Toryn’s jaw went rigid, and a few whispers sounded from nearby. Heart pounding, I turned to Kalen. His eyes were wild and held an intensity that shook my soul. Our worst suspicions were confirmed. Andromeda was here, and the gods below would awaken at any moment. We didn’t have time to explain things to the storm fae. They couldn’t pack their belongings or calmly walk out of this castle and into the city streets beyond.
They needed to fleenow.
Toryn held up a hand. “I need everyone to leave this castle immediately. Do not take anything with you. Do not return to your rooms unless it’s to get your children or anyone who didn’t attend this feast. Go, as fast as you can, and gather in the market courtyard along the southern wall. Call out to every building you pass. Tell the people of Gailfean they need to run. The gods have returned.”
And then the Great Hall exploded into chaos.
Twenty-Nine
Kalen
“Go with the others,” I said to Tessa and Nellie as the Gailfean storm fae raced out the open doors of the Great Hall. Toward safety, we had to hope. “Toryn and I will stay behind to ensure everyone gets out of the castle.”
Tessa stared up at me with a stubborn glint in her eye. “Absolutely not. I won’t leave you behind.”
I sighed. I should have expected as much. Her willingness to face danger head-on was one of the many things I loved about her, but I couldn’t risk her like this. If the comet was gone, the gods were fully waking. It was only a matter of moments before they broke free of their stone coffins. Queen Tatiana would hold them off as long as she could, but…she would not last long.
“Tessa,” I said, reaching out to palm her face. She stopped me with a gloved hand. Frustration surged in my heart. I hated that I couldn’t touch her, especially during a time like this, when our world was moments away from being dragged into the darkness.
“We are a team now, Kalen,” she whispered up at me, unblinking. “I can’t go without you.”
“And your sister?”
A tense line formed between Tessa’s brows, and then she turned to Fenella, who was watching the screaming, fleeing fae with blatant unease. Her hands clutched both her daggers. “Fenella, can you go to the courtyard and take Nellie with you? Caedmon, too.”
“We can manage that.”
Caedmon gave a nod, his jaw tight. “Don’t worry. We’ll get her somewhere safe.”
Nellie didn’t even argue as Tessa threw her arms around her, hugged her goodbye, and then sent her on her way. I’d been impressed with Nellie’s bravery—she’d faced far more than most humans ever would in their lifetime. But I could see by the paling of her face and the trembling of her hands that she knew this was not a time to be bold.
It was a time to run.
The Gailfean fae continued to stream out the open doors, their desperation causing them to push and shove and claw their way toward the front of the crowd. One fae got knocked to the floor, a smaller man with black hair and terrified eyes, who struggled to get back on his feet. Toryn saw and left the dais at once, pushing through the crowd to help the man.
I took Tessa’s gloved hand and pulled her to my chest. “Tessa, there’s something I need to tell you.”
She dropped back her head to gaze up at me. Unshed tears glazed her eyes, but they weren’t for her own fear, her own sorrow. I could feel her emotions surging through the bond—even her thoughts. This was where it all ended, where it all changed. From this moment on, peace and happiness would be forgotten things. How would we survive? Perhaps we wouldn’t. It seemed impossible that we could win against five powerful beings who could never die.
But beneath her grief, there was another emotion that softened the hard edges she displayed to the world. An emotion that swelled in my own chest. One I’d yet to voice aloud.
But I needed to. If this was where it all ended, I wanted Tessa to know.
Suddenly, the floor rumbled, shaking down the length of the Great Hall. Fae screamed, and the thunder of their footsteps grew so loud that it almost drowned out the sound of the gods awakening in the cavern beneath the castle.
Tessa leaned into me, her gloved hands splayed across my chest. And I held her tightly to me, unwilling to let her go. As much as I would have preferred she leave with her sister and go to the safety of the courtyard outside, I was glad she was here by my side. Here, with me, when we faced the end of it all.
Sighing, I tugged the end of her braid. Those soft brown eyes gazed up at me, and my heart clenched. I’d always been a damn fool when I looked into those eyes. They were the color of a gemstone, the tiger-eye. Such a shockingly golden brown. And in them, I saw the other half of my soul.
“Tessa,” I said in a rough voice. “No matter what happens next, I want you to know—”
“Wait.” Her expression softened even more, and she traced her gloved finger across my chin, ignoring the rumbling that grew ever louder. “Not here, not like this. Don’t talk like this is the end because it’s not. We can do this. We can fight those gods. May the realm never break.”
I clasped her hand in mine and held it against my heart. Emotion surged within me, hers and mine combined. “May the realm never break.”
And then the dais beneath our feet splintered.
Tessa cried out and leapt across the crack that widened between us. Her body slammed into me, knocking me sideways. I caught her arms and steadied myself, and her eyes met mine. Something passed between us then—an understanding, a bone-deep realization that we would either get through this together or we would never again see the sky.
