As I fixed her with one final, defiant glare, there were twothings I knew for certain. The first was that she was going to carve a chasm into my chest, then excavate my heart. The second was that I would be dead soon.
A force far more overwhelming than pain coursed through my body and chilled my veins. Pure, unbridled terror.
Shaking like a leaf, I squeezed my eyes shut. A carousel of images rotated through my mind—tranquil turquoise waters. My tail sparkling under beams of golden sun. The face of my grandmother, shining with pride. Mae’s throaty laughter. Doran’s forget-me-nots. I clung to these fragments as I braced myself for the dagger to shred through my insides and deliver my death.
It didn’t.
What came instead was mystifying to my ears.
Gurgling.
My eyes snapped open and were met with the sight of Livia, wide-eyed and mouth gaping. Blood pooled at her lips, staining her teeth like mulberries as she struggled to draw breath. The sword that protruded through her neck was swiftly withdrawn, leaving an oozing cavity that trickled vivid blood down the front of her white dress.
My vision swam.
A hallucination—this was a hallucination.
The world went dark. The tang of copper tainted the night air. There was a resounding thump as something hit the ground.
My eyes shot open at the noise; my stomach roiled at its source.
Livia’s lifeless body lay sprawled on the ground in a puddle of blood. Her head rested at my feet.
The world went dark again.
Blinking through heavy eyelids, I glimpsed the weapon that had so violently ended her, and the person wielding it.
Tarben, painted in blood and wrath, stood behind the fallenbody, and he was not alone. Filip, twin blades raised, assessed the perimeter while Hugo knelt at Amalie’s side. His distress was palpable, as he tried, and failed, to wake her.
With a steady hand, Tarben lowered his sword. At last, he tore his eyes away from the monster he had slain, and met my gaze. His expression softened, then crumbled.
“Alara.” He hurried to my side. The color drained from his face as he took in the dagger jutting out of my chest and the blood traveling across my gown.
“She stabbed me,” I offered weakly. And then there was blackness. Blackness and Tarben’s voice, both near and far away.
“Find the keys. We need to unbind her! Now!” A command with an undercurrent of fear.
When I pried my eyes open, his face was a mask of calm, betrayed only by the beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.
“You’re alright,” he soothed, his voice too gentle as he brushed my forehead with his fingers. He was trying to reassure me, trying to pretend the inevitable was not about to happen, and I cherished him for that, but I knew the signs.Lightheaded… Cold… Every breath hurts…Without my healing powers, I was going to die.
Someone yelled. Through the ringing in my ears, I vaguely heard the triumphant words, “Found it.”
Tarben cupped my face in his hands, speaking so softly it made my aching chest tighten. “Listen to me. They’re going to get you out of these restraints soon. Hold on. Can you do that?”
I couldn’t muster the strength to nod at him again. All I could do was memorize his face through half-open eyes. There was so much I wished I could say to him, but talking wasn’t an option for me anymore.
With a click, my hands were free. My body toppled over, but Tarben didn’t let me fall. As if I was made of porcelain, he guided me down, resting my head on his lap.
My eyes fluttered shut. I might have been shivering, but my body had lost all sensation. Thank the goddesses—it was a welcome relief from the pain. It would be a welcome relief to rest.
“Her heart rate is slowing,” said a distant voice.Filip?
“No. No. No,” came Tarben’s voice, also distant. “Listen to me, Alara. Keep your eyes open. Keep your eyes open and focused on me, alright?”
It was a colossal effort to force my eyes open, but for him, I would do it. I would do it one last time.
Meeting his blue-green eyes through heavy eyelids, I saw they were wet from the rain. No, not rain. Therewasno rain—tears were flowing from his eyes as he looked at me like his heart was shattering. “You have to stay alive. You have to hold on.” He swallowed. “You have to keep fighting because… You’ve been like a bonfire to my starless night. And now that I know what it’s like to have you in my life, I never want to go back to the dark. I love you. I love you and I need you to keep burning. Keep burning for me, please?”
