You can’t force me back in that cage!
I screamed as more hands grabbed for me, holding me down. My magic rose to the surface to protect me, shadows dancing around my body, lashing out at anything and anyone around me. I thrashed, clenching my teeth so hard they should have shattered while fingers tried to pry my mouth open.
I will not go.
They were trying to kill me. I was sure of it.
Do not let them.
I summoned more of my magic than I’d ever dipped into before to my fingertips, but I wasn’t fast enough. A cold liquid touched my tongue and my entire world shattered.
All of my senses came back at once in full force. Sound: screaming, crying, and panicked, labored breaths. Scent: the metallic tang of blood and death. Feel: excruciating pain along my skin and soreness in my jaw. And finally, sight—the worst of all: the horrified expressions of my friends. Friends who had witnessed me completely lose control.
I looked up at Alandris, who’d held me firm in his arms as I choked out a sob. “What have I done?”
Black tendrils covered his entire neck, curling around his cheek, into his eye, and disappearing into his hairline. They were so intense it appeared as though black fire had burned him. I’d almost killed him. The realization that he was somehow still conscious right now was incomprehensible.
“We need to get her out of here,” Alandris spoke grimly, looking at Jyuri. “We used a lot, but I don’t know how long it will hold Zaelos back. It’s… progressing.”
“What will you do?”
“I need to return to the Council with the man Kaz knocked out earlier.” He pointed to his face. “At least I have a battle scar to sell the story. Let’s hope they don’t see my escape as a betrayal. I’ll meet you at the Consortium as soon as I am able, and then you can take me to her.”
Zorinna bristled. “Are you seriously joking about what just happened? This is a problem.”
I tensed. “I—I didn’t mean to. I—um, I couldn’t…” The words died on my lips.
Alandris squeezed my hand. “I know. It wasn’t you.”
But it was.
I couldn’t look into his eyes. Forgiveness, pity, and sadness were not what I wanted to see. Nor was love. I didn’t deserve any of it. Instead, I looked past him, into the crowd forming at the edge of the Temple of the Moon. Worshippers stood, looking on in horror at the sight of us—of me. I supposed I hadn’t needed to fear becoming an image of worship—a goddess—for the people of Val’Naeris. I may have saved them, but I’d shown them the visage of a monster.
Five days and four nights was how long I sat alone in the strange home inside Jyuri’s domain. He’d dropped me off with a few mumbled words, assuring me Zaelos couldn’t break through while I was here, and he hadn’t returned since. I’d not expected comfort from a Fae, but I’d hoped he wouldn’t leave me alone to stew in my thoughts. At the very least, I’d expected him to check in each day, relaying information about Alandris’ whereabouts, or what our plan going forward was. By the third day, I’d accepted he had zero intentions of returning on his own.
Without a single distraction, I was stuck replaying the events of the Temple of the Moon repeatedly in my mind. Now, with the clarity of a free mind, I witnessed everything I’d done as if I were a stranger watching from a distance. If only that had been the case. If only the person who had caused such devastation hadn’t been me.
I’d not killed anyone innocent. A slight consolation that did little to alleviate the burden of knowing I’d nearly killed the one person I loved most, and I’d put more than a few bruises on my friends who’d tried to help him save me. It did nothingto erase the image of their faces staring down at me as I lost control. They’d been genuinely afraid of me. By day four, the tendrils’ stains on my skin had faded, but their fear remained permanently etched in my mind. That pain was worse than anything I’d endured. In any life.
When the sun set on the fifth day, Jyuri appeared in the middle of the room with Alandris in tow, and I had to bite down on the side of my cheek to stop the tears from spilling out right then—because he was unharmed. The tendrils I’d feared would permanently mar his face had—in fact—faded. The Divine Council hadn’t killed him. They didn’t know of his betrayal. And that was enough for now.
“I won’t return for a week,” Jyuri said, turning his back to us. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
Alandris grinned. “I’m under the impression that there is very little you wouldn’t do.”
He laughed. “That is true.”
Without another word, he was gone.
Alandris turned to me, and his smile fell. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re afraid I’m going to run away.” He walked to me and took my hands in his. “I have waited a very, very long time for this moment. For you. I’m not going anywhere.”
I chewed my bottom lip. “I nearly caused your death.”
“That was Zaelos. I do not blame you.”
