Page 69

XANDER

I dropped into the stairwell, feet barely touching the damp steps as I descended into the crypt. The air grew colder with every step, breath misting in front of me. My magic curled around me instinctively.

The sounds of the fight above were nothing now. Just muffled thunder.

Down here, the darkness felt… aware. Like it was holding its breath.

I slowed, edging forward. Time mattered, but surprise would kill me. I could feel her—Eve’s magic brushing up against mine. Not soft this time. It hissed against my ice like steam. Desperate. Terrified.

A shift in the air—left side.

I ducked, narrowly avoiding the swipe of a daema’s claws. I lunged forward, slammed a dagger into its ribs, and felt blood burst warm across my hand. It screamed, ear-splitting and shrill, but I was already twisting free.

Another one grabbed my shirt. I turned, slashing across its forearms—frost bloomed instantly beneath its skin as it recoiled. I didn’t wait. Threw one dagger without looking. The other I drove into its throat, the blade sliding through rot and cartilage.

It crumpled at my feet.

I stepped over the bodies, boots cracking through the sheen of ice forming on the stone.

A scream tore down the corridor. Hers.

I ran.

Light flared, reflecting off the ice-slick walls. My heartbeat outpaced my boots, hammering through my ribs. I hit the corner, vision narrowing—

A blade.

Raised. Poised.

A daema, arm pulled back for the strike.

And Eve— gods .

She was bound to the altar, back arched, wrists twisted in chains above her head. Her screaming hit me like a blade to the chest. Not just pain. Not just fear. Something final.

My magic shattered outward, detonating across the crypt walls as I threw the knife. The dagger cut through the air in a silver arc—perfect.

But the daema was already moving, and time fractured around us.

My blade landed, sinking deep into his shoulder with a sickening thunk at the same time that the daema’s knife buried itself in her chest.

Eve arched, sound caught in her throat—then nothing.

My magic erupted, slamming into every surface as I ran. The daema looked up, fangs bared—grinning like it understood exactly what it had done.

“Too late, little godling—”

My hand closed around its throat before it could finish, and I slammed it into the crypt wall. Ice surged up my arm, creeping over its skin in a web of frost. It choked, clawing at my grip—but I didn’t let go.

The creature’s body convulsed as the cold sank deeper. Veins darkened. The air around us crackled. My magic consumed everything.

The frost moved faster than its blood. Beneath skin. Beneath bone. Then its limbs locked—chest seized. Its eyes—wide, glassy, desperate—realized it was too late.

I squeezed, and its form shattered in my hands. Shards hit the floor like hail. The body wasn’t a body anymore—just ice. Wreckage. Gone.

I let go, letting the remnants crumble at my feet as I spun to face the altar.

“Eve?”

No response.

I stepped beside the altar, hands moving, grasping, needing to do something.

I tore the knife free. Blood surged from the wound, soaking us both. I pressed my hands to the wound, ice coating my fingers, freezing her skin. She was still warm. Still here. Her pulse was there, flickering like it was already slipping away.

I reached out— Orion !

Nothing.

Damn it Orion, where are you?!

I couldn’t wait. Couldn’t be gentle.

I poured magic into the cuffs until they cracked, ice splintering like bone as they hit the floor.

I caught her as she sagged forward, her body limp in my arms as I pulled her to the ground, cradling her like she’d break if I didn’t hold her just right.

“C’mon. You’re okay,” my voice cracked. “I can fix this.”

I pressed my forehead to hers. Cold skin met fading warmth.

“Please, darling,” I whispered. “Just hold on a little longer. Orion’s coming.”

I was losing her. My bloodied hands cupped her face—desperate, trembling, useless—as I leaned in, trying to breathe life into her. But then her heart stuttered. Once. Twice. A final, stubborn beat—and then… nothing.

I froze.

No pulse. No breath. No sound but mine, cracking through my chest like splintered ice. My fingers stayed pressed to her skin, waiting—begging—for something to return. Anything. A twitch. A gasp. A miracle.

But she was still.

And I was already breaking.

There was nothing left to do but hold her, to be with her in her final moments. I’d failed. Again. My chest caved in, magic pressing against my ribs like it was trying to claw its way out, furious at me for being too slow. Too late.

So I said what I swore I never would.

“I wasn’t supposed to care this much.”

The words slipped loose. Quiet. Broken. Meant only for her. But the silence devoured them.

I squeezed my eyes shut. The next breath was all blades.

“I shouldn’t have hesitated. I should’ve just told you the truth.”

She didn’t stir. Not even a flicker.

And still, I held on.

Magic pushed harder now, building toward something unbearable, something wrong. I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t want to. She was gone.

The pressure crested.

My ribs cracked inward.

My body locked.

A scream built in my throat, but it never made it out. The cold got there first.

And then—

The dam broke, and the whole world froze.

The last sound before the crypt drowned in ice, before the cold swallowed everything, was my breath breaking into a sob.