Swallowing, I can’t stop hyperventilating. I can’t breathe.
Baris blocks my vision, shadow casting me into darkness. “You saw something.” He lifts my chin, inhaling with me. I follow him, breathing when he does. “What did you see?”
I shake my head. I can’t say. Not here. Not in front of Fee and Reid.
How can I tell them I had to kill their brother, my husband, in order to conquer my fears and release them for the ritual to work? The idea of hurting Kaden makes me want to cry, rage and fall to the ground in pieces. I’d rather cut my own hand off than harm him.
Mal seems to understand the tension, wrapping an arm around Fee’s shoulders, and grabs the back of Reid’s collar, pulling them both outside. Zeke closes the warped door, not that it will stop anyone from hearing, but at least I won’t have to look at them.
“Maximillia,” Baris says softly. “Tell me.”
“She saw his death,” Layla murmurs. She looks to the tiny window, up into the night sky. Dawn is on the horizon and she exhales loudly. “Only death will end the bond.”
“It can’t be, can it?” I plead with my father. “Killing him would end both of us. If I’m to truly save the world, end the curse and the war, it can’t be that.”
He rubs his chin, age showing through his tired movements. “It is possible it might be a metaphor.” Baris sighs. “But that is unlikely. If the purification ritual showed how you would win, then it’s more likely that is the best choice.”
“I crushed his heart!” I shout, rage and grief rising with the bile in my throat. “I killed my mate in order to finish the ritual. And he wasn’t evenmymate—he was some deranged copy of him. It wasn’t truly him—at least that’s what I thought when I ended him. I comforted myself with the knowledge it was only in my head,” I cry out.
“Are you saying that this is what I must do?”
I can’t kill him.I cannot do this.
“If it’s to save the world?” Baris pulls me into a hug and a sob releases between my clenched lips. “It may be the only choice.”
“But then he’ll die.”
Layla comes over, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. “You must trust in the Gods. They will show you what to do.”
The Gods can burn for all I care.They can’t expect me to kill my mate. Not for the world. I won’t.
Instead, I’ll save him. I won’t kill him, I won’t crush his heart. I’ll save him like I did last time.
Pushing away, I throw open the door. Fee and Reid stand against the pond, the guards surrounding us. Every set of eyes falls to me.
They heard. They know what I have to do. They also heard my refusal.
“Maximillia, where are you going?”
“Back to the Veridian Palace. I’m going to figure out a way to save him and kill Aoife.”
Glancing back, my father stands, wings out. A collective gasp goes through our Dark Fae. Seeing my father in his true form is akin to seeing a God.
“You’re tired. You need to rest.”
“I need my mate,” I fire back. “I need him beside me. Not with that woman.”
“And what happens if your magic becomes uncontrollable?” he challenges. “You killed the heir without a thought. Because he moved when you least expected it.”
My eyes widen. “How do youknowthat?”
He taps his ear. I’ve never been more irritated with a tattling God as I am right now.
“Rest, little one.” He comes closer, hands outward. “There is no telling what will happen if you continue as you are.”
“Would you stop if it was my mother?” At his silence, I nod. “Exactly.”
Climbing on to an Coal stallion, I kick the horse into a hard gallop. I don’t wait for the soldiers, nor the rest of my party. Something tells me they would only stop me.
And right now, I don’t want to be stopped. I want my mate back. I want the bond in my chest to burn so brightly it sears me from the inside. I want to hear his laugh, feel his lips and rest my head against his chest.
I will not kill him to save the world. If I must choose, I choose Kaden. Always.
