Darkness sundered, light retold.
Freedom claimed, in fire bold.”
She staggered slightly and saw that the stream of blood was slowing.She had to go quicker.
“By dawn’s light in the east, I free the bound.
Chains once forged shall now be drowned.
Rising sun shall cast them down.
Peace restored where hate was found.”
The Stone pulsed, silver veins igniting like lightning.The chant tore through the terrace, shaking the building beneath them.Adrian screamed as fire licked up his body, peeling away his human guise, searing through his demon flesh.
The Councilors on the far rooftop faltered.Caleb Blackmore’s eyes narrowed, but he stepped back, retreating with the others.They knew what was coming.They would not die with Adrian.
Saffron’s shield blazed brighter.The Stone drank in her blood, absorbing every drop, feeding its awakening.Her arms shook, her knees buckled, but her voice did not waver.
“I free those locked by the curse!
I end the chains that bound them!
By the blood of the High Priestess,
No Council shall ever bind them again!”
Adrian’s scream cut through the city.Flames consumed him, body and soul unraveling as the Stone’s light devoured his essence.He reached for her, claws scrabbling against the shield, before he crumbled into ash.The demons howled as they burned away, vanishing into smoke.
Silence fell.The dawn broke fully, sunlight blazing over the eastern horizon.The wards shimmered, then settled into peace.
The Stone dimmed in Saffron’s hands, its hunger sated.She swayed, the strength draining out of her.Her mates broke through the fading shield just as her knees gave way.
“No, no, no,” Nolan begged, catching her against his chest.His hands pressed against her wound, slick with blood.“Stay with us, kitten.Please.”
Isaac’s voice broke, raw and ragged.“You can’t leave us, Saff.Not now.Not ever.”
She smiled weakly, her lips pale.“I told you ...I love you.Always.”
Her body went limp, the last of her life spent in the Stone’s awakening.She died in their arms, the dawn blazing gold across the city, her sacrifice the price of their freedom.
****
The moment Saffron’sbody went limp in their arms, the world cracked apart.
The rooftop, once alive with battle, fell into a silence broken only by the witches’ screams.Ursula and Willow dropped to their knees, keening their grief.The smell of blood and smoke hung heavy, but all Isaac could taste was despair.His wolf roared inside him, a hollow, furious sound, and beside him Nolan threw his head back on a scream, his own grief echoing into the morning sky.
Isaac felt the bond slipping away.The invisible tether that tied them to Saffron frayed, snapping strand by strand until only emptiness remained.His chest caved in with the loss.
This is the end.Our mate is gone.
Nolan’s face was streaked with blood and ash, his eyes wild.He clutched her body tighter, rocking as if he could keep her here through sheer force of will.“Don’t do this to us, kitten.Please.Don’t go where we can’t follow.”
Isaac pressed his forehead to hers, his tears falling onto her cooling skin.“Like hell we won’t.We will join you,” he promised hoarsely.“We’ll follow you into death.We won’t let you walk there alone.”
Brielle’s broken voice cut through the grief.“No.You can’t.You have to live—for her.Live for her memory.”
Nolan’s head snapped up, his voice raw.“You don’t understand the bond.There is no life without her.Not for us.”
