Page 32

32

Dagny

The ground crunches underfoot as the six of us weave through the dripping branches, the tinkling of the crystal leaves the only sound other than our footfalls to break the charged silence hanging in the still air.

My gaze focuses on the bob and shudder of Malice’s back muscles as he leads us into the heart of the forest, needing something to tether me and keep me standing as black dots crowd my vision. Every muscle in my body twinges and cramps uncomfortably, though it's hardly noticeable past the throbbing ache in my joints. My bones feel like they’ve been dipped in fire, and every step adds gasoline to the blaze, causing agony to course through my system.

With each shallow breath, the air whooshes between the spaces in my ribs, rattling my chest and coating my lungs in a thin layer of frost. And it burns, but it’s the only thing keeping me conscious, allowing me to push forward one more step, one more foot. I’ve never felt this weak, but something inside me is forcing me onward, filling me with a sense of urgency that can’t be ignored.

Ten minutes of steady travel pass, and I wonder if Malice truly remembers where he buried the heart, or if he’s leading us on some wild goose chase through the woods. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for him to pull a stunt like?—

“ Stop. ”

Malice holds his hand up, his back muscles quivering as he stands eerily still, staring blankly off to the side.

“Is it here?” Cyprien asks, his voice barely a whisper.

Malice nods, his eyes glossing as he continues gazing into the shadows. Slowly, he raises his arm, gesturing to that spot with a long, clawed finger. “It’s over there.”

“ Where ?” Fenryr demands, huffing an irritated sigh. “We can’t see shit.”

“You can’t see it?” Malice whispers, his voice cracking heavily. “You can’t hear it?”

“I can’t hear anything other than Roark’s heavy breathing,” Cyprien grumbles, taking a step in the direction Malice is pointing. “How about you just tell me when I’m getting warmer and colder? We’ll find it, eventually.”

“ No. ” Malice whips his head to Cyprien with a snarl, stopping him from taking another step. “It’s mine. It’s beating—screaming—for me .”

Cyprien sighs, rolling his eyes. “So dramatic. Okay, go and get it then.”

Malice blinks, the corners of his good eye flickering with dark shadows. “Are you ready, then?”

“Ready for…?”

“ The end ,” he murmurs, his gaze flicking to Dagny’s for the briefest moment. “Once I retrieve the heart… all of us will cease to be.”

Cyprien whimpers, stumbling a step back as he looks at Malice with wide eyes. “I didn’t know it would be right away…”

“We were never supposed to live for long,” Malice mutters, his mouth pinching into a thin white line as he gazes into the dark once more. “If Varys hadn’t forgotten to put the heart back in his haste and panic… we likely would have only lived for a few moments before being threaded back into a singular being. So yes, it will be right away. ”

“It’s okay, Cyprien,” Lir says, his voice soft and coaxing as he attempts to pace a hand on his shoulder. Cyprien jerks away with a snarl, his eyes gleaming with a rare sheen of sadness.

“I don’t… I’m not ready to leave her,” he whispers, his expression crumbling as he gazes at his mate. “I thought we would have a little more time.”

“Then you deluded yourself.” Malice’s jaw sets as he glares at Cyprien with disdain. “Of course, I should have expected it from such a whiny little worm .”

“There’s no need to be so cruel to him,” Lir growls, his eyes narrowing on Malice’s profile. “Just because you can’t express your sadness in a healthy way doesn’t mean you get to torment him.”

“It’s not my fault he can’t accept reality!” Malice turns on Lir with a snarl, a curtain of rage falling over his expression as he breaks. “ I had to accept it, and no one felt sorry for me! No one cried for me, no one comforted me, no one fucking cared. And you expect me to stand here and coddle him when this is a reality we’ve all known for years.”

He turns his attention toward Kaebl. “What, you have nothing to say? You don’t want to do a little dance? A twirl? No? Nothing?” Malice tips his head back as a hollow laugh echoes into the air. “That’s hilariously ironic. You of all people should be taking pleasure in this moment. Why, this is what you’ve wanted all along, isn’t it, dear Kaebl?”

It is. His gaze hardens. Until I met Dagny. My mind changed that day as well, though it took me some time to admit it. This is just as hard on me as it is on you all.

