36. Thayla #3
A purr pierces the chaos overhead and the unmistakable sound of wings follows an instant later. Powerful gusts rip across the battlefield as my Veilatara tear through another line of enemies somewhere above me.
He’s such a badass.
I shove another soldier backward with my shoulder, kick the inside of his knee until bone cracks beneath my boot, then spin away before he hits the ground.
Not a second later, someone lunges from my right and steel screams against steel. The impact jolts through my arm and one of my swords slips from my grip.
I twist, letting his momentum carry him past me before driving my elbow into his throat. He stumbles, choking, and I finish him with a clean slash across his neck.
Fuck, they’re everywhere.
“Move!”
The command erupts from my lungs before I even realize I’m shouting. A pair of Defenders glance toward me, fucking dumbfounded.
“Down!”
They drop instantly.
Black essence bursts from my free hand.
Not enough to consume the battlefield. Just enough that the Oblirians charging behind them dissolve into drifting ribbons of gray before they ever reach striking distance.
I don’t wait to watch them disappear.
Yemi.
Where was—
There.
Her long black braid and glowing golden irises flash between a wall of armor before vanishing again.
Still too damn far.
I shove forward.
Every step costs another Dark God or Oblirian their life. Every yard gained demands two more.
A shriek spills from my lips as an undead creature barrels past me, jaws snapping around an Oblirian’s shoulder before hurling him into another. My neck tilts up and a thankful laugh leaves me as I spot Otiero atop a Veilatara with his hands stretched out.
The battlefield is full of the dead and the living.
It throbs like a heartbeat.
Roaring. Bleeding. Shifting with every breath.
The front lines no longer exist.
I duck beneath another blade, roll between two Dark Gods, and jump to my feet. My sword cuts through an abdomen before I kick the corpse away, while my other hand sends a rope of black straight through the other’s chest.
A familiar giggle carries over the clash of steel somewhere to my left and my heart skips a beat.
Riven.
The sound disappears beneath a fucking explosion.
For the stars.
“Thayla!”
Yemi.
I snap toward her voice.
Thirty yards. Maybe less.
“Thay.”
Everything stops for a fleeting second as the whisper steals my attention. My sword comes up on instinct and I spin.
Green eyes collide with mine as warm fingers clamp around my raised wrist.
Something slams into my stomach, forcing every ounce of air from my lungs, and my body jerks.
I blink once, unable to understand why I can’t breathe, why he won’t let go of my arm, why tears well in his eyes.
Then…
I feel it.
My gaze drops between us.
The hilt of his sword presses against my armor.
No…
My heartbeat thunders once, and the realm narrows to the impossible truth standing inches away from me.
My knees weaken, but I don’t crumble as he pulls me close. The chaos fades beneath the sound of my own pulse.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers.
The words don’t match the blade buried inside me.
“I never wanted it to end like this.”
My mouth parts, but no sound comes.
Something else drips down my chin.
“Mother made her choice. The realm we envision will never come to fruition with you in it. We’ll never convince my brothers to join us while they have you. Gods, Thayla, why couldn’t you have just listened to me?”
His grip tightens around my wrist. Regret flickers through those familiar green eyes.
“You would’ve made a wonderful ruler. This all could’ve been ours if you had just listened.”
My knees threaten to buckle again, and my swords fall from my hands when my fingers simply can’t find the strength to hold them.
He releases my wrist.
His hand cups the back of my head with heartbreaking tenderness.
“I love you, Thay.”
“M-Mellcom…”
With one smooth pull, he draws the sword free.
Agony explodes through me.
A broken gasp tears from my lungs as my body folds around the wound. My hand flies to my stomach, desperate to press away the pain.
Warmth floods between my fingers.
Too much.
When I force my eyes back up…
He’s gone.
The battle rushes back all at once. Steel clashing, creatures roaring, someone screaming. It’s all muffled.
I stumble forward one step. Then another.
My boots drag through the dirt as my vision swims, my chest pulls taut, and the battlefield tilts beneath me.
No…
What is happening?
I press harder against my stomach and warm blood slips through my fingers faster than I can hold it back.
“Thayla!”
