“Do you know what it means to flaunt thepower you have?” I hold her gaze as her creature makes its way around my torso, squeezing tighter and tighter as it climbs higher. Slowly, my airway begins to close off as it reaches my neck, and I rasp, “It means you’re afraid to show how weak you truly are.”
There’s a brief moment of reprieve from the crushing weight of the snake, its body still wound down my abdomen and right thigh. I find a small victory in the way she screams in frustration—in ruining her satisfaction of this moment.
I don’t know if I’ll ever see Lu again, or if I can even hold on to that hope anymore. But at least I have this.
“Remember,” Vidaris seethes, stalking toward me with her finger pointed. “You brought this upon yourself.”
My muscles tense, bracing for the pain as the hissing amplifies.
From the corner of my eye, I watch as the snake’s head hovers off of my shoulder. There isn’t anything to prepare me for what it does next. In the blink of an eye, it strikes. Razor-sharp teeth clamp down on my neck, and my vision bursts into a searing white nothingness.
Agony ripples through my body as it squeezes tighter, its teeth digging into my throat, compressing itself against me. The world feels as if it’s trapped behind glass—drowned out by the pain pulsating through me.
“Orior.”The moment the word leaves Vidaris’s mouth, the torment dissolves into nothingness. My vision blurs and a delicious heat rolls beneath my skin, cocooning me in sweet oblivion.
“Sweet Aegis.” My brain thrashes against the voice, but my body hums in pleasure at the sound of it. “Won’t you tell me how you’re feeling?”
I want to sneer—to laugh with a bitterness that makes her lip curl up in disgust—but my body doesn’t do that. Instead, I feel my lips pull into a smile. I fight against it, screaming into my mind as confusion and panic begin to set in.
The hissing begins again, whispering a language I can’t understand into my ear.
My smile grows against my will.
“Lucky,” my mouth says. “Blessed to be here with my goddess.”
It’s as if someone else is speaking, my mind caged within while my body moves of its own accord.
The hissing intensifies, and the world slips away as unconsciousness pulls me into the warmth of its arms.
Twenty-Five
Citrine
Chaos breaks out around me,voices shouting above one another.
“Mylah needs to examine your hand,” Willow presses.
“You can’t leave now,” Leda snaps. “Not like this.”
A growl from Aster, his voice dark as he grinds out, “Our focus is getting Nightfall. Not saving the life ofonemale.”
Echoes of agreement sound around us.
Nightfall is still my focus; it just isn’t myonlyfocus. As selfish as my reasoning may be, I need Graylen. He sacrificed himself for me, and I can’t just leave him in the Vale. Now that we’ve had a chance to recover and have a plan to retrieve a weapon that gives us the upper hand, he’s my priority.
We’ve left him there long enough—I’veleft him there.
And I won’t wait any longer.
I can’t focus on helping get this dagger if I know Graylen is suffering. With my attention divided, how will that help us?
Besides, if it came down to losing the dagger or losing Graylen, I’d choose to lose the dagger. Easily. None of this means anything if the people I care about are lost along the way. I know it’s selfish, but that’s what I’m going to do.
I’ll sacrifice myself to save the innocent in the kingdom, but I won’t sacrifice Graylen. That’s where my selflessness ends. A flaw I’m aware of, but still choose to give in to regardless.
If I searched for the dagger first, who knows how long we could be looking for it. Three season changes? Seven? All while Graylen suffers at the hands of Vidaris.
I won’t allow it.
