men screaming, canvas snapping wild in the wind. The scent of smoke tangled with brine and iron.
“Easy.” A voice cut through it. Low. Commanding. “I’ve got you.”
Veyrion.
He hauled me upright against him, one arm braced solid around my back as the deck heaved beneath us. His armor was cold. Solid. Real.
His glacial eyes swept over me.
And stilled.
I followed his gaze.
My veins still shimmered faintly beneath my skin—silver and violet pulsing weak and uneven, like a dying star struggling to hold its shape.
But my arm—
Black veins radiated from the puncture at my forearm, crawling outward in branching lines. Not shadow.
Rot.
They spread slowly, deliberately, staining the celestial glow wherever they touched. Silver dulled at the edges. Violet flickered. The wound throbbed with every heartbeat.
Something dark shifted behind Veyrion’s eyes.
“What did they do to you?”
I tried to answer.
Salt scraped my throat raw. “I—” The word dissolved into a cough.
