No longer a warning, it’s the symbol of a new era.
The Idols’ presence fades as the power leaves them, stripped of the hold they have had for so long.
I never take my eyes off Nash. “It’s going to be okay, I promise. Now take it,” I breathe, my fingers curling against his jaw. “All of it.”
He closes his eyes for a single beat before giving in. His fangs sink into my neck again, deeper this time, his hold on me tightening as he takes what remains. It hurts, but it is distant now, fading beneath something else, something quieter. The pull inside me shifts and empties, leaving behind a hollow that spreads through my chest, limbs, and thoughts.
Gwyneth’s voice carries the last of the power away, and the weight inside me disappears. My body gives. Nash’s arm wraps around me, pulling me tight against him as if he can stop what has already begun.
“Stay with me,” he says, the words rough, desperate. “Daphne, stay with me.”
I try. I really do. But the world slips. Sound dulls. The pain fades. The pressure, the chaos, the constant pull beneath my ribs, all of it quiets in a way it never has before.
So this is what peace feels like. I don’t think I like it.
The stars beckon, comets fly beneath my eyelids, and worlds turn.
Is the universe ready for my chaos? Because this is not the end. I have faith.
Something warm touches my skin.
It spreads from the center of my chest, soft and steady, pushing against the emptiness that has taken hold. The quiet shifts, something unfamiliar settling into the space left behind.
My breath drags in, the air burning my lungs. Pain follows. My eyes open to a blur of faces, of light fractured through broken stone, of a sky where a ceiling once stood.
Nash is there, his hands on me, his gaze locked onto mine as if he has not moved, not breathed, not dared to exist without watching me.
“You’re not allowed to do that,” he says, his voice low and strained.
I blink, trying to pull the world into focus. Gwyneth is beside him, her face streaked with tears, her hands clenched. Hart stands just behind, his expression wrecked, his sword gone slack at his side. Malachi and Theo hover close, both watching me as though I might disappear again if they look away.
Stan stands at my feet, head lowered toward my chest, his muzzle close to the fatal wound. I knew they ate people. Why is no one stopping him?
My mouth opens in awe as two drops of shimmering liquid fall from his eyes and splash onto my chest. Understanding settles.
“You were an observer,” I rasp, my voice rough.
He huffs softly, a sound that feels like approval. “You earned the right to remain,” he says. “And you cannot perish while you are loved, Stone Sister.”
Genie blinks as if he forgot everything that enabled me to be back here in the first place.
I draw in another breath, testing it, feeling it settle. Alive. The word lands, heavy and bright all at once. My gaze shifts between the gang, taking in the worry, the relief, the anger that hasn’t faded yet. But I gave everything to the power, so what remains of me? Who is Daphne Stone-Stirling without the disaster that threatens her every step?
“Am I normal?” I wonder.
There is a pause, then a chunk of the broken ceiling gives way and drops straight toward us. Nash swears, pulling me aside as it crashes into the marble where I had been lying, shards scattering across the floor.
I stare at it, then back at them. “That wasn’t me,” I point out.
A broken laugh escapes Gwyneth, sharp and wet, as she presses her hand to her mouth.
I push myself up, Nash’s hands hovering over me as though he expects me to fall apart again. My body aches since it’s not quite healed yet, but it holds.
The temple, however, does not. Stone continues to fall around us, the once perfect structure reduced to fractured walls and open sky. The tower stands in ruins, just as I saw it. Only this time, we’re still standing and there is, I’m glad to report, a distinct lack of bodies. No, wait, there they are. Who died?
I stumble and stare in disbelief at the battered remains of the Idols who refused to welcome in the new era. And for that, they paid the ultimate price.
Something catches my eye. Half-buried beneath a fallen tile, a glint of silver reflects the light. I move toward it before anyone can stop me, crouching down and brushing the debris aside until my fingers close around the cool shard.
