Page 56 of The Last De Loughrey Dynasty (The Legacy of Aquila Hall #1)

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

ARCHER

A scream ripped out of my throat as I felt the bond tying our souls together snap in two.

She was gone.

My fallen star was on its way to return to where it had lived a thousand years before destiny decided to form the light into the smallest piece of a soul. And I might be selfish, but I wouldn’t let her leave. I wouldn’t let her journey end here without me.

I would raise hell on earth to convince heaven and the universe to let her take another breath. To let her heart beat another beat.

She was my fallen star, and she wasn’t going to return to the night sky.

Not if I could challenge fate.

Wind shook the maze, and thunder cracked far away in the sky. A storm was coming.

The balance was shifting.

I glared at the man who took the one thing precious to me in life and ripped her away forever.

He took everything from me.

Hatred burned in my chest as I watched pride cross his features while Naomi and Jesse held him to the ground. He didn’t fight back. He didn’t have to because all he wanted had already come to pass.

The damage was already done.

And I couldn’t piece together how he’d been able to do this. To kill her. To kill a girl who had looked up to him. To kill Doe, who found salvation in the form of his grace.

How could he be so heartless?

Taking her life like it meant nothing.

My heart felt heavy in my chest, knowing she was gone, but I wouldn’t accept this.

I. Wouldn’t. Let. Her. Go.

It took everything to place my girl’s limp body down onto the cold ground. I pressed my lips to her cold forehead as a tremor rolled through my body.

“Wait for me, my star,” I breathed against her skin.

I stood up and stalked straight over to the book that held so many dark rituals and spells that I was certain I’d find my answer on one of the pages.

“What are you doing, Archer?” Naomi asked me between sobs, grieving the loss of Doe. But I wouldn’t let sadness destroy me. I would get her back.

I’d pull her from the sky with my bare hands if I had to.

“Necromancy,” I answered, my voice sounding strangely emotionless. My heart felt empty. With her not there to be my guiding light in the darkness, I was lost to it. It would eat away to the very bone.

I couldn’t let that happen.

I’d bring her back.

Anwir scoffed, “necromancy is the most dangerous form of sorcery there is, Archer. You have no idea of the consequences and the sacrifices—”

I spun around, fury blinding me. “Do not speak to me! I couldn’t care less about the sacrifices it would cost me when it meant that she’d come back!” I yelled at him, in pure, utter hatred. “You wouldn’t understand it because you’re a coldhearted bastard who has never loved someone.”

“You know nothing about me, kid. I know love, but I saw the greatness—the bigger picture, and sacrificed love for all of us,” he hissed, and my fist snapped out, colliding with his jaw.

I have never felt anger this immensely before.

“You killed the girl you loved for some stupid power that everyone will call you mad for believing in it. You’re the epitome of heartlessness, Anwir,” I spat in his face, before I turned my back on him and flipped through the pages of the book.

Hecate was the goddess of necromancy, there must be something in here. Something. Anything . I’d try anything.

I flipped through the pages again and again. No, no, no. I must have skipped one by accident. There must be something about Necromancy. We had a piece of her power in our blood, after all.

Please .

“How far would you go for her, son?” My head snapped up to the dark voice of a spirit standing a few metres away from me.

It was a man dressed in eighteenth century fashion. His black hair almost fell down to his shoulders, and he looked a few years older than me.

I knew him.

His portrait hung in the head office of Kingstone Bank in London.

Malakai Kingstone, the man behind where my family’s fortune came from.

“I’d go to the Earth’s core or the moon. For her, I’d go as far as to dust being the only thing left of my soul.”

Malakai grinned at my answer, a knowing smirk pulling at his lips. “I’d hope you would say that. Would you like to make a deal with me, son?”

I frowned at him, suspicion creeping into my chest. “What kind of deal?”

“I’m the first blessed of the Kingstone family. I was Hecate’s closest friend and knew much about the ways of death. I can give you what you’re searching for,” he said, his voice heavy with the rich cadence of an old English accent.

“Archer, I don’t think—”

“Shut up, Jesse!” I snapped, not tearing my eyes from the spirit of my ancestor. “What do you want in return?”

If he knew how to bring her back, I’d agree to anything. Anything.

Malakai shrugged, casual as ever. “Just your permission to possess your mind until the ritual is complete. It’s effortless, truly.” His eyes flickered to the sky, where the stars of the Aquila constellation seemed to pulse, ready to burst. “Think quickly. The doors of the veil close in four minutes. After that, she’s lost. Your decision, son.”

I didn’t let spirits close. It was a simple rule. They were far too unpredictable once they had access to your mind.

Gwyneth had almost killed Doe on Halloween, and she hadn’t even actively invited her in.

Possession was a dangerous game. But I was strong-minded.

My gaze dropped to Doe’s blood, staining my trembling hands. I wasn’t sure if they shook from the heartache or the rage that boiled beneath the surface.

I ripped my black tourmaline ring from my finger and tossed it aside. “I allow you, Malakai Kingstone, to possess me until Dorothee De Loughrey walks among the living again,” I said, the weight of those words sinking deep into my bones.

Naomi’s face twisted in terror. “What have you done, Archer?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

I watched as my ancestor’s spirit began to shift, turning into a thick mist that swirled around me. It slipped beneath my skin, like ice water creeping through my veins. I gripped the stone table for support, my body fighting the fire that began to burn in my chest, the feeling of his soul merging with mine.

“Give me the answer,” I demanded, my voice a raw, strained whisper. His spirit settled within me like a heavy weight, a presence too familiar, too consuming.

A life for a life. As easy as it can be if you truly loved her. But I’m curious, son. Would you become a killer for her? His voice echoed painfully through my head.

It took a life for a life.

My gaze turned to Chadwick, his eyes widening. He looked like he knew what I was supposed to do. But by the way, Naomi and Jesse’s faces twisting in horror, I would guess that it had something to do with me.

Ticktock. Malakai reminded me.

Chadwick would suffer for what he’d done. I wouldn’t do anything wrong. He tormented us. He murdered the girl I loved. It was just payback.

He had it coming.

I grabbed the dagger covered in Dorothee’s blood and stalked over to where Chadwick was still pinned to the ground by my friends.

“I sacrifice the life of Anwir Kingstone, a murderer, in exchange for the life of Dorothee De Loughrey, an innocent,” I spoke directly to death, my voice laced with the power of Malakai’s as I lifted the dagger.

“If you’re going to kill me, your nightmares will come true. You’ll be the last Kingstone to fulfil the prophecy,” Anwir told me, fear spiking his every world.

For a second I faltered, questioning what he meant by that since the prophecy had already been fulfilled, but Malakai pushed every doubt out of the way, making way for the bloodlust I felt.

“A life for a life.”

I plunged the dagger deep into his heart and buried it to the hilt.