CHAPTER 50
“The book is written for the eyes of a Deskyiara. No other can read the book, only the one with the blood of a Deskyiara. The words are invisible to others.” - Book of Azure
BLOOD POOLS AROUND MY KNEES as my body sways back and forth.
Any moment, I will fall face first into this land.
Skydance snaps his fingers, the archers heading back down the pathway that leads them to where Tilly flew to.
“We’ll be back for your stones,” Skydance snarls, pulling Dixyn in with his arms. They pull their charcoal scarfs above their noses as they all turn on their heels and head back down the mountain side, leaving me alone.
To die.
The crunching of boots on shattered sticks echoes ominously behind me, even though my ears are starting to hear a high-pitched ringing sound of death. I hear his cry for me. He shouldn’t have come back.
Each step of Koen and the others hurling their way toward me is a torturing pain of me knowing I cannot protect them for what is to come. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to drown out the heartbreak of seeing Koen’s eyes.
I want to remember the light inside them that I would see.
The joy. The beauty.
Not his eyes filled with darkness and pain.
I want his beautiful, emerald eyes. But I know I will only see them filled with heartbreak. I don’t want to die seeing them like that.
I believe that will destroy me more than these arrows ever will.
Koen's cries pierce through the howling wind that catches the embers from the fire. The breaking of his voice chills my very soul. The footsteps of the others follow close behind. I know they are all coming.
And I love them for that.
But all I feel is pain.
The arrows. The darkness, soaking through every part of me. I am fading fast.
The Gods are calling me home.
And through his yelling, his calling my name, I feel his heart breaking. The last bit of light inside his heart, that keeps him Koen, is ripping apart. I feel his anger. I wonder if it's from the light inside me that once was his that keeps us tethered together. Where I feel what he feels.
Us… connected, always and forever.
Even through death, that will never keep us apart. The Gods have no power over that. They will never be able to control our love.
I wonder if this is how he knew I was dying, his light inside my heart that is now slowly pulsing, on the brink of death.
A bright light trickles through the darkness that is seeping through my eyes.
A torturing, white-gold beaming hue as if a glowing star is falling from the sky.
Only to find Koen falling to his knees in front of me.
His curls blow across his face from the violent wind that is now catching the fire. Embers fall around us.
No.
He can’t do this.
Tears stream from his eyes, I’m only grateful to see the red hues completely vanish from his emerald tones.
Maybe my death will keep him safe.
His eyes frantically search my body while his trembling hands pull at his chest, the light brightening the space around us.
No. He will die.
He can’t die. Not for me. Please, not for me.
My trembling arm reaches out to him, only faltering down to the ground as tears puddle in my eyes.
I’m dying. And he is dying because of me. This heartbreak of losing me is blinding him from reality.
“You can’t,” I whisper, blood dripping from my bottom, trembling lip.
“How could I not?” His eyes glisten. My favorite eyes, gentle, beautiful, yet filled with strength are replaced with fear, heartbreak. And I can never live with myself knowing it's because of me. I have put him through so much, and yet he has always stood by my side. Through everything.
Even though I never asked him to.
“There is no light without you, Spark.” His hand brushes my cheek gently. His breath hitches, mixing in with groans of agony as he removes it to grab the last bit of light from his chest. The last bit that makes him… him. The man I love.
He will be gone.
The light flickers in his palms. His life. What makes him a descendant from the Gods is sparkling outside of him. When it should be inside of him.
His beautiful light. What keeps him alive. Now his heart will be filled with darkness. Lifeless. The Koen I knew will be gone.
“There is no light without you.” He leans closer, his lips brushing against mine. “The light inside me has always been because of you.”
I sob, tasting the salt from my tears that flow out of me.
“Please don’t.” My voice breaks, stuttering a breath that I cannot catch.
“I’m sorry I failed you.” His lips press against my head. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you. I always feared the darkness would take you from me.”
My chin lifts, my head resting against his face, and I feel the warmth of him. Alive. Savoring this moment. I don’t want to feel his cold, lifeless body. I want his warmth.
Gods, I want him alive.
“You have never failed me,” I whisper, my body weakening by the second as I fall into him. I hear Florian screaming in the background. Pleading out to Koen not to do it, but it's too late. Koen is blinded by heartbreak. Blinded by me dying right in his arms.
My reckless Koen. And I am too weak to fight him.
“I’d die over and over for you to live, my Spark.
I vowed that to you the night I gave you my light, and I honor my vows to you, love.
” His voice trembles as he clutches my chin.
“My light in the darkness. Thank you for returning to me.” He lifts me for a final kiss before thrusting the searing light into my chest.
“I can’t lose you,” I whisper. The light flickers in front of his face, his emerald hues dancing with the golden light.
“You will never lose me.” His lip tugs into a weak, gentle smile. “You are my memory. You are my soul. My heart. You are the air to my lungs. You are the light to my darkness. Only you, Spark.”
