She saw Emmeric calling for her through the silver-black barrier. Were her friends nervous about approaching her now? Maybe they thought she’d dived into the killing frenzy again. Glancing up towards them, reassurances springing to her lips, she paused. The dome was still intact. Emmeric and Altair were banging against the flickering magic. But that meant…
Whipping her head back to Uther’s body, his cold blue eyes met hers. Iyana only had time to lift her hands in surprise before he was on her, a blade slicing into her forearm, her own dagger lying on the floor out of her reach. It took all of her strength to hold his arm above her, but she was slowly losing the battle. Blood flowed down her arm, her hands slick and losing their traction. The dagger inched down towards her exposed throat, Uther’s eyes gleaming with malice. Sweat and drool ran in rivulets down his face, dripping onto her. His teeth ground together and he shoved the sharp point closer. Her death was only inches—seconds—away.
“Who are you to killme?” Uther seethed. “I’m the fucking emperor!”
The knife slipped another inch. The cool bite of metal touched her skin, a small pinprick of pain at her throat, where her carotid artery was thrumming with her life’s blood. Waiting for Uther to finish the job.
“And I’m,” Iyana said through gritted teeth, “the fuckingAztia!” She shouted the last words, barreling the last of the amulet’s magic into her voice and hands. Uther flew off of her, spinning through the air, and finally crashing into the dry earth mere feet from where Iyana still lay. Rest was the only thing on her mind, her only desire to curl up right there on the ground and sleep for at least three days. Expending so much magic at once made her dizzy, but the dome was still intact, which meant Uther wasn’t dead yet.
Hauling herself to her feet and staggering towards the prone emperor, she palmed Emmeric’s dagger in her right hand. Her arm continued to bleed, left hand a throbbing mess, and exhaustion tugged at her. Black spots flitted through her vision; vertigo threatened to drop her back onto her knees. But she pushed through the dizziness. A quick check of herself and the amulet told her she had no magic to spare to heal herself. It would need to wait.
Using her toe, she rolled Uther from his front to his back. The emperor moaned. Iyana catalogued his injuries—at least four broken ribs, possibly a punctured lung, and multiple lacerations, including one on his scalp, turning his white hair into abrilliant red. His eyes were open but glazed over. Iyana knew it was only a matter of time before he shook off the shock and attacked her again. There wasn’t much more she had left. Another battle would end her within seconds. She needed to end this before exhaustion consumed her. But she took precious seconds to lean over and whisper in his ear.
“Long live Emperor Zane.”
Then she slammed the dagger through Uther’s chest. He gasped, hands flying to the handle. Iyana stumbled backwards, falling onto her tailbone. Dimly, she recognized the fresh pain, but could only watch as the former emperor of Athusa coughed blood, the red rivulets running down his cheek. The light slowly dimmed in those icy blue eyes. Iyana never took her gaze from his, witnessing his descent into the nine hells. Because, even though he was an evil man, he was still human. Something inside her wanted him to know he wasn’t alone as he died.
As soon as Uther’s eyes whitened and became unseeing, the dome burst like a bubble. Small bits of silver and black rained over Iyana like glitter and dissipated before they hit the ground, as if even the magic wanted no part of the Dead Lands.
Numbly, she registered loving arms wrapping around her as a sob ripped from her throat.
Chapter 53
Emmeric
Phaedros take me, that woman is going to send me to an early grave.
Panic had never had Emmeric so solidly in its grip since he’d received the news of his parents’ deaths. Watching Iyana confront Uther on her own had taken at least ten years off his life. He’d need to consult a mirror to see if he had any gray hairs. For her to go after the emperor without even informing Altair of what she was doing… There was no way that woman had a plan, instead rushing headlong into a dangerous situation.
