Chapter 29
DAEMON
T he world slows to a crawl as Thorne's dagger slices through the air and embeds itself into Alix's chest with a sickening thud.
My body seizes, an icy paralysis gripping me as my eyes lock onto hers across the yawning fifty yards that separate us. Her wide blue gaze goes impossibly wider and she lets out a sound somewhere between a grunt and a scream. Then, she falls backwards into a heap on the dirty street.
A sharp, searing pain explodes in my chest. My heart pounds erratically and my vision blurs as a wave of terror grips me. My legs tremble, nearly bringing me to my knees.
Without thought, I launch myself down the stairs, uncaring if my wings have spread to break the fall.
I need to reach her, catch her, roll back time and stop the dagger from ever piercing her heart.
I don’t fucking understand what’s happening. One moment, I was searching for Thorne, who slipped out of his throne room like the snake he is. The next moment, I find him, but he’s not alone.
I don’t know what Alix is doing here or when she came back. All I know is that now she’s lying still in the street and I need to get to her.
I expect her to move. Stand up and smile at me, or scowl, it doesn’t matter. I’d even take a twitch of a finger. Anything, if it means that she’s alive.
But she doesn’t move.
Alix is here. She came back to find me…and now, she’s dead.
I descend from the sky in a chaotic whirl of feathers, my breath coming in ragged gasps, and land in the empty city square. The relentless downpour drums against the cobblestones and the only noise aside from the screaming in my head is the distant shouts of furious villagers. Thorne is about ten feet from Alix’s crumpled body, blocking me from reaching her.
I open my mouth, letting out a sound that is mostly animalistic roar. Thorne stiffens, and the smug expression on his face falters for the briefest second before he turns to me and smirks. “I was just saying it’s too bad you weren’t here to see her die.”
I take a heavy step toward him. The pain in my head from the last several days suddenly feels like nothing. Nothing compared with the agony surging through my chest. My throat tightens, and I nearly double over from the twisting in my gut.
I can’t seem to form words, all that comes out is “Why?”
His smirk morphs into more of a sneer, his eyes turning cold while his posture remains casual. “You think I didn’t see you lusting after her? You always wanted what was mine.”
I’d laugh if I could find any humor left in the world. “You don’t know fucking anything.”
He thinks I was just lusting after Alix? He thinks I want anything he has? He’s never understood that I want to put as much space between us as possible, because I’ve always known what a twisted evil monster he was behind his cold exterior.
“You don’t even understand the irony of this, do you? You killed her for nothing. You don’t love her, if you did–”
If he did he’d feel like he was dying. I’m sure I’m dying.
Thorne says nothing, his eyes darting to the side. As I look at him, another awful truth washes over me. “You know that, though, don’t you? You know you don’t know how to break the curse. Is that what you were fucking doing when you ran into her, running away?”
His prolonged silence is answer enough.
He was running away—not just from the angry mob, but from the kingdom. Maybe to one of the portals to the mortal realm as I considered doing so many times. It hasn’t even occurred to him to sacrifice himself. Instead, he’s putting his own comfort and safety over everyone and everything else, and ripping out the hearts of Vernallis in the process. I should have expected nothing less from the king who kept his dead wives as trophies.
Before either of us can move another muscle, a shout echoes down the street.
Thorne turns and glances over his shoulder toward the heart of the city. He tenses, his hands curling into fists. I follow his gaze toward the ever growing mob marching toward us. In mere seconds, they’ll be close enough to recognize the king. A large part of me would like to see what happens when they do.
“Your people are turning on you,” I taunt Thorne. “They know that you abandoned them. How does it feel to know that every single being in Vernallis wishes you were dead?”
He turns back to me and attempts to keep the sneer on his face, but it falters. Satisfaction washes over me when I spot the real fear in his gaze.
His enormous black wings unfurl glistening with rain drops and without a word he launches into the sky.
I tilt my head back to watch him ascend, the cold rain splattering against my face and blurring my vision, making it difficult to track his silhouette as he vanishes into the stormy sky. If I don’t follow now, I’ll lose him in the storm.
I look at Alix, still lying immobile on the ground and another wave of agony nearly crushes me. My heart screams to stay by her side, yet the empty void gnawing at me whispers that she isn’t going anywhere. Ever again.
Meanwhile, there’s only hours—maybe minutes—left to go after Thorne.
A sharp pain grips my chest, but I refuse to let it take over. I clench my fists, feeling my heart pound like a war drum. I let the energy course through me, transforming the ache into a fiery rage that propels me forward.
