Tessa continued. “He had the gemstone necklace—the one that held half of Andromeda’s power—on him, but it was hidden in his cloak. I went to stab him with the Mortal Blade, and…”
My eyes widened, understanding at once. “You stabbed him, which meant he and everything on him turned to ash, including that gemstone. That’s how the god was released.”
This wasn’t good. Morgan had been right. In Tessa’s attempt to free herself from Oberon, she’d inadvertently destroyed the gemstone. She was the one who had released the god, which meant…
Sighing, I closed my eyes, and then quickly reopened them as I heard steel slash the air.
“I am sorry, Tessa,” Fenella said in a tight voice as she aimed her twin daggers at the poor girl’s face. “Kalen will be forced to kill you, and I can’t let him do that. It would destroy him. I’ll have to kill you myself.”
Four
Tessa
Ibraced myself, my fingers digging into the blackened pub table. I’d known the moment Fenella had walked through that door that I was not leaving this city alive. There was a haunted look in her silver eyes, a grim resignation. She didn’t want to kill me, but as far as she could see, there was no other option.
“Wait.” Toryn shoved one of the daggers down and whirled on Fenella, placing his body between her weapons and me. My heart ached. I didn’t deserve his sympathy. “We can get her out of here without anyone else knowing she was here. There’s no need for anyone to die this day.”
Niamh gazed at me, her violet eyes pinched. “Oh, Toryn. I wish that were true. There is a reason Kal’s mother asked him to make that vow. Whoever brings back the gods forges a direct link to them somehow. It means as long as they live, this world is in danger. They must die, or we can never rid ourselves of them.”
I swallowed. “Forges a link?”
Niamh nodded. “Yes, through magic, much like the forging of a vow. At least, that’s what we think.”
A question rose from the depths of my sorrow, and the clouds in my mind parted just long enough for a seed of hope to sprout through the mist. “Are you certain about this?”
She frowned. “Well, Bellicent was very vague about most of this, but she was clear about that. Someone will forge a bond with the god, unbreakable in any way other than death.”
“I didn’t forge a bond,” I said quickly, my nails turning black as I dug them into the soot-covered table. “I made a vow once, with Kalen, and I know what it felt like—that magic. I didn’t feel anything at all when the gemstone was destroyed. Nothing but regret, but that’s beside the point.”
Toryn turned toward me then, hope in his eyes, while Fenella still clung to her daggers.
“I stabbed Oberon, yes, but…I actually didn’t mean to. Well, I did, but I hesitated. He was acting so strangely and telling me about the vault.” I shook my head, the memories rushing through my mind. “He started shouting, and then he stumbled forward. It was like he was…like he was shoved.”
Suddenly, the pub door was flung open, and Kalen’s powerful, mist-enshrouded figure appeared in the doorframe. Morgan stood just behind him with a strange light dancing in her eyes. I shuddered at the way she looked at me.
But it was nothing compared to the twisted expression on Kalen’s face. Fury and despair raged across his features. Those sapphire eyes glowed. Mist spilled from his skin, coating the entire room in a fog so thick, it almost made me choke.
“Kal.” Toryn shifted sideways to block Kalen’s view of me. But despite his expression, despite knowing he’d likely made an unbreakable vow to destroy me, my heart still leapt at the sight of him. He was terrifying and beautiful and consumed by the mists that had threatened my existence for as long as I could remember. And I loved every single part of him.
“Move out of the way, Toryn,” he commanded in that powerful voice of his, pain etched in every word.
Fenella frowned and glanced over her shoulder, though she kept one eye on the place where I still stood, backed against the pub’s far wall. “You don’t have to put yourself through this, Kal. I can bear this burden for you.”
“No oneis bearing this burden.” His voice became a growl as he moved around Fenella and Niamh, his glowing eyes locked on my face. “Did you not listen to what she just said? Tessa didn’t kill Oberon. Hekilledhimself. None of this is her fault, and she will not die for it.” He stepped toward me, his body humming. “No one will lay a hand on her, including me.”
My knees nearly buckled with relief. I stared at him, my heart racing, a part of me wondering if I could have heard him wrong. These were the words I’d longed for him to say, but…surely it couldn’t be that easy.
“But your vow,” Morgan said from the doorframe. “Tessa is the one who brought back the gods, so—”
Kalen’s eyes narrowed, and he whipped toward Morgan. “Fuck the vow. Tessa wasn’t the one who brought back the gods.Oberonwas. He is dead, which means I am finally free from this endless torment. The real question is, who in the moon’s name areyou?”
My heart clenched as Kalen, Niamh, and Fenella stared down Morgan. Just behind her, I spied Alastair widening his stance to block her from any escape attempt. She lifted her chin and stared right back in challenge, and I understood at once what Kalen had meant by his question. I’d been so distracted by the comet and Oberon’s death and my fear of what might happen next that I’d forgotten what Morgan had told us when she’d sent that raven.
Oberon had planned to transfer Bellicent into Morgan’s fae body. When he’d captured me, it hadn’t seemed like he’d gone through with it, but…
What if hehad? What if this was Bellicent Denare standing in front of us?
“I am Morgan Allanach,” she said in a steady voice. “And I am finally free of King Oberon’s control over my life, which included, as you well know, lying to you. He forced me to send you that raven so he could set a trap. I don’t blame you for not trusting me now, but that’s the truth of it. Do you really think he would have allowed me to contact you without his permission?”