The magical dome had appeared, and Emmeric had done everything in his power to bring it down. Altair as well had tried hitting it with all of his magic, leaving the star panting, his golden eyes widened with dread. Emmeric had done the only thing he could think of to aid her—by being her Kanaliza and channeling magic towards her. But she had rejected it, pushed it back to him. He knew she had sensed his anxiety because of what she had sent down the bond; it felt like a goodbye. He swore he had actually heard her say it. That she loved him. Them. Iyana hadn’t had enough faith in herself to come out of this alive. The woman never had enough confidence in herself, and Emmeric desperately wanted to change her views. He needed Iyana to see herself the way he saw her—capable, independent, and fierce.
The relief of everyone was palpable when the barrier surrounding the two finally popped, and Uther lay on blood-soaked ground with Emmeric’s dagger through his black heart. Pride filled his body with what Iyana had done, all on her own. He had meant it when he said she could take care of herself.
Zane had immediately taken charge of his father’s men, forcing them to lay down their arms and kneel, hands behind their heads. Someone had killed the last remaining wailer, but screeching in the distance meant they’d need to leave quickly.
His heart and soul longed to go to Iyana. To heal her mangled hand, the cut to her forearm, and all the other scrapes and bruises she’d earned during her hard-fought battle. Arinem had no idea who to thank for their newfound freedom. Emmeric swore to change that when they returned to the mainland, making sure they all realized who was responsible for freeing them—her name chanted in the streets. Mostly, he wanted to heal her heart. Her guilt and relief were swirling together, creating a maelstrom of confusion in her little body. Emmeric wanted to hold her tight, tell her it wasn’t her fault, that it was something the gods had forced her into; that he greatly admired her conviction for doing the right thing, even though she would carry the mental scars of this forever.
That he was proud of her.
But Altair had gotten to her first, wrapping his arms around her and tucking her into his chest. A bolt of jealousy coursed through him before he could stop it, knowing she’d feel it. Sure enough, she turned to him, her caramel-brown eyes red and limned in tears. He held up his own hand—ignoring the echoes of her pain—and mouthed,do you need help?Iyana shook her head, and within seconds Emmeric’s pain disappeared, so he knew she’d healed herself. At least she wasn’t in physical pain any longer.
He glanced over towards his best friend only to find Talon and Zane also wrapped in a tight embrace. Turning to give them some privacy, also a little envious of their happiness, he saw Kaz back in her human form bounding over to him. A sheen of sweat, dirt, and blood covered the shifter’s dark skin, but she launched herself into Emmeric’s arms with a peal of laughter. He held her tight for a moment, needing to holdsomeone, before she pulled away.
“For the love of Yrza. That. Was. Amazing.” Kaz beamed, white teeth flashing from ear to ear. “I’m so happy you guys asked me to join your little quest.”
“We didn’t ask you, Kaz,” Em said, smiling back, the adrenaline in his system finally beginning to calm. “You invited yourself.”
“I did, didn’t I,” she mused. “Can you blame me, though? I mean, you all weresoattractive. Seriously. What are the odds of stumbling upon a group of people where everyone is pretty? Not a snaggletooth, bad haircut, or club foot in sight.”
Laughter bubbled up and out of Emmeric. Throwing his head back to the sky, he let loose all the anxiety and stress the past few moons had given him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so hard.
Once his mirth subsided, Kaz was still by his side, a small smile curving those delicious lips. She gestured towards the ground with a nod of her head, and they found a clean area to sit. They sat with their thighs and shoulders touching, Emmeric luxuriating in the closeness of someone else with no strings attached. Although, Kaz was fun, and exactly the type of woman he would be interested in had he not already met Iyana. Someone to balance him out when he got into one of his moods. It was why he and Tal had been friends for so long. Talon was the push and Emmeric was the pull, the result always ending up somewhere in the middle. Emmeric sighed, peering up at the dull, brown sky. He wondered how much time had passed. Was it currently day or night?
“Kaz, I’m sorry I can’t be more for you.”
A line formed between her brows. The frown was so off-character for her it almost made Emmeric laugh again. “More? I thought we had agreed that what we had was casual. Unless…doyouwant more?”
“No,” Emmeric said, shaking his head.
