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“Help me, please. If you truly believe you deserve this punishment, then prove the Creator wrong. Fix these wrongs, with me, and you will be branded in His glory again. Please, Rafaela. Help me bind Duwar.”

Rafaela laid a hand on mine, her trembling fingers clasping mine tight. “What you are asking of me is no different to death. If you do not want to kill Duncan yourself, then why choose this option?”

The final secret I harboured showed some resistance to come out. I had to prepare myself, force the words out before I never had the confidence to share them.

“Because Duncan will not be the body being locked in labradorite.”

I knew Rafaela already worked out the next answer, but she asked me plainly for it anyway. “Then who will?”

I held her stare, blinking away the tears as a wave of confidence and strength crested over me. “Me. I will take Duwar into my body, and you will lock me away, forever so no one can ever claim access to such a dark power. If that doesn’t work, you kill me. But not him, not Duncan.”

I expected Rafaela to refuse me, but she didn’t. Instead, her grip on my hand tightened, proving more that she was still strong, even in this state. “I will help you, Robin.”

“Thank you.” I sagged forwards, pressing my forehead to hers. “Thank you, thank you.”

“Do not thank me yet,” Rafaela said, grief evident across the pinch of her face. “The road we face is painful, hard. It will require more sacrifice than you could ever imagine.”

“I will do it. Any of it. You’re not the only one with penance to pay.”

Rafaela laid a hand on the back of mine. “Why give yourself up so easily?”

“Because I cannot bear to live in a world without him. Duncan is my life.”

“What do you think he would say, if asked the same question, if given the same choices?”

My heart skipped a beat. We both knew that Duncan would choose the same fate. “Enough people have sacrificed themselves in my name. You have faced unjust punishment for your involvement in destroying the keys, it is time I also pay.”

“From what I can see, Robin.” Rafaela dusted her fingers down the side of my face, clearing tears. “You have suffered greatly already. But I will help you, if you are certain this is the path you wish to take–”

“It is the only path I know of, and we don’t have time to locate another.”

Rafaela bowed her head. “Then this is what we are going to do. To achieve what you desire, we must go to Irobel. Immediately.”

Irobel – home of the Nephilim.

I held my breath and listened to Rafaela’s plan, finding comfort in her assistance. Even if her words solidified the end of my story, and how soon that end would come. I would pay it, tenfold.

For Seraphine and her found family. For Althea and Gyah, Elinor and the life that was taken from her for so long. For Duncan, because he had suffered so much, and deserved a chance at a life that Abbott Nathaniel would’ve wanted for him.

For Erix, the man who would be pacing the floor at my absence, the man who would give anything for me.

And for every life that wished to truly enjoy this new world. I would give myself up a million times over, just to solidify it for them all.

“After the wedding, Cassial will send you to Icethorn with me,” I said, hearing the foolproof plan repeat over in my mind. “It has been agreed between us, a way to keep you safe from his… twisted ways.”

Rafaela picked at her nails, eyes wide and wild with unspoken thoughts. “Then you have a handful of days to make your peace and say your goodbyes.”

I smiled, glad for the closure that would follow. Life had been so unkind, but I’d found so many wonderful people along the way. And Rafaela was right. I had a few days to ensure those I loved knew I loved them, and that the memories I could leave for them would help them understand what I was preparing to do, and why.

“Rafaela… I don’t trust Cassial.”

“Because you are a good judge of character. You shouldn’t trust him. Any of them.” Rafaela finished with a snarl.

“He’s been calling himself the Saviour, acting both in favour for peace and against it.”

Rafaela spat on the ground. “Cassial isnoSaviour. The promised Saviour has yet to show themselves.”

“Promised?” I shook my head, originally believing the title was just given to boost Cassial’s ego. “So, the title isn’t something Cassial’s ego dredged up?”