It feels as if my body is splitting apart, a searing sensation coursing through me as my wings unfurl with a powerful whoosh. I launch into the sky.
Ahead, Thorne veers sharply, changing course, his silhouette a dark streak against the sky. I trail him, both of us heading back toward the looming silhouette of the castle.
Thorne lands with a splash on the rain soaked palace terrace. I follow, my feet touching down just seconds later on the wet stones. Above us, the enormous circular window of the throne room looms against the castle wall casting a sharp ray of light over the dark castle ramparts.
“What happened?” I hiss as I stalk after my brother, kicking up water with every step. “I thought you were fleeing for a portal? Decided to stay and see the end of your court after all?”
Thorne grits his teeth and doesn’t answer.
I don’t think he knows what he’s doing anymore. He doesn’t know where to run where I won’t follow him, and he must know deep down that the curse isn’t going to break.
He’s trapped—imprisoned.
I know exactly what that feels like and it makes me smile to know he’s suffering a fraction as much as I am.
His face twists in contempt as I approach, forcing him to back up against the nearest stone pillar. He glances back at the ground far below, and there’s a tiny hint of fear in his face when he turns back to me. “What do you think you’re doing, Ashwater? Spend your last moments however you want, don’t waste your time fighting me.”
“You just killed the only person I’d care about spending my last moments with. Now the only thing I have left is the pleasure of watching you die..”
“You can’t fight me. I beat you ninety years ago and I’ll do it again now.”
I let out a bark of humorless laughter.
He beat me ninety years ago because he caught me off guard and had dozens of soldiers with him.
“Do you know how much fighting goes on in Dyaspora?” I shout over the sound of the rain. “Think about it for a fraction of a second. I’ve had decades to become far stronger than you in every conceivable way.”
I lunge for him but he ducks. My hand closes around the air rather than his throat. I strike again, this time catching him across the cheekbone with my fist.
Somewhat to his credit, Thorne doesn’t back down. He charges at me, catching me across the chest. With a wet thud, we go tumbling across the stone balcony grappling for control.
Thorne’s face twists with rage. “I never should have let you out!”
“No, you shouldn’t have. But that’s always been your fatal flaw, Thorne. You’re so in love with yourself you think everyone else must be too.”
The freezing rain pours down in sheets, instantly drenching me to the bone as Thorne and I tumble and slide across the slick surface. Drops of icy water sting my skin and plaster my hair to my face as we struggle to regain our footing on the wet balcony tiles. The roaring wind whips through our hair and feathers, threatening to knock us over once again.
I land on my back, Thorne above me. He raises his fist and brings it down forcefully toward my face. I roll away just in time, causing his fist to slam into the stone. The balcony's stone cracks under the impact, and he cries out, shaking his hand in pain. I don’t miss the opportunity to roll out from beneath him and reach for the sword in my belt.
Thorne staggers back to his feet, his eyes wild and his breath ragged. He spins with a ferocious intensity, and before I can even unsheathe my blade, his shoulder slams into me like a battering ram. The force of the impact sends me stumbling backward and he chases after me.
Our breaths become ragged, each inhale sharp and shallow as we grapple with each other across the rough stone of the terrace. At times, we teeter dangerously close to the edge. Thorne's left fist connects with my jaw in a brutal arc, and the metallic tang of blood fills my mouth. Worse, my right wing is bent and throbbing, yet I refuse to yield. A deep gash mars his cheek, oozing crimson, and his right hand is swollen and misshapen, the fingers bent at unnatural angles.
Thorne wrenches himself from my grip, glaring at me with manic fury as he backs up, framed against the enormous round window beyond which lies the throne room. “I always knew I couldn’t trust you.” He spits. “You think if you kill me you’ll be king for five minutes? How pathetic.”
“Of course you would think this is about the throne. I don’t care about the crown and I never have,” I growl, darting around him trying to find an opening. “But you couldn't understand that because you’d never give up power. Even now when you could save everyone, you won’t. You’ll take us all down with you.”
He staggers backwards and for a moment I think I see a glimmer of confusion on his face. Maybe he really doesn’t know that to end the curse all he would have to do is sacrifice himself. If he doesn’t know, that’s somehow sadder.
I lunge towards him, my hands closing around his throat.
Thorne's face flushes a deep crimson as he desperately scratches at my fingers with his injured, swollen hand, but I maintain my grip. Each breath I take is labored, my chest rising and falling heavily, while sharp pangs radiate from my aching jaw and even more intensely from the ache in my heart.
My hand clamps firmly around his throat as I force Thorne backward, step by step, until he's teetering at the brink of the balcony. Below us, thousands of feet down, the outlines of thorny rose bushes are barely visible in the rain-soaked darkness.
