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I would end this. Right here, right now.

My eyes snapped open, fixing on the city below.

Sethros, the heart of corruption, the seat of power for those who had brought such misery to Nimbria. I raised my hands, magic pulsing in time with my heartbeat, a rhythm of vengeance and retribution.

With a scream that tore from the depths of my soul, I unleashed the full force of my power. The sky split open, a chasm of roiling darkness that descended upon the city like the maw of some great beast. Tendrils of shadow, sharp as blades and cold as the void, whipped through the streets, tearing through stone and metal like parchment.

The ground heaved and buckled, great fissures opening up to swallow entire buildings. The sound was deafening—the groaning of twisting metal, the shattering of glass, the thunderous collapse of ancient structures. The air crackled with energy, the sky darkening as if the sun itself had been snuffed out.

Every ounce of grief, of rage, of pain poured down the tendrils of magic as the heavens shattered. Rain began to crash against the shield around us, as another wave of power flared in my chest.

I let it all go as the shower drenching the earth turned crimson.

I remembered then, a line I had read inThe Storiesyears ago.

When blood rains down, the devil rises.

Chapter forty-eight

ATALIIA

Istumbledfromtheback of Essara’s dragon, my palms slamming into grass that was too soft.

Tooalive.

A harrowing scream clawed from my lungs before I could stop it.

The gods were fucking cruel.

I could feel Dukovich’s hands slide down my back, his fingers wrapping around my waist as he fell to my side. He pulled me against his chest, and for the first time, I did not try to hide my pain from him.

My curses echoed through the sunlit sky, the calmness of Ithia’s air mocking the devastation that tore at my chest.

Andrues’s eyes connected with mine as he slid down the side of Nantia’s dragon, Wren’s lifeless body tucked against his chest. There was so much emotion burning behind his irises—so much pain.

The sorrow in his gaze gutted me, compounding my own until I felt as if I would crumble beneath the weight of it. But there was something else simmering beneath the surface, something that looked achingly like love.

I stared at Andrues, my eyes desperately searching his face, needing him in a way I have never needed anyone before.

He was the only one that knew me. The only person who had seen the hell that lived inside of me—the darkness that was fighting to crawl back to the surface and pull me under.

I couldn’t go back there.

I wouldn’t fucking go back there.

For only a moment, Andrues hesitated, as if he were about to run to me then pulled his gaze to Pri who stood in front of him with tears streaming from her eyes. Her face was hollow, her eyes holding no emotion, as if her own soul had left her body with Wren’s.

Slowly, he turned and walked away, Pri following silently behind him.

It was as if invisible chains kept me rooted to the spot, sprawled in Dukovich’s arms as silent tears streamed down my face. The agony in my chest was a living, breathing thing, clawing at my insides like an angry beast.

Wren was gone.

Gone.

Landers and Cin materialized at the edge of the field, Asrai and Yenne at their side. Relief flooded my body, my eyes locked on hers.

She ran to me, and in a second, I was on my feet sprinting toward her.