Page 54

Keltania

“Are you sure this is what you really want?” Aphelian jerks her arms up over her head, fingers splayed. A mass of thorns bursts from the ground and twines around my legs.

I bend down and grip the plants. They turn to ash in an instant. “What I wanted was for you to do the right thing. You’ve made it clear that’s not going to happen.” A blazing circle forms around her. I welcome the heat.

The ground rumbles. Dirt spews up, smothering the flames and leaving nothing but a pathetic waft of smoke.

“I made you strong,” she cries. With a wave of her hand, a tornado of dust and debris whirls to life. It spins chaotically for a moment before rushing toward me.

I’m too slow, and the thing envelops me, lifting my body off the ground and leaving me hovering, helpless. I call to the earth, but nothing happens.

The air rushes from my lungs, and I gasp as my hair whips in every direction. Time slows. My vision grows watery, and I fight for oxygen that doesn’t come.

This is it. She’s going to win. I’m going to die. Me and every Fae in the Winter Lands. All those innocent lives. Valen’s life…

“Tania.”

A spike of life pushes through Aphelian’s wall. It’s nothing more than a glimmer, but I chase it, desperate for the voice it offers. Desperate for the sensation. It fades, though, and I’m overwhelmed with sadness. Pain. Loss. Emotions so strong that a year ago, I would have thought them utterly impossible.

Valen?

The glimmer comes again, only this time it’s stronger. I push, focusing on him, on the connection between us, desperate to shatter the barrier she placed.

Valen!

“I’m here. Whatever you need, I’m here… Just, please. Answer me. Let me know you’re there.”

I’m here. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.

My entire body goes rigid as I focus on the fire in my chest. It spreads throughout my body, giving me life. Giving me strength.

Giving me perspective.

Aphelian’s windy trap disappears, and I drop to the ground in a crouch. When I stand, I look her in the eye. “Valen makes me strong.”

“He makes you weak!” She spreads her arms, and a small army of beasts rises. They snarl and lumber toward me, teeth snapping and bared. “I gave you power. Purpose . All you have to do is reach out and take greatness.”

I snap my fingers. Aphelian’s minions are set ablaze, crumbling to ash before her eyes. I think of Gensted and the connection we have. Of the way he unlocked a part of me I hadn’t known was missing. “My brother gave me this power. My family—my real family—gives me purpose.”

An enraged howl splits the air. “I gave you life! Without me, you would have nothing. You would be nothing.”

In a way, she’s right. Levina taught me to fight. She taught me to be strong, to be loyal. Those years in Lunal, with her, I was happy. Content. In this moment, it doesn’t matter that they were a lie. It makes no difference that it was all part of a horrible, larger plan. All I can think about is how it felt to be accepted. The fire dies down, and I take a step toward her. “Please, Levina…” My voice catches. “Mother…”

Aphelian falters, watching me with wide eyes.

“I know you believe we’re meant to end the Fae. That you are justified. But let it go. Let it all go. For me… For everything we could have once had.”

She listens, and the few remaining monstrosities scurrying around shrivel and die. There’s a flicker of something bright in her eyes. A string I can pull to unravel this entire mess. I chase it.

It will never be the same as it was. She’ll have to answer for her crimes. But maybe…

“You’ve hurt so many people, made so many mistakes—”

She reaches for me, fingers brushing my cheek. “I was born to do this—as you were. The wrongs against me, the betrayal… I’ve endured so much to get to this point, sacrificed everything. I will not have suffered in vain!” Her expression twists, a dark thing void of any remaining humanity.

She lifts her arms, and thick, thorny vines break through the earth, entangling me. As the vegetation winds tight around my torso, neck, and face, a swell of panic washes over me. I try to suck in a breath, but nothing happens.

Valen…

The vines finish their ascent, winding around my head, covering my nose and eyes. Air is gone. Everything goes dark.

Violet eyes and dark hair. A sarcastic sense of humor and quick wit. Valen is so many things to so many people, but to me, there’s only one that matters. He’s my home.

My strength.

Wherever Valen is, that’s where I belong .

The ember starts deep in my chest, fanning outward and coiling around me, around the vines. In my mind, I am the firebird—angry, powerful. It breathes flame, incinerating the vines and setting me free.

I step from the ruined pile of vegetation and brush several specks of ash from my arm. Watching them float to the ground, I’m overcome with sadness. “This might have gone so differently if you’d only loved me as much as you loved your prophecy.”

She conceived me with a single purpose in mind. Aphelian was driven by the words of her grandmother from the time she could walk. She was determined to see the prophecy unfold—even if she had to manipulate the world around her to do so.

“It’s time to accept the truth, Aphelian. There is no Omen of Ice. No Omen of Fire. Your entire life? It’s been a waste.”

When I told Valen that I couldn’t kill her, it was true. But I also can’t let her continue on this path. That only leaves me one choice.

“You wanted me to trap Valen in the Dream… I think it’s only fitting that it be your fate.”

Aphelian screams. The sound is raw and primal, and I feel it reverberate in every inch of my body.

For everything she put me through, for all the things she intended to do to an uncountable number of innocent lives—for thinking that she was above the judgment of the Goddess—I need to make her pay. To stop her once and for all.

Unfortunately, she won’t be the only one to suffer.