Page 87 of Sweet Venom Of Time (Blade of Shadows #6)

Tears welled in my eyes, but I didn’t look away. “I did it for her,” I said, my voice barely a breath. “For the part of her that Salvatore stole. For the revenge she never lived to see.”

He shook his head as if trying to make sense of a nightmare. “You think this poison—this obsession—will bring you peace? You think your mother would want you to die chasing revenge?”

I stepped forward, the firelight dancing across the tears on my cheeks.

“I think,” I said, steel beneath the sorrow, “she would want me to finish it. And I have, Amir. The poison is ready.”

I paused, the memory lancing through me, cold and unrelenting.

“Do you remember that masquerade night? When I tried to strike Salvatore, when I threw the poison, and it failed?”

My voice faltered, just for a breath.

“I thought it was enough. I thought it would end him. But I was wrong.”

My eyes locked with his, fierce and unflinching.

“This time... I made sure it’s perfect. When Roman returns to Solaris and his wife rises to face Salvatore and Lazarus, this poison will have fermented long enough to strip them of their power and make it a fair battle.”

Amir’s voice cut through the firelit silence, low and tight. “Where did you get the Noctyss flower? The Alchemy Book of Solaris? Lazarus took everything from your cottage.”

I met his gaze, unwavering.

“When Roman left for the war... I was alone. I went back to the Carpathian Mountains myself. I found a withered Noctyss flower, clinging to life in the shadows—and I brought it back. Slowly. Patiently. I nurtured it and breathed life into it. And I hid it away... where no one could find it.”

“And the book?” he asked, suspicion and wonder woven through his voice.

I gave a faint, bitter smile. “I didn’t need it. I memorized every word. Every instruction. They’re etched into me now—I became the book.”

His expression darkened. “And the blood of darkness? You needed it to complete the poison.”

I stepped closer, my hand brushing his.

“I took your blood, Amir. You didn’t know, but I had enough. Just enough to make it strong... and potent.”

His breath caught, eyes searching mine.

I didn’t flinch.

“I did what I had to—for her. For us. To end this.”

He stared at me, breathless, shaking his head in disbelief.

His voice cracked then, softer, breaking under the weight of it all. “Elizabeth... my love... you should have told me this sooner.”

My heart ached, every beat a dagger. “I couldn’t, Amir,” I said, stepping closer and reaching for him. “If I had told you, you would’ve stopped me forever. And I needed to finish this—I had to keep it from you. I’m sorry... I’m so sorry, my love.”

I reached for him—hesitant, trembling, desperate to feel his warmth. My fingers brushed his hand, and for a breathless moment, he didn’t move. I just stood there, caught between everything we’d built... and everything I had shattered.

“Please, Amir...” My voice broke on his name. “Forgive me.”

He stared at me, his jaw tight, his breath uneven. For a heartbeat, I thought I’d lost him—that the weight of my betrayal had driven him beyond reach.

But then... his hand closed around mine.

Not in anger.

In love.

His arms pulled me against him with a fierce urgency, holding me as if letting go would break us both.

I collapsed into him, the sob rising from my chest before I could stop it.

The tears I had held back for so long finally spilled, soaking into his shoulder as he held me tighter, grounding me, anchoring me to him.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered repeatedly, my voice raw, breaking. “I’m so sorry.”

He buried his face in my hair, his voice low and rough. “I forgive you... I forgive you, Elizabeth.”

I clung to him, my body trembling with release, with grief, with the crushing relief of not having lost him. His hands slid over my back, reassuring and warm, holding the shattered pieces of me together.

For the first time in years, I let myself fall apart. And he held me through it all.

But then?—

A chill swept through the air like a curse.

The flame beneath the cauldron sputtered violently. The shadows in the room seemed to recoil, then twist unnaturally, crawling along the walls like serpents. Amir stiffened in my arms, his breath catching—shallow and strained. Slowly, he turned his head.

I followed his gaze, and my blood ran cold.

A figure stood in the doorway, tall and cloaked in darkness that seemed to breathe—alive, pulsing with power. His face was pale, vicious, and cruel, with a smile that cut like a wound freshly opened. And his eyes—cold, bottomless, ancient—locked onto mine, and I knew… he was here for me.

Salvatore.

He was the same man I saw all those years ago when he murdered my father in his wheelchair.

His voice coiled through the air, smooth and poisonous. “Now this... this is touching. I do love a good reunion.”

