Page 49

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DAIN

T he abyss is alive.

It breathes. It writhes. It watches.

The darkness coils like a living thing, reaching for us with spectral claws, its presence pressing into my bones. The void is thick, suffocating, endless—stretching beyond my sight, beyond my understanding. There is no sky, no ground, no boundary. Just an expanse of emptiness, broken only by the sickly glow of the artifact’s power, pulsing like a dying heartbeat.

And in the center of it all, Liora. I reach for her, dragging her back to me. Her form flickers again.

She flickers between forms, her shape shifting like a mirage. One moment, she is the woman who infuriates me, tempts me, defies me, the woman who chose me.

Next, she is Amara, the woman who betrayed me, the woman who swore she did it to save me.

Both are her. Neither are her.

I snarl, my grip tightening around her. The void ripples in response, shuddering like it can feel my defiance.

"You shouldn’t be here." Her voice is fragile, threaded with something ancient, something breaking.

"There’s no saving me, Dain."

I growl, stepping toward her, ignoring the darkness trying to tear me away.

"The hell I can’t."

Something hits me. A force, unseen and merciless, hurls me backward. I barely keep my footing, claws dragging through the nothingness as I struggle against the force trying to reject me. Shadows coil, twisting into a grotesque shape, a mouth, a face, an endless void staring back at me.

"She made her choice."

The words come from nowhere and everywhere, curling around me like chains.

"Let her go."

"She is not yours anymore."

I roar, baring my fangs.

"You think I’ll just let you have her?"

The darkness laughs.

Liora trembles in my arms, her fingers clutching at me, but she is fading. Her warmth is dimming, her pulse weakening. The magic, her magic is unraveling, the severed bond draining what little strength she has left.

And I feel it, the moment her soul starts slipping beyond my reach.

"She thought she was saving you." The voice is mocking, cruel.

"How tragic."

The rage inside me explodes.

"Shut up."

The abyss shudders.

I tighten my grip, dragging Liora closer, my wings curling around her in a shield. Her breathing is shallow, her skin pale. Her lips part, like she wants to say something, but no sound comes out.

The void claws at us, relentless, a thousand unseen hands trying to rip her away from me. The darkness is screaming, a chorus of fury and triumph. It thinks it’s won.

It thinks I will let her die.

It does not understand who I am.

I don’t let go.

With a snarl, I plant my feet, digging in. My wings snap open, the force of my power tearing through the abyss, sending shockwaves through the shadows.

Liora’s eyes flutter open, hazy, unfocused. Her body shudders against me.

"Dain..."

"I’ve got you."

The abyss wails.

It knows.

I will not leave without her.

I tighten my hold, my claws sinking into her arms, my breath ragged. The artifact’s magic is still inside her, threading through her veins like a poison, feeding on what remains of her soul.

I won’t allow it.

"She was always mine."

The voice is angry now, desperate. The ground beneath us splits open, the fabric of this nightmare fracturing, revealing a churning mass of pure darkness below.

The abyss is trying to consume her whole.

I won’t allow it.

I bend my head, pressing my forehead to hers, letting the raw fire of my fury burn through the emptiness.

"You wanted to save me?" My voice is low, dangerous.

"Then let me return the damn favor."

Her breath hitches.

The void shrieks, realizing its mistake.

Liora’s eyes widen, glowing with something new, something old, something hers.

She reaches for me.

The moment our fingers brush, light explodes.

The darkness splinters, cracking like shattered glass.

The abyss screams, twisting, writhing, breaking.

And we fall.

The real world hits me like a hammer.

I crash into the stone ruins, my wings snapping open just in time to slow our descent. The impact sends a violent shockwave through the ground, dust and debris exploding into the air.

Liora is still in my arms, her body weak but alive. Her pulse is there, flickering, fragile.

I won.

But the moment relief begins to sink in, she opens her eyes.

And everything changes.

The glow in them is wrong.

Not Liora. Not Amara.

Something else.

Her lips part, but when she speaks, the voice that leaves them is not hers.

"It’s not over, Dain."