Thorne's face turns red as he struggles to breathe, his feet dangling over the edge of the balcony. I hold him firmly in place, his eyes widening with fear as he realizes how close he is to falling.
“I just want to know. When you killed all your wives, did you feel any guilt? Did it ever occur to you how it wasn’t a sacrifice since you didn’t love them?”
If he’s surprised that I know about the queens he doesn’t show it. “I did—” he coughs. “I do.”
I shake my head. Part of me thinks he believes that. He has no idea what love is, or what a real sacrifice feels like.
I squeeze his throat tighter, only my arm keeping him from plummeting to the ground below. With my other hand, I pull a knife from my belt, intending to plunge it into his heart before letting him fall.
It feels almost poetic. He’ll die with a blow to the heart, just like he killed all his wives. Like he killed Alix. Like he’s killed me along with her.
I raise the knife.
But as my hand raises I shake, my arm coming to a sudden halt. My eyes widen with a startling realization.
Killing Thorne, as much as I want to, won’t fucking matter. If I kill him, it’s just as meaningless as how he killed Alix—for the slightest chance of affecting the curse, but more for revenge. His revenge on her for defying his control and against me for being born.
What I’m doing is no fucking better.
And more, Alix wouldn’t want me to do it. I remember her in bed after falling through the ice. Please don’t murder Foulo. Unless he attacks you first, then, I guess it’s self-defense. Just don’t hunt him down. I don’t want that on my conscience.
Alix wouldn’t want this.
“Take it,” I demand, shoving the dagger into Thorne’s broken fingers. He lets out an involuntary sound of pain as the hilt of the blade presses into his twisted hand, but I don’t relent. “Take the knife!”
His pale eyes meet mine. His face is red from lack of oxygen and his pupils are dilated with rage, but he shakes slightly as he closes his fingers around the knife.
“Stab yourself,” I tell him with no feeling in my voice.
The glimmer of a smirk passes across his features. “Are you out of your mind?” He rasps, the words sticking in his throat.
I ignore the question. My arms shake from the effort of holding him and not allowing myself to crush his throat. “Stab yourself in the fucking heart. It’s the best thing you’ll ever do for the kingdom. If there’s a shred of decency in there somewhere you’ll do it.”
His gaze is calculating, watching me closely while the knife trembles in his loose grip. After a long heartbeat, his eyes narrow. “I’d sooner burn the entire city to the ground.”
I feel as if a door slams inside my mind. There’s a finality to those words that can’t be changed. He would destroy the whole kingdom before himself—he already is.
I close my eyes and release my fist.
Thorne falls. For a second I know he believes he’s about to plummet to the ground far below, because he gasps in a shaking breath when instead he lands back on the stone balcony, the knife still in his hand.
I push rain soaked hair from my face and step back.
“What are you doing?” Thorne demands.
“You saved my life once. Consider this my returning the favor. Enjoy your last moments, as short as they’ll be.”
My hands curl into fists at my sides and I turn away. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and at the same time, it’s easy. Easy because if I only have minutes left I want to return to Alix’s body and spend them with her. I won’t do that with blood on my hands.
Thorne’s ragged breathing is loud behind me, barely drowned out by the pounding of my deliberate footstep as I walk away.
There’s no peace in letting Thorne go, only certainty. Certainty that it’s over. Fate or the gods or the fucking sorceress will have to decide where to go from here because I’m done fighting the inevitable.
All the rage flies out of me in a single whoosh, leaving only pain behind. My adrenaline flees my body and my wings disappear. I stalk back across the balcony toward the round window to the throne room. With one flick of my wrist, I smash the window. Glass shatters everywhere, but I hardly notice as I make to climb through the jagged opening into the throne room.
A shout erupts behind me, shattering the eerie quiet in my mind. The air shifts, and I know what’s happening even before I hear the footsteps or the swish of a blade.
Instinctively, I pivot on my heel as Thorne lunges, driving my own dagger toward my back.
My vision turns white and I don’t even think about it.
With both hands, I seize his face in a vice-like grip and twist with all my strength.
His eyes lock onto mine, first filled with contempt, then morphing into fear as he realizes the inevitable.
And finally, there is nothing in his gaze. The sound of cracking bones and tearing flesh fills the air as I twist his head around and forcibly rip it from his shoulders and his lifeless body crumples to the ground.
I don’t waste a single second with Thorne’s body.
