I take my last breath.
I’m not scared.
I’m not scared.
My eyes fall closed.
A low rumble sounds in the distance. A swarm of tiny birds lift into the cloudless sky on colorful wings, a glorious farewell.
The guards posted at the edge of the crowd take off toward The Divide, to where dust swirls like a cyclone.
Everett Gathin emerges from the muddy cloud, dagger drawn and his long legs eating up the distance.
My heart soars as I gasp, and?—
The stool is kicked from beneath me.
55
“Even buried beneath a bed of lies, the truth will always make itself known.”
Author Unknown
Ihear him over everything else, the screams and cries, the slap of boots on cobblestones and clang of clashing metal. Ever shouting my name is the only sound in this world that can pry open my lids as consciousness fades. Amidst the black spots that speckle my vision, I see him sprinting toward me. Arms and legs pumping, fear wild in his midnight eyes.
As fast as he is, he won’t be fast enough to save me.
My heart begins to slow, my throat straining against the rope cutting below my jaw.
My feet kick but there’s nothing except air beneath me.
Blackness swells, swarming until all I see is a pinprick of light and the panicked face of the man I love.
Something brushes my legs. Squeezes and lifts. The pressure on my throat eases. Through the haze I find Nolan gripping my legs, holding me up as I gasp, filling my lungs with sweet air. The other guards watching the dais don’t seem to know what to do. Their heads swing from their new king, to me, to the onslaught of Unseelie fae emerging from the settling dust.
Ronan launches to his feet, bellowing for the men to kill the Unseelie warriors.
There must behundreds.
Everett’s village had seemed so small. Where did they all come from?
One man towers over the rest, leading the charge, shouting orders of his own in a language I’ve never heard before.
Ever moves like lightning, and when I open my eyes again, he’s here, his bone-handled dagger slicing through the rope still holding me aloft. Nolan stumbles under my weight, but Ever catches me, cradling my trembling form in arms as steady as the ground beneath us.
Carefully, he cuts away the length of rope, tossing it aside with a growl. “Kerris?” he breathes, his dark eyes desolate and his calloused hands cupping my cheeks. “Speak to me.”
“You came for me.” The words break from my lips, jagged and hoarse. This man found a way to traverse the treacherous Divide without a bridge.
Hemadeone.
His lips twitch, followed by a flash of sharp white teeth. “Always.”
“Guards!” Ronan roars, desperation in his demand. His plans are falling apart around him and there’s no telling what he’ll do to try and keep things together.
There’s been too much death already.
Why can’t he see that he’s been beaten?—
