A Soul Like Glass (Kingdom of Betrayal #4)

Chapter 51

Chapter 51

T he darkness around me fades.

I expect to become surrounded by the shiny, black realm I imagined for myself, but instead…

A wash of blue spreads across the air above me, the most beautiful sky I’ve ever seen.

White clouds blossom within it and a bird soars beneath them.

The ground I’m kneeling on becomes soft with grass, a thick field of foliage spreading out all around me.

To my right, the ground splits open and a tree trunk pushes up through it, sprouting strong branches and emerald-green leaves and bursting with flowers. Within seconds, the tree is fully grown, white petals floating toward me on the breeze.

I’m frozen, my breath stilling because I’m… not…

I’m not in the dark realm I’m certain I created.

I am still in the valley, the vast plain where, only moments ago, the darkness raged and dust storms whirled.

My hands fly up to my head, reaching for the dark crown, only to find?—

It’s gone.

The dark keeper’s crown is gone!

My hands snap back down, but my medallion is still there, wrapped around my left palm. So, too, is my hammer, strapped to my back.

But while my surroundings have healed, I have not.

The strands of hair falling at my sides are blackened and my arms remain charred. The dark magic I took into my soul still whispers within my mind, a chilling cruelty that doesn’t belong in this renewed environment.

Panic fills me, a horrible, overwhelming, terrifying panic.

I am not the dark magic keeper.

But my magic worked. The land around me is restored. The air is clear, and the darkness is gone.

If I’m not the dark magic keeper, then… who is?

Who was taken instead of me?

I stumble to my feet, whirling to my surroundings, a deep dread filling me as I seek an answer in the tree, the flowers, and then higher, my focus rising to the bird that was soaring across the sky and is now diving toward me.

A crack of thunder sounds as it rages at me, a shriek emitting from its beak.

I don’t recognize this thunderbird. It certainly isn’t Blackbird or Concord.

I leap backward and crouch to the ground, my left hand extended, ready to defend myself.

A single figure somersaults from the bird’s back, landing lightly on the ground while the bird itself soars away.

I may not know the bird, but I recognize this woman.

She is beautiful, her skin dusted with gold and her long, blonde hair falling in waves around her shoulders. Her eyes are a glistening yellow, like the color of sunflowers, but they’re also filled with hatred.

“Witch!” Queen Karasi snarls at me, her right hand rising and heat building around it. “You ruined everything.”

I once watched her light a flame with a mere flick of her fingers. The fire she could pour at me may not be able to match that of a fire dragon, but she could burn me to ash just the same.

I don’t wait for her to reach me.

My medallion responds to my instincts, a golden shield forming, protecting my body as I reach for my hammer and throw myself forward into a slide, aiming for her right side.

Her fire shoots across the air where I was standing, but I’ve already reached her and she doesn’t adjust her balance in time.

My hammer smacks into her legs, knocking them out from under her. She falls forward but twists midair, the heat from her flames pouring toward me.

My shield transforms and my muscles obey my commands, a golden blade forming in my hand as I also twist, aiming for her exposed side.

My blade impales her all the way to her heart.

Her eyes widen as she drops to the ground. “You…”

She doesn’t say another word, landing with her legs twisted beneath her, the life fading from her eyes.

Still crouched, I retract my blade with a whisper. “Go to your keeper, Fae Queen. Dusana will be delighted to claim your magic.”

I lean backward, relief filling me.

It’s over. The Fae Queen is dead. The darkness is gone. Peace has finally fallen.

A quiet fills the valley while the sun shines overhead.

I tip my head back to its rays, soaking them in until my vision blurs and my forehead creases because when I try to take a deep breath, I discover…

I can’t.

I gasp for air, desperately trying to make my breathing work. But something’s wrong. Terribly wrong…

I look down at my chest, finally focusing on the gaping wound that cuts through my ribs.

Her fire burned right through me.

It must have happened the moment my shield retracted.

I tell myself to cover the wound with my medallion, to reach for it, heal it, and use my power to save myself, but my arms don’t obey me.

I topple to the side just as I make out figures in the distance.

There are more thunderbirds in the sky, all of them flying toward me. And people on the ground, all of them running.

Two are ahead of the others.

I recognize Erik, his muscles pumping, his dark hair flying as he sprints toward me. But I don’t recognize the little wolf that races at his side, keeping pace with him despite his incredible speed.

I try to hold on, but my head is swimming, and my thoughts are murky.

“Asha!” His roar reaches me from a distance. “ Asha! ”

I don’t have air to speak.

Death has come for me, after all.

My body hits the soft, green ground, and my vision fills with nothing but the crisp, blue sky.

The air blurs, becoming a swirl of indigo, and then I’m gone.