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My body rocked back and forth, cradling Wren’s body against my chest. I wanted to scream, to rage, to tear the world apart with my bare hands. But unrelenting sobs were the only sounds that fled my lungs, echoing through the ruins of the House of High.

This wasn’t happening.

It had to be a nightmare, a twisted figment of my imagination.

Any moment now, I would wake up.

Wake up and find him standing beside me, his arm draped casually around my shoulder with that infuriatingly charming smirk.

I traced my fingers over his face, memorizing every line and angle, willing him to blink, to breathe—to give me any sign that this was not the end.

I wasn’t sure how long landers had been holding me, how long I had been sitting there wrapped in his arms as I wrapped Wren in mine.

Hands wrapped around Wren’s body tugging him from my chest and my eyes shot up to see Andrues lifting him from the ground as Pri’s cry pierced through the haze of my shattering heart. She stumbled toward us, blood dripping from her skin as her face twisted into a look of pure horror.

As if a switch had been flipped from the loss of Wren’s fading warmth, I crashed back into reality with agonizing force. Smoke was pouring through the rubble, fire burning through everything it touched as Andrues took off running with Wren’s lifeless body.

Landers’s hands slipped from my waist, gliding up my body to grip my shoulders as he forced me to meet his gaze, thoseemerald eyes burning with desperate intensity. “The Silliands’ army is almost here. We have to go before they trap us inside.”

His words penetrated the fog of grief, a flicker of understanding sparking through the static. I nodded, the motion mechanical, my body operating on instinct rather than conscious thought.

Landers pulled me to my feet, my legs unsteady beneath me. The world tilted and swayed, the edges of my vision darkening as I drew from the last reserves of my strength.

His wings unfurled behind him, emerald scales glinting in the hellish light of the flames. Beyond the crumbled walls, I could see the others mounting their dragons, preparing to retreat.

Shadows gathered at my back, weaving and twisting until my own wings billowed from my skin as a thunderous crash shook the ground. My body snapped toward it as a fresh wave of creatures poured into the once opulent hall. Their eyes glowing with malevolent hunger, their twisted forms silhouetted against the flickering flames.

Shadows surged within me, responding to the threat as tendrils of black matter curled around my body like living armor. Landers’s hand found mine, his fingers lacing with my own as he tugged me toward the edge of the ruins.

The ground beneath our feet was slick with blood and ichor, the bodies of the fallen creatures littering our path. But Landers held me steady, his grip on my hand never faltering, his strength the only thing keeping my feet moving forward.

We leapt into the sky just as the horde reached us, their talons scraping against the marble floor, their shrieks of rage echoing in our wake.

The wind rushed past my face, whipping my hair into a wild tangle as we soared higher. From this vantage point, I could see the true extent of the destruction.

The once grand fortress lay in ruins, its towering brass spires reduced to jagged stumps, its ornate halls now nothing more than heaps of broken parts. The mezzen swarmed over the rubble like ants, their cries fading into the distance as we climbed higher into the sky.

My eyes scanned the skies, spotting the others flying in formation, dragons cutting through clouds with breathtaking speed.

They were far enough away.

There was enough distance between us for me to make good on my promise.

My gaze tore back to the city burning below us, as shadow encased me and Landers in a protective shield. Wind dried the tears streaming from my eyes as Landers’s arms slipped around my middle, his chin falling to rest on my shoulder. His heart beat in tandem with my own, raw power pulsing between our bodies pressed together.

“Whatever you choose, Hyacinth, I am with you.” His breath was hot against my ear as he spoke, his voice low and resolute. “I am with you, to death.”

His words ignited something deep within me, a rage that had been simmering just beneath the surface. The shadow shield around us pulsed and thickened, responding to the maelstrom of emotions swirling inside my chest.

My hands clenched into fists at my sides, shadows coalescing around my fingers like living gauntlets. I could feel the magic building under my skin, a pressure that demanded release. It was ancient and primal, a force of nature that could not be contained—a force that could reshape the very fabric of reality.

I didn’t want to contain it. Not anymore.

I closed my eyes, letting the well of power thrum through my veins, and for a moment, I hesitated.

But then I saw Wren, saw Ardan.

Saw them laughing together, teasing and taunting the other as their eyes reflected every memory we would not make. Every moment stolen.