I choke on a sob as an unbearable light erupts between us, and flames cascade from the heavens above, obliterating the path for Florian and the others who desperately rush forward.
They stand no chance against the wrath of the fire God.
The wall prevents them from coming to us, and I catch sight of their eyes widening through the fire that whips around Koen and I.
The inferno's wind unleashes a merciless, fiery tornado, encircling us in its violence. The Gods are angry.
But they should fear my rage.
Florian falls to his knees, rubbing his hands through his tangled hair.
The white, piercing light flashes around us as it absorbs into my chest, disintegrating the arrows that pierced through me, burning them to ash. I let out a cry as the wound on my thigh heals, the skin pulling together with a violent tug while small particles of light trickle up to the sky above.
I meet Koen’s eyes once more, watching the light from his emerald eyes fade to dark.
A darkness that he’ll never return from.
I feel this will kill me.
His lifeless body falls into my lap, and I freeze. My eyes widen in disbelief as I catch my breath. With trembling hands, I hover over his body, unable to move… unable to think. I scream to the heavens above, casting all my anger out towards the Gods.
I scream.
I scream.
And I scream.
A violent, gut-wrenching sob escapes my lips as my eyes clutch together.
The tears won’t stop falling as I hold him in my arms, pulling my lips towards his head and feeling the softness of his curls against my skin.
I kiss his head, over and over. My shoulders rise and fall as I shutter out deep, exhausted breaths.
He’s gone. Within a blink of an eye.
My Koen.
My Koen.
The sun won’t shine any more. Not here. Not anymore.
He was my light. Now all I see is pure darkness.
The thunder roars in the sky as lightning bolts crack through the clouds. The Gods feel my anger, and they should.
“Florian!” I screech, my voice cracking in pain as I rock Koen’s lifeless body. “Help me!”
My bottom lip quivers as my cheeks soak with wetness. My eyes burn, feeling as if my soul left to the Gods with him.
The fire transcends back up to the clouds with a violent rumble, and light flashes across the sky.
Theon falls to his knees as soon as he sees us. Throwing his hands above his head in disbelief.
“He’s gone!” I see Florian run to me through my blurred vision.
He falls to his knees right beside us, hands trembling over the two of us as tears fall from his blue eyes.
“He’s gone.” I meet his weary gaze. “He left us.”
“WOULDN’T IT BE SOMETHING IF one day the Realms were at peace?
” Koen’s arms are folded behind his head, the dragonflies soaring in the blue sky above us as I rest my head on his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his breathing.
His heartbeat flutters as my fingers trickle across his stomach.
I trace the indentions of his muscles, focusing on a few scars towards his pantline.
“It sure would be,” I whisper out, placing my lips against his chest before nestling my cheek against him once more.
“Would you stay with me if I had a darkness inside me?” He clears his throat.
I rise, letting my chin rest against my hands that are crossed across his body. “What kind of darkness?” My brows raise, teasing him with a gentle smile.
His lips roll into a smile. “What if I wasn’t like the others in the Realm of Eekatia? What if that is why the Royals want to cast out everyone from the Darklands?”
“I’d never allow that.” My brows cave in, glancing at his eyes that are lost in the clouds above us.
“You will be Queen soon.” He swallows before exhaling a deep breath. “Which means you will stand beside my brother for the rest of your life.”
“What if I want to stand beside you for the rest of my life?”
His eyes glance towards me, feeling the rise of his chest. “It’s treason.”
I pull myself up, crossing my legs as my fingers trace the freckles along the skin of his ribs. “I am no Queen without you.”
He sighs, pulling his body up and rests his elbows in the dirt. “You could die if you chose me.”
“What life is worth living without you in it?”
His head tilts, the curls of his hair cascading across his shoulders as he takes his hand and wraps it around my head to pull me in for a kiss.
“What did I do to ever deserve your love?” he whispers against my lips.
“Whatever you did…” I kiss him gently, “don’t ever be foolish enough to let me go.”
“HE LET ME GO, FLORIAN,” I choke, trying to control my breathing, but it’s impossible. “He let me go.”
I clench his body tighter, pulling him into me as I beg the Gods to let me feel his heartbeat. But it never comes.
“I am no Queen without him.” I glance towards Florian, catching sight of the tears that fall off of his chin. His hands rub against his head as he shakes. “Florian, I can’t do this without him!”
Klayra and the others stand afar, behind the scorching circle that wraps around us. The fire embers float in the air. I hear the sounds of the hissing ground and the hooves of my Fireninze galloping towards us.
I hear Theon’s cries, the heartbreak in his sobs breaking me all over again.
Florian lifts his hands, placing them against Koen’s heart as he drops his head. His golden hair blocks the view from his soaked cheeks, and he cries.
He yells at the Gods.
His fist hits at the ground.
He mourns.
We both mourn.
We cry for Koen.