Page 145

With another quiet word, Alex ordered Aven to follow as, with Soraya guarding from her side, she guided him towards and then into the Tower building. It was there that she would carry out the final part of the plan she had formed prior to the devastation he had wrought, prior to the lives he had stolen from her. Now that they had been returned through Athora’s sacrifice, she was ready to see her final act through, having been inspired by Lady Mystique’s words within the Gate of Lost Souls.

‘When all seems lost,’ the ancient woman had said, ‘Kelarna de la Soraya.’

Alex hadn’t understood her translation to ‘remember the light’ back then, but now she knew that the words hadn’t been regarding any kind of illuminated light. Instead, when the woman had added emphasis to the word ‘Soraya’, it had been in reference toSoraya de lah Torra—the Light of the Worlds.

The Library.

Just like when Alex had needed to escape her quarters in theVardaesian palace, in the lead up to facing Aven, she had once again realised that the Library was the key to her freedom—toeveryone’sfreedom. And because of that, the final part of her plan had come together.

With Aven trailing beside her on a mental leash and Soraya eyeing him closely, Alex descended the staircase and entered the foyer. It was there that she ordered him to halt in front of the portrait that offered a perfect depiction of Meya, it having remained in place simply because Alex had asked the Library to make it so.

‘You need only ask, Alexandra.Try not to forget again.’

The words offered by the Library deep in the Tia Auran desert had been a lesson Alex had taken to heart. While they may not have helped when it came to changing time—with her having been forewarned that such a doorway would never be offered again—thiswas something she knew the Library would allow.

And so, after a quiet request for Soraya to remain where she was and an order for Aven to keep still, she grabbed his arm…

… and pushed him inside the painting.

Together they tumbled out the other side, landing atop the Golden Cliffs, right where he had once taken her to show her the best view of the city.

Turning to face him, Alex struggled against what she saw flaring in his eyes. There was hatred there, so much hatred. But now there was fear as well, along with desperation as he began to realise what was happening.

Pointing to the outside world beyond the painting of the Library’s foyer that was now strung against a Silverwood tree, Alex told him, “They wanted you dead. Everyone out there— except your brother, who denied his right to vote.”

Aven flinched, but kept silent as per her command.

“This was my compromise,” Alex continued. “It’s the only way for you to remain alive, while keeping everyone else safe.Here, you can rule Meya without hurting anyone, the entire city your playground.”

She fought back a wave of emotion as the look in his eyes deepened, and forced herself to recall what she had suffered through—the field of death surrounding her after he had killed everyone she loved. Alex braced against all she was feeling, knowing he would never show her the same kind of mercy she now offered him. Knowing hehadn’tshowed her that mercy. Instead, he’d slaughtered all those in his path, and sought to do the same to her.

“So that’s it, then?” he rasped after she quietly commanded that he could speak, his throat bobbing as he understood what his future now looked like. “You’re leaving me to be forever imprisoned within a painting?”

Meeting his eyes, Alex said, “Given all that you’ve done”—in this timeline and the one she had changed—“even you should be able to see that it’s more than you deserve. It’s certainly more than everyone out there was willing to offer.” Again, she pointed through the painting.

What she’d said was true. After he had made his ‘you for them’ bargain, the war council of allied races had debated Alex’s plan, remaining adamant about only one thing—wanting his head. She and Roka had been the only two to argue on his behalf, with not even Niida offering a defence for the damage her son had wrought. But ultimately, Alex had reminded them all that if she was the one destined to defeat him, then how she would do that was her decision to make. And so, honouring the friendship she and Aven once shared—regardless of everything he had done since then—she wasn’t willing to see him executed.

‘I’m not a murderer’—Alex had spoken those words to both Niyx and Zaylin, and she was determined to stand by them. Even if, given the look on Aven’s face, he would prefer death over what she was offering.

“Take me toTaevarg,” he said, all but begging. “Have those Tia Aurans take me back with them to their world and lock me up there. I don’t care what you do—anything is better than this.Anything.”

Alex again forced herself to remember who she was speaking with and the lives he had ruined. “You know there’s no prison in any world that can keep you from your own nature. It’s not a risk any of us can take. I’m sorry, Aven. But you have to stay here. Forever.”

The tug of the order flowed between them, enough that the finality of her command had him closing his eyes in defeat.

“For what it’s worth, I wish things had been different,” Alex whispered. And with a firm instruction for him to accept her Release, she pressed her bloodied arm to his wounded neck again and spoke the words that unbound him from her, hearing his mental whisper of acceptance as he followed her very last command.

And then, before he could lunge towards her in a final act of vengeance, she touched her hand to the painting, tumbling back out into the Library just as Aven collapsed to his knees.

It was that image the portrait now depicted—the Golden Cliffs, with their fallen golden prince, forever frozen in time.

Alex allowed only a single tear to trail down her cheek as Soraya leaned against her in comfort, the two of them watching as the Library shuffled the paintings before their eyes, swapping Meya out with a picture of a perfect sunrise, hiding Aven deep within its depths forevermore.

“Thank you,” Alex said quietly, and not just for the Library’s help in containing—and therefore, defeating—Aven. More than anything, she was grateful because she knew that if the Library had wanted to stop Athora, it would have. And yet, it had not intervened, allowing her to change time—and save her world.

“I’ll always be here for you, Alexandra,” the Library responded. “We have yet many more adventures ahead of us.”

Weaving her fingers into Soraya’s fur as she swayed on her feet, her adrenaline beginning to fade into pain and exhaustion, Alex said, “Hopefully not for a while. I’d really like to take a nap first.”