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GAVREL

“ I t’s the only way,” I had said in our shared dream last night.

That seemed so long ago. Although I had no sense of time, I plummeted into the nothingness devouring me.

My limbs flailed, spine whipping and bending as flashes of metal snapped and sparked in my vision.

Smoldering blackness raked against me, coiling and scorching my flesh as it dragged across my body greedily.

I hadn’t known what the dreams meant then. All the times I imagined the darkness claiming me as I fell from the edge. But when Kaden charged at Melina, her sickening shadows clinging to my face, it was as if every hazy crumb that had been offered during my sleep had fully formed.

I had to do it.

It was the only way.

Even if we had been somehow able to end her—which I highly doubted considering how drained we had all been—Melina wouldn’t stop.

And I couldn’t risk my brother.

Seryn.

Melina wouldn’t take any more from them.

And when I kissed my little star for the last time—when I told her, “To the Nether Void and beyond”—nothing had ever felt as true.

My khorda.

My love.

While I clamped my arms around the evil that was Elder Harrow, our bodies tumbling into the molten pewter-lined blackness, I hoped it would all be worth it.

Seryn, my brother, and the others … they would make things right.

They would save Midst Fall. And my fated would find happiness. She’d be safe.

Either way, it was too late for any regrets now. I’d done it, and even though I couldn’t see Melina, I knew she was stuck in this void with me.

And I hoped it tore every inch of her apart with agonizing efficiency.

The abyss was wet and sticky like warm blood, but when the metal-like veins sparked in my peripheral vision, jolts of slick ice sliced across my skin.

Wherever it was taking me … I hoped to reach the end soon. A burning sickness roiled in my guts, acid threatening to spill from me. Or perhaps it was the caustic substance rolling around me, its energy trying to tear me open and sink within my organs.

It clawed into any hollows and seams it could find. My mouth filled with its metallic tang, and my eyes and ears burned with its sticky fumes. I choked, unable to get control of my arms as my fingers so desperately scratched at the dark.

Images of Seryn’s beautiful face, each vivid expression crossing every dip and valley, zipped through my mind.

With her as my heart’s core, my mind grasped at our bond, aching for her to share in the love and sorrow vibrating through the cord that bound us.

Imploring her forgiveness for what I’d done, fully aware that my rune still stood as an unyielding barrier to such hopes.

Without warning, I slammed into crude, rough stone with a crack, ramming the visions of my fated out of my head. A whoosh of air burst from me, liquid smog fleeing from my throat. I wheezed, palms clinging to the rock at my sides, sharp pebbles cutting into my skin.

Every bone screeched as I rolled onto my side, coughing and gasping for breath. As the last drops of the portal’s elements left me, I pushed myself upright. I was a giant, throbbing bruise. Shakily, I stood, testing my aching joints and muscles as I took in my surroundings.

It was as if a film of gloom coated my vision. I rubbed my eyes, but they had already adjusted, and still everything was in shades of shadow and despair. Except for the sky. The sky was vermilion, the color of smoldering coal, and the clouds were eerie wisps of sable hues.

As far as I could see, sharp ebony boulders jutted from the soot-covered terrain.

Every so often, a geyser of black fire with azure-tinged edges would spew from the cracks or chasms scattered across the land.

The air was unnervingly still, and flecks of glowing ash were suspended in the air as if this realm was perpetually holding its breath.

I shook my head, my brain rattled inside its thick, bony walls.

Everything was upside down and back to front—all the colors inverted and obscured in night, umbras, and dark flames.

In the distance, the outline of a gothic castle rose imperiously; numerous serrated turrets resembling barbs pierced the sky.

The atmosphere shifted over its glossy, obsidian surface, making it seem breathing as red and orange hues flowed over its many rounded depressions, shaped like scalloped shells.

A massive islet of black opal, flecked with vibrant green, sapphire, and ruby chatoyancy, cradled the stronghold.

It was familiar, but also not. Unease skittered over my skin and left a trail of goosebumps in its wake.

It reminded me somewhat of Morpheus’ palace, if it were turned inside out, with the brutal edges and raw seams visible and twisted.

Phobetor’s castle? Was I in the Nether Void?

My heart pummeled the back of my ribs. I clenched my fists and pushed my shoulders back. A rasping moan sounded behind me, and I drew my sword, its weight solid and comforting as I spun around.

A few paces away, a fan of platinum hair and splayed limbs spread across the ground. I stepped closer, ire bubbling within me.

Melina .

She was breathing raggedly, her eyelids fluttering. Her head jerked, mouth peeled back across her teeth.

My arm rose, the tip of my blade rising above her heart.

I thought of everything she’d done to me.

To Midst Fall.

To those I loved.

And here she was, the Void displaying her like an offering. She was mine to eradicate.

Finally .

She flinched, her chest heaving as her eyes snapped open, head turning side to side as she took in her surroundings.

The sky burned across the silver of her irises as her eyes locked with mine. A slow, satisfied grin split over her face. “At last, you’ve sent me to the Void, Commander. How does it feel to join me?”

Both hands clutched the hilt of my broadsword, biceps ticking in anticipation, the blade hovering above her like the pendulum of a clock. My nostrils flared as I lifted my weapon higher, preparing for a swift retribution.

But just as my muscles tensed, ready to deliver the blow, words like cool velvet skimmed over my awareness. “I hate to intrude, but I must.” I froze, turning warily toward the voice. And a stutter of breath clogged my windpipe. From the shadows, the being emerged and uttered one word.

“Gavrel?”

NOT YET THE END …

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