He squeezed harder, holding me upright beneath the weight of the waterfall. “I know, little fugitive. I know.”
Magic dissipated, returning to me. Like it never would for Heraphia again.
The Korona scrambled to her feet, backing away, teeth bared. “If it weren’t for your mate, I would have gotten what I needed.”
“Shut the fuck up, Iaoth,” Vaeron snapped, startling me with the vehemence of his words. Several others in the room gasped at his disrespect. Even the bubble lights overhead flicked from the force of his voice.
Gently, he guided my feet back to the floor again. I swayed, unable to hold myself upright as sorrow swelled from the center of my being. Vaeron kept hold of me, his steady presence the band preventing me from fracturing completely.
“Everyone out,” he barked, his attention still fixed on his sister.
A mass shuffling of feet told me no one dared disobey.
Lyriasthe caught my eye, sadness and apology etched into her expression, as she disappeared with the crowd, leaving only the Korona, Vaeron, me, and Heraphia’s lifeless form in the chamber.
The moment the door snicked shut, Vaeron pounced.
“You went too far, Iaoth.”
She sniffed, sticking her nose in the air. “You don’t appreciate what’s at stake.”
A growl rumbled in my mate’s chest. With violence brimming beneath thin fetters, he released me, and I crumpled to the ground, too weak to hold myself upright. In two strides, he towered over his sister. All I could do was watch on as his courtly mask slipped away, and pure,unfiltered rage rose instead.
“You say that, all the damn time. Yet you do not appreciate what I have done for you. What I continue to do for you.”
Iaoth made to strike him, but he caught her slender wrist. His fingers tightened to the point she made a pained noise.
“I knowexactlywhat’s at stake, sister. Now more than ever. You have no idea the lengths I would go to. But this? This wasnotthe way,” he snapped, throwing her away like she was nothing more than an annoying feather.
She tripped over strewn cushions and landed heavily on her side.
“I am taking Sylaira to my rooms so she can grieve in peace. ThenIwill deal with Heraphia’s body. Go before I decide that exercising restraint isn’t my best option right now.” The threat in his tone was clearer than the crystal-carved chairs.
“You wouldn’t. Stadiel would–”
“I. Do. Not. Give. A. Fuck. What. Your. Husband. Thinks,” he roared, each word louder than the last. The walls shook from the might of his voice. A crack rent the air, and a slab of marble fell and shattered against the ground.
Iaoth scrambled to her feet, smoothing out her wrinkled silk dress. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Vaeron cut her off.
“Go.”
That single word, spoken without his magic, had me wanting to obey, and it wasn’t even directed at me.
She huffed, then strode toward the door like she’d been the one who decided to leave.
Vaeron whirled, crashing to his knees beside me. He cupped my head, lifting my gaze to meet his. Sorrow bloomed through the fury in his expression. “Little fugitive…”
His nickname for me was the lightning strike that started the squall. A sob wrenched from me, and I collapsed into his arms.
“She’s dead, she’s dead,” I repeated, because I could say nothing else. Because if I stopped saying it, I would have to truly believe it.
Her power, in the end, had killed her.
This place, being separated from Zuriel, had killed her.
Iaoth had killed her.
“Why didn’t you stop this?” I snapped, shoving away from him as anger thundered inside me.