Malice scoffs, shaking his head softly. “Yes, well… we’re wasting precious time.” His eyes rise, meeting mine head-on. “You all should say your goodbyes.”

And you?

“I… I can’t,” he whispers. “If I touch her, if I hear her say my name, I won’t…” He blinks, and his mask crumbles, revealing all the pain and anguish hidden beneath his carefully crafted disguise. “I won’t be able to let her go.” He turns, tears springing to his eyes as he chokes, “I’m sorry.”

I watch Malice disappear past the tree line, my heart clenching as the darkness consumes him, taking him away from me forever.

My remaining five mates crowd around me, their voices muddled and eyes watery as their hushed whispers roll over my skin, caressing me and attempting to soothe the terrible ache spreading from the center of my chest, to make me believe everything will be okay. But I know the truth. I know deep down, it never will be again.

They pull away much too soon, and though everything inside me is screaming to call this off—to demand we find some other way—I know that will only make it harder for them. I’m not the only one who has to let go, and if I put it off too long, their sacrifice will be for nothing.

“You should go,” I whisper, staring hard at a crack in the ice next to my foot. “It’s time.”

“Dagny…” Cyprien whines, but still allows his hands to drop to his sides. “I don’t know what else to say.”

“There is nothing else.” I lift my head with a small smile, but it holds no joy. “Malice was right. We all knew this was the end, deep down. There’s… nothing to be spoken that we haven’t said to each other already.”

Kaebl nods, his eyes swirling with an emotion I can’t seem to place. She’s right, Cyprien. We have… we have to go.

Fenryr turns his head, staring at the spot Malice used to occupy. “He’s probably holding the heart as we speak… just waiting…”

Roark huffs a deep sigh, squeezing my hand one last time before letting it drop. He stares down at his palm, his expression crumbling as he whispers, “I’ll miss you, little doe.”

“As will I.” Tears spring to my eyes as I gaze at each of my mates, my heart fracturing. “I’ll miss all of you. So, so fucking much.”

Lir sniffs, turning his head so I don’t see the tears streaming down his cheeks. “Goodbye, little one,” he says, letting his hands drop from my shoulders as he turns and stalks away, disappearing into the dark just like Malice.

The others follow one by one, leaving me alone in the center of the clearing with tearstained cheeks and a heart made of glass. I stand in place for a few minutes, trying to breathe past the burning ache in my lungs, wiping away the constant flood of tears coursing from my eyes.

They can’t be gone. I refuse to believe it. I can’t.

But no matter how long I wait or how hard I will it, they don’t return.

A small crunch pierces through the silence, and my heart jumps to my throat as I whip my head over my shoulder, expecting to see Malice’s signature smirk gleaming through the shadows, telling me he was wrong and that he figured out a way we can all stay together.

But the reality couldn’t be worse.

Two milky orbs peek out from the side of the welwig trunk at the far edge of the clearing, the pupils narrowing to serpentine slits as it scents the fear rolling off my skin. The corners of its eyes crinkle in a smile as it steps out from behind the tree, and my shock turns to horror as I take in the demon’s lipless smile, revealing an unmistakable row of cracked yellow teeth. Zairn.

I open my mouth to scream—to alert the others—but before I get the chance, a calloused palm claps over my mouth, silencing my cry. My eyes widen in shock as a muscular gray forearm curls around my throat, cutting off my air and rendering my body immobile. I blink, and I’m being dragged backward across the forest floor and into the shadows—where untold horrors await me.

Black dots line my vision, and the fog of terror parts, allowing me to think clearly for a single moment. Allowing me to remember I don’t need my voice to call my mates.

Help me! My scream shudders down the bond, powerful and desperate enough to alert all six to my impending doom. Please, someone! Anyone!

The dark spots consume my sight, blotting out the glistening canopy and the clouded sky above as a high-pitched ringing fills my ears. My muscles shudder and collapse, causing my body to go limp in my captor's arms as one last spike of adrenaline courses through my system, attempting to keep me conscious.

I try to reach for my magic, but it’s like I’m drowning underwater—and no matter how much I try, I can’t break the surface to grasp it. At this moment, I’m truly helpless. Right now, I’m not certain I will make it out of this alive.

But worst of all, I know there’s no one coming to help me.