My heart plummeted.

The air grew thick and suffocating, and the light in the room dimmed beneath the weight of his presence. The shadows obeyed him, curling toward him as they worshipped him.

Amir stepped in front of me instantly, his body shielding mine. Tension radiated from him like fire.

But I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t breathe.

He had felt the alchemy...

He had followed the trail...

And now, he was here.

The nightmare we had fought so hard to avoid had come to our doorstep.

And it had Salvatore’s face.

Salvatore consumed the room like a storm swallowing light, devouring the air. Shadows crawled to him, wrapped around his form like living things—servants to their master.

Amir’s hand gripped mine tightly, his other still poised on his blade, but I could feel the shift in him—the tension, the fury, the protective desperation. His body was a shield, but I saw the flicker of something else in his eyes—recognition. Fear.

“We have to go,” Amir muttered, his voice low and urgent. He grabbed me by the waist, pulling me toward him. “Hold on to me.”

Black mist erupted around us—Amir’s power surging, dark, and swirling, cloaking us in shadow. The cottage walls blurred, vanishing into the abyss of his darkness as he tried to pull us away, to escape.

But before we could vanish, Salvatore raised a single hand, his fingers curling in the air as if clutching something unseen.

And Amir screamed.

The mist shattered around us as Amir buckled, his cry ripping through the space, filled with such agony that it pierced my soul.

“Amir!” I caught him as he fell, his body writhing in pain. His hands clutched his chest, fingers digging in like he was being torn apart from within.

Salvatore’s cruel and cold smile widened. “Did you forget, Amir?” His voice slithered through the air, thick with venom. “I am the Father of Darkness. You were born from my power—you cannot outrun me.”

Amir gasped, convulsing, veins darkening beneath his skin. “No—” he choked out. “I’m not yours.”

Salvatore’s eyes burned with malevolent delight. “You were always mine. Every shadow you command... bends to me. Your heart was forged in my darkness. And now, it answers me.”

I dropped to my knees beside Amir, my hands on his chest, trying to steady, save, and do anything. “Amir, please—stay with me. Just breathe. Stay with me.”

His eyes met mine, wild with pain. “Run... Elizabeth... go?—”

“No!” I cried, pressing my hand to his heart, feeling it falter beneath my palm. “I’m not leaving you—I won’t?—”

Salvatore stepped closer, the shadows recoiling and then surging at his feet like waves. His voice dropped, cold and commanding.

“Tell me where it is.”

I looked up, my hands still trembling over Amir’s body, tears streaking my face. “What...?”

“The Noctyss flower,” Salvatore said, his eyes gleaming. “Tell me where it is, Elizabeth, or I will tear his heart from his chest and make you watch.”

My blood turned to ice. Amir groaned beneath me, his body seizing again.

“Don’t...” he gasped. “Don’t tell him...”

Salvatore stepped closer, towering, merciless. “Your choice, Elizabeth. His life... or the flower.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Salvatore’s hand shot out like a viper, his fingers clamping around my chin, bruising the skin. His grip was ice-cold, but his eyes were fiery with rage.

“Lies,” he hissed, his voice dripping venom inches from my face. “Lies will only make this more painful. Where does it grow? Where did you find the Noctyss flower?”

I met his gaze, my heart pounding, but my voice was clean and cold. “I will never tell you. It’s hidden far beyond your reach.”

His eyes darkened, and the air around him became heavy with power. Shadows surged, coiling at his feet like serpents. His anger bled into the space, choking it.

“I made the poison strong enough to annihilate your power,” I said, my voice laced with cold fire. “I crafted it to bring you to your knees.”

A snarl tore from his lips, his shadows crackling like a storm. “You think you can destroy me?” he spat, his voice rising with fury. “Foolish girl. No poison, no flower, no one can stop me. My power is eternal.”

I curled my lips into a bitter smile, eyes blazing with defiance. “There was one man who could. One man who held the power to rival yours. And he was the one who told my mother about the Noctyss flower.”

His expression flickered, suspicion honing the lines of his face.

“There’s only one other who would know of that flower...” Salvatore murmured, voice low and wary. Then, realization struck. His eyes narrowed into slits. “Lazarus. It had to be him—he gave it to her?—”

“No,” I cut in, my voice a dagger. “It wasn’t Lazarus. It was a man named Morgrath Severn.”

At the sound of that name, Salvatore exploded.

