A shudder runs through me, and my senses sharpen. Every yell, every strike, every weapon drawn is louder, clearer.
I shifted.
But it’s useless if I can’t get Asmo on my back. I circle him, nudging him with my snout. My throat tightens at how lifeless he is. Heavy footsteps pound toward me, and I flinch.
Elle. “Let me help you.”
I lower myself and try not to focus on how she has to drag him. She drapes him over my back. He’s heavy, but I can carry him, something I would never have been able to do in my hybrid form.
I don’t waste any time. I take off. I don’t know where togo that’s safe, so I just run, trampling through the forest and down the mountain. I pass barren trees, their trunks thick and ancient, and finally, I understand thatthismust be what regret truly feels like—the dead, crushing weight of my mate on my back.
Please,I beg to no one, anyone.Please. Please.Please.
The forest is still silent, not a single animal to be seen or heard—just me, praying to whoever deigns to listen.
Then, I hear it. The rushing sound of the river.
It cuts through the mountain, running beneath the castle. A perfect place to hide. I trudge along the riverbank, the gray water looking cold as ice. The sunlight fades as I carry Asmo deeper.
When the light has nearly disappeared, I lay him on the bank of the river and shift back to my hybrid form. Asmo lays horrifyingly still. My hands shake as I cup his face, willing him to smirk, to frown.Anything, please,I beg again.
But his face looks like it’s carved from marble. Pale, cold, still marble.
“Asmo,” I whisper. He doesn’t stir. “Asmo!” I shove him, I beat on his chest, I shake him. But he doesn’t move.
I refuse to accept this. This cannot be what the Mother intended. This cannot be the cost for ridding the world of Cora. I have given too much. I have lived this fucking life, and I have played their fucking games and I refuse to believe that anyone would ask this much of me.
I scream and cry and beg for the Mother to help me, but She is silent.
And so is Asmo.
“Hello, Mae,” a voice whispers, so light it could’ve been the wind. A jolt bolts through me and hope blooms in my chest. I whip my head up and stare at Asmo’s lips, but they remain frozen and blue.
My blood turns to ice. I turn, shifting my body to cover Asmo’s.
A dark figure stands on the riverbank, eerily still.
I wipe my tear-stained eyes and squint. The figure steps forward.
Thera. If the Mother’s eyes are like the ocean, Thera’s are like the night sky. Black pits with glistening stars, a whirling galaxy for an iris.
“What do you want?” I hiss. “What else do you want?”
She frowns, then speaks. Her voice is like the swing of a blade beforeit finds its mark, swift and light and filled with the promise of all that is terrible. “Your tears can no longer save him, Child of the Mother. He is too far gone.” She pauses, filling the cave with the sound of the river as it rushes past. My chest rises and falls, but mine is the only one. “But I can.”
“Who are you?” I whisper.
Her eyes crinkle, and galaxies shift. “I am Thera. I am the Sister. I am death. But in death, there is rebirth. And I am your mate’s only option.”
“What is the cost?”
She quirks her head. The movement is too quick to be natural. “You will owe me a debt. To be called upon at my convenience.”
Any sane person would throw this offer into the river left untouched. But I know what Asmo would do. I will suffer through whatever needs to be done to have my mate back. I will damn myself if that is what it takes to see his chest rise again. If it means one more kiss, one more “princess,” one more moment staring into his eyes.
I will do anything.
“Deal.”
