He continues. “If the choice is between you living or you dying—what choice do I have?”
“None. It’s my decision.”
“Not on this.” He exhales. “You don’t have to be there for it, but it would help.”
I take a step back. My bottom lip quivers. “You’re afraid of killing me, but you’re not afraid of breaking me.”
He swallows. His Adam’s apple dips.
“I won’t help you destroy us, Eryx. You do what you have to, but don’t expect me to take any part in it.”
We stare at each other a moment, and Eryx only nods. His shoulders sag. His chest sinks.
I don’t care if this kills him.
He chose to kill us first.
Without another word I head out of the dining room. When I reach my bedroom, I shut the door and lock it.
I press my back against the door and slide down until I'm sitting on the floor. My magic churns inside me—gold and black, still there, still ours.
But not for long. I'll go back to being the Chelsea I was before. The one who was afraid of marriage. The one with failing magic. The one who was never his.
I pull my knees to my chest and finally let myself cry.
Chelsea
Something tugs at me before I’m fully awake.
The bond.
It feels thinner.
I reach for it instinctively. It’s there—holding on by a string.
Eryx.
He’s in the dream room,Nightmare informs me.
So Nightmare finally speaks. Its voice is faint. Distant. Like it's already halfway gone.
I’m sad to leave you,it whispers.You were brilliant, Chelsea. Our beautiful…
And then silence.
Eryx told me he would do this. But feeling it is different.
After this, my magic will never be mine in the same way again.
He has to know that.
I push my feet into slippers, grab a robe and slip my arms through it. I unlock the door and open it. Echo slides through first, giving me a moment to take in the shadows. In all my worry today I must’ve not noticed, but they’re thinner—faded, like they’re a whisper away from disappearing.
That’s how this feels—that I’m also a whisper away.
I race down the hall, my slippers scraping against the stone floors as I barrel toward his room.
I round a corner and there’s the door. As soon as I see it, a violent suction of power grips me, tugging so I almost slam into it.