His roar shook the walls, shadows ripping through the air like claws, splintering wood, and shattering glass. Darkness surged in a cyclone of fury, spiraling out of control.

“Severn is dead!” he bellowed, his voice a monstrous echo. “Lazarus and I destroyed him! His whispers—his shadows—they haunt me no more!”

My laugh tore through his rage, cold and mocking. “You destroyed his body, Salvatore... but his legacy lives on. His whispers still echo in the dark. His shadow still moves through this world, and he guided my mother, alongside Isabelle, to craft this poison. To destroy you.”

“No!” Salvatore’s voice fractured with rage and fear. “I ended him! Tell me where he is hiding! Tell me where you found the Noctyss flower—and who the fuck is your mother?!”

I met his fury head-on, my voice boiling with hatred.

“My mother was Isolde Ravencroft—your sex slave in Solaris.”

His face twisted into pure malice.

“She endured you. Survived you. And now, I carry her vengeance. I will never tell you where the realm opens... or how Severn and Isabelle have set your doom in motion.”

His eyes blazed, shadows converging violently, thickening the air like smoke, suffocating, lethal. His power slammed into me, slithering around my body, coiling tighter, crushing my lungs.

“You dare defy me?” he snarled, voice a low, dangerous growl.

A smile curved on my lips—bloodied, fearless. “Do your worst, Salvatore. Your reckoning is coming... and nothing you do can stop it.”

His roar was inhuman, a sound of rage, fear, and unraveling control. The shadows descended, wrapping around my throat, crushing, suffocating. My body convulsed, my vision flickering—but the fire in my eyes didn’t fade.

Amir’s scream shattered through the darkness, raw and broken. “No! Elizabeth!”

He tried to reach me, crawling through the suffocating shadows, his face contorted with horror and helplessness.

“Let her go!” he begged, his voice ripping through the storm.

But Salvatore only smiled.

And tightened his hold.

The shadows around my throat constricted like a noose, crushing my windpipe and stealing the air from my lungs. My vision blurred, black spots dancing at the edges. Every breath was agony. Every heartbeat felt like it could be the last—thudding in my ears, slowing, slipping.

My limbs turned cold and numb.

My body... was giving out.

My soul was slipping.

“Amir...” My voice was barely a breath, a fragile thread on trembling lips.

He was there—fighting through the storm of shadows, clawing toward me, his face twisted with desperation and terror.

“No—stay with me, Elizabeth! Please!” His hands reached mine, brushing my fingers, powerless against Salvatore’s crushing grip.

I could barely see him now, but I felt him—his love, the weight of everything we were... and everything we would never get to be.

“I love you...” I choked, blood lacing my lips. “I love you... so much.”

Tears streaked down Amir’s face as he caught me and cradled me, his hands trembling as if he could somehow hold me together. Stop time, save me. But it was too late. I could feel myself fading, slipping from his grasp.

“No, no, no... please,” he whispered, voice breaking. “Stay. Just stay... don’t leave me...”

I rested my head against his chest, my body shaking violently, growing weaker. “One day... we’ll see each other again,” I breathed. “I know it... in another life... another world... I’ll find you.”

His arms tightened around me, rocking me, desperate. “Don’t leave me... I can’t do this without you... Elizabeth... please.”

“You can,” I whispered, my voice barely audible now, more spirit than sound. “You have to... for them... for our children.”

I clutched at his hand, my grip weak but determined. “Promise me... promise me Roman and Marcellious will fulfill their destiny. You’ll guide and protect them, even if it kills you. They must finish this. They must end him.”

Tears slipped from his eyes onto my skin, his voice shattering. “I promise... I swear it... I’ll protect them. I’ll protect Reyna, Roman... Marcellious. I won’t let him touch them.”

“Don’t let Salvatore take them too...” I murmured, breath hitching.

My fingers brushed his cheek, my final touch, my final breath.

“You’re the love of my life, Amir... always...”

Amir’s voice broke, raw with pain. He pressed his forehead to mine, his arms trembling around me. “And you’re mine... forever. I love you, Elizabeth... I love you.”

And then everything...

Went dark.

Silence.

Stillness.

Salvatore’s laughter echoed through the air, cold, triumphant, a dagger twisting in the heart of the world.

Amir’s scream tore through the night—a sound of pure anguish, rage, and heartbreak. A sound that fractured the sky... and shattered the soul.

And I was gone.

But the war…

The war had only just begun.

The Journey Continues…