I climb through the shattered window and march across the opulent throne room. Outside in the entrance hall, it’s as if no time has passed. The building is in shambles, the guards and the nobles are brawling, and I see my friends among the throng fighting for order–fighting to give me time to handle my brother.
While barely any time has passed, I feel decades older. There’s a weight pressing down on me and I know with absolute certainty that weight is the loss of my bond.
My heart beats sluggishly, like it wishes to just give up and sleep.
It’s all I can do to stride across the entrance hall toward the open double doors.
“Daemon!”
I hear Kastian shout behind me and don’t turn back. All I want to do is get to Alix. Lie next to her in the street and close my eyes.
“Where’s the king?” Kas demands, catching up with me.
“Dead.”
There’s a beat where I feel his gaze on me, surely taking in my bloody hands.
I speed up. I don’t want to explain anything to Kastian or anyone else.
I force my way through the front doors and back out onto the steps.
It feels impossibly poetic that I’m back where I started. I’ve made a circle, coming back to the exact point where I saw Alix fall on the street far below, and while everything feels different nothing really has changed.
I peer through the rain toward the base of the stairs. My pulse skips and my stomach lurches with nausea. I don’t see Alix anywhere.
I take a staggering step forward. Where is she?
I look feverishly around the grounds and the city below for Alix. I’m about to fly down to the street again, when my gaze lands on a bedraggled figure in a wet black jacket, slowly climbing the steps. I squint, and my heart thrums back to life when I recognize the human fabric and construction of the coat.
A fleeting hope alighting in my chest, I rush down the stairs, stopping short when I reach her.
Alix tilts her head up to meet my gaze. Her face is pale, her hair soaking wet beneath her muddy jacket, but she’s here, alive, breathing, and glaring up at me like I’m everything that's wrong with her world.
“I’ve said before I think these steps were intentional torture,” she grumbles, “but, seriously, did no one ever think of elevators?”
My words get caught in my throat. My mouth gapes open as slowly I feel the life flooding back into my chest.
“What are you doing here?”
“Hi,” Alix says, a little awkwardly. “This isn’t how I pictured our reunion, maybe?—”
My heart soars and I reach for her, gathering her up in my arms. “Alix…”
“Ow–” she hisses.
I let her go, horrified to have hurt her. “What happened?”
She presses a hand to the back of her head. “Sorry. I’m fine. I hit my head.”
I suck in a breath, the vice on my chest loosening slightly. I can’t even think of what to say to her. I love you. I need you. Please stay here with me.
All that comes out is: “How?”
She rubs the back of her head. “When I fell.”
“No,” I choke. “You got hit. I saw it.”
“Oh.” She grins at me and unzips her jacket. “I thought ahead. I had no idea Walmart sold bulletproof vests, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.”
I blink at the thick black garment she’s wearing under her coat. I’m not entirely sure I understand what it is, but it doesn’t matter. She’s alive…and here.
“What are you doing here?”
“I had to come back,” she breathes. “I’m probably fucking crazy, I know it was way too dangerous, but I couldn’t stay away. I had to tell you, I think I know how to break the curse. Thorne has to die, and–”
I don’t let her finish. I reach out and grab the back of her neck, tug her toward me and slam my mouth down on hers. She gasps, the warmth of her breath colliding with mine, and I kiss her deeply, channeling every ounce of longing and anger into a single moment. The blood on my hands smears her cheeks, but seconds later it gets washed away by the rain.
Alix pulls back looking breathless. “So, is that it? He’s dead, right?” I wipe the last of my bloody hands on my jacket and nod. She smiles. “Is everything going to be okay, now?”
I look at her, hope and excitement clear on her face and I wish I could tell her everything was fine. I want to lie, if only to have a few more minutes of happiness before nothing ever feels right again.
But I can’t.
I shake my head. “I don’t think so, Peaches. He didn’t sacrifice himself. I killed him.”
Her face falls. “Oh. So, now what?”
I look behind her at the open door, beyond which I can see chaos still carrying on. “Now nothing. We wait for the sun to rise. And judging by that—” I point at the sky where there’s pink on the horizon. “There’s not long to wait.”
Her face falls. “What? No…” Her words die as she chokes and tears appear in the corners of her eyes. “That can’t be it. There has to be something else we can do.”
“If there was, Peaches, I’d do anything to stay with you.” I shake my head, my chest squeezing as if I’ve been clamped in a vice. “You’ll be fine. Kastian will help you. And Odessa, Fox and Jett. They’ll all make sure you’re safe.”
“Do you think I’d be here if I was worried about being safe?” she demands, tears now freely pouring down her face.
I have nothing else to say to that, so I just reach for her and pull her to my chest.