The dagger slips from my hand, and I fall back, screaming into the ocean above, praying for it to drown me so this pain ends.
A cry cuts through the noise in my head. Then another. Then hundreds.
My eyes snap open, and I watch in horror as every single person is writhing on the ground, screaming in pain.
Dean…
My eyes search for him, my mate, the only person who can stop this pain from swallowing me. When I find him, he’s already crawling toward me… but before he can reach, he falls on his side.
The fog in my eyes fades, and I see the blood spilling from his ears.He’s hurt… because of me.
I need to stop.I can’t hurt him. Not him. Never him.
Tiberius can barely move, blood pouring out of his eyes, ears, and mouth.
But I feel nothing. There’s no joy in watching him like this. A massive weight is crushing my chest, making me hurt my mate, my family, my friend, my allies.
Something digs in my side, and I finally realize what I have to do.
My hand trembles as I pick up the dagger I stole from Tiberius and press it against his throat. He gurgles, begging me to spare his life, but I can’t… I can’t hear him.
I drag the blade down his throat to the center of his chest. I don’t think I’m breathing as I finally push it into his heart.
And this time… he stops moving.
I thought his death would fix it. It doesn’t.
I don’t know how long I keep screaming until my voice cracks on a broken hiccup, releasing everyone from my trance.
I force myself up, desperate to reach my mate, to hide, to disappear, but the world tilts violently beneath me.
Something warm drips from my nose to my lips as I sway. I swipe under my nose and freeze when my fingers come back red.Blood.
A high-pitched ringing in my head makes me wince.
Then everything goes black.
39. Dead kings and other pretty things
Dean
It should feel majestic to watch Hazel step into her full power and turn it on Tiberius. It should feel like victory. Instead, it feels like standing too close to a storm that doesn’t know friend from foe.
It’s the first time Eldoris has seen a siren brimming with magic that rivals their king. The same girl they dismissed as nothing more than a slave.
Her eyes glow like a swirling storm. Layers of pale blue and silver churning beneath the surface like a living galaxy. Like something that was never meant to be contained inside a body. Something that was always meant to break free.
And then it does.
Hazel is breathtaking as her power crashes through the battlefield, forcing everyone to their knees. But it shifts too fast, too sharp.
When she grabs Tiberius’ head, every warrior from Eldoris freezes. His scream rips through the air as she tears his mind apart.
But it’s not just his pain that stuns us. It’s her.
Hazelis holding something uncontrollable in her hands, and no one knows how to stop her.
I knew my mate could tear Tiberius’ flesh off his bones, but this woman—thissiren—isn’t Hazel. This is someone colder. Some broken in a way I don’t recognize.
