Page 111

“You won’t force me to go to Albyria?” I asked, my heart pounding.

“No,” he whispered. “You don’t have to go.”

“And you’ll tell me where the necklace is?”

His eyes went wide. “I can’t do that. Tessa, please. That’s the one thing I can’t do.”

I closed my eyes, and all the rage I’d felt toward this fae drifted away like smoke on the wind. For so long, I’d dreamt of this moment. I’dachedfor it. This was what I thought I wanted—a broken king cowering before me, begging me to spare his life.

But now that this moment was here, it tasted like ash.

As I stared down at his shivering form, I realized I did not want to kill him, but that I would have to do it anyway. He would never let go of his need to save Bellicent’s soul from death. Eventually, that necklace would damage him beyond repair, and he’d release the god. Sooner rather than later, judging by the sight of him. He was a broken man.

I knelt before him and took one of his trembling hands in mine. “I’m sorry for what she’s done to you.”

Relief relaxed the tension on his face. “You understand.”

“I do.” My fingers tightened around the dagger I held by my side. “You’ve been fighting her temptation for so long. I understand how hard it’s been.”

He slumped forward. “Does that mean you’ll come with me?”

“To Albyria?”

“I won’t force you to go.” He lifted his eyes to mine. “But you could come willingly.”

I gave him a sad smile. “You just can’t let it go, can you?”

“Of course I can’t. I started this, and now I have to end it. I’m taking you to Albyria to lock you in the vault, along with the necklace. To keep the world safe, even from Bellicent. I won’t let anyone ever use it again. The god’s essence has been trying to stop me, dampening my powers and not letting me heal, but—” And then suddenly, he shouted, “No, stop. Just stop!”

He lunged toward me and threw himself against the dagger.

The steel sank into his skin, and blood gushed down his neck. His mouth widened as his hands scrabbled at the blade. And then he met my eyes. The ember glowed bright, like the last gasps of a dying flame.

“No,” he choked out, digging a hand into the front of his leather armor. “No, no, no, no, no.”

I leapt to my feet and stumbled back, horror snaking through me. The blade’s burning magic started at his throat and trailed down the front of him. Flecks of ash drifted off his graying body.

Roaring, he yanked his hand from his armor, and there—the onyx necklace dangled from his fingers. My heart leapt into my throat. Oberon flung the necklace away from him as the ash climbed across his torso. The gemstone landed with a heavy thunk at my feet.

Familiar power thundered across me—heavy, dark, and cold. It scraped against my skin like a hundred tiny knives. Hate seemed to pour off that stone. It wanted to bury itself in my skin.

Suddenly, a gray haze started to creep across the necklace. The onyx gemstone shattered into cinders, and soot-like fingers crept across the chain. Within the blink of an eye, the entire thing was gone.

Dread swept down my spine as I stared at the remnants of the god’s prison.

“You have no idea what you’ve done,” Oberon gasped. The ash curled across his face, transforming his fiery features into a colorless gray. Piece by piece, he flecked away, and the light wind scattered his remains across the ground—right beside what was left of the god’s necklace.

Stomach turning, I understood at once what had happened. As Oberon had fought to reach Albyria and lock the necklace—and me—inside the vault, the God of Death had numbed his powers and prevented him from healing, just like she’d done to Kalen back in Itchen. And then she’d found a way to throw Oberon against the Mortal Blade. It had destroyed not only the King of Light but also her prison. She was finally free.

A boom shook the ground. I stumbled back from the mound of ash, the only thing left of my greatest enemy, as shadows descended upon me.

I glanced up at the sky. Oberon’s sun had vanished, and there were no stars here. Just endless darkness and mist.

Forty-Eight

Morgan

Iwas going to kill Oberon the next time I saw him. He’d ordered me never to touch him, but I would find a way. The bastard had left me here with his ailing wife, and I couldn’t even step out of the cave to breathe in some fresh air.