The familiar voice cuts through the echoing in my ears, and my head lifts.
Just feet away…Yemi’s eyes find mine.
For a heartbeat, relief flashes across her face.
Then her gaze drops.
To my hands. To the crimson spilling between my fingers. To the trail behind me. Every ounce of color drains from her face.
“THAYLA!”
Her scream tears across the battlefield. It freezes something inside me far more effectively than a sword ever could.
She runs.
Not caring who stands in her way. Not caring who swings at her.
She just runs…toward me.
She catches me just before my knees give out and the force of us hitting the ground rattles through my body.
“No. No, no, no.”
Her trembling hands press against my stomach.
“Help!” she screams, voice cracking. “Sevryn! We need a healer!”
The battle rages around us, outside the barrier she throws up. I still hear it all, but all I see is her.
Tears stream down her face so quickly they blur her features. She keeps shaking her head, refusing to accept what’s covering her hands.
“H-hey,” I whisper.
Her terrified eyes meet mine.
“I’m here,” she says quickly. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”
I can’t help the small smile that touches my lips.
We both know she’s lying. She’s a terrible liar.
Footsteps pound toward us, and a familiar hand settles on my shoulder. The ache consuming my body disappears so suddenly I gasp.
“I’ve got the pain, Thayla. Just hold on for us. Your men are coming,” Sevryn says, though his voice shakes.
Relief washes over me and thoughts come easier.
“Thank you,” I breathe.
He nods, refusing to meet my eyes. Yemi lets out another broken sob, her hands never leaving the wound.
“Stay with me,” she begs.
“I’m here.”
“Please.”
My fingers search for hers and she catches my hand before it can fall. I squeeze as hard as I can.
“Yem…I love you.”
The words are barely more than air.
She freezes.
For one impossible heartbeat, everything else disappears from her face. The fear. The panic. The desperation. Only disbelief remains.
Fresh tears spill over her cheeks.
“No,” she whispers, clutching my hand so tightly it almost hurts. “You fucking asshole. You don’t get to finally say it back to me like this.”
“Should’ve said it before now,” I whisper. “I do love you.”
Her forehead drops against her hands and sobs tear through her.
A shadow casts over her, and my head slowly pivots. Stunning white wings spread out, sending a gust of air around us that silences everything. The beautiful limbs disappear as fast as they appeared as feet crash against the ground.
“No.” My dad hits his knees beside Yemi, shaking his head. “My shooting star.”
“H-hey, Dad,” I stutter.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” he says, but the tears in his eyes tell me otherwise.
“I-I need a favor.”
“Anything, my girl.”
“My men. Seismet. Everyone.”
He nods, closing his eyes. Tears slip down his cheeks. The sight kills me, so I pull my gaze away.
The fluffy white clouds are beautiful.
I wish I could’ve touched them once.
“Seismet. What do the clouds feel like?”
My mental voice sounds stronger than my real one.
“Like freedom, my companion.”
“I’d like to fly there.”
“We will. We will fly high together.”
“Take care of V and Lestari.”
Something that sounds like a giggle mixed with a sob pierces my hearing, and fingers tilt my chin to the side. Water spills from those gorgeous mismatched eyes.
“Angel…your wings.”
My little psycho.
More hands, more bodies surround me.
My Candyman.
My eternity.
My sweetling.
I meet each of their gazes, trying to force a smile on my lips.
“Hold on, my endling. I’ve got you. I’ve got your soul and I’m not letting you go.”
Impossibly slow, my head turns to Creed.
“Promise m—”
“I promise. I’m not letting you go.”
I shake my head as much as I can.
“Mell…com.”
His eyes blaze white.
“He did this?”
I nod.
“D-don’t kill him.”
He thrashes his head from side to side.
“P-promise me. Death is too…sweet for him.”
A gurgle and a cough tear through my throat, and everyone releases agonizing sobs as something spills from my mouth.
My gaze meets my father’s once more.
“Dad…”
“I hear you, my girl.”
“I’m sorry. For not letting go sooner.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
His hands cup my cheeks, wiping away tears I didn’t know were spilling free.
“I love you. I love them. Please tell my whole family. Please take care of them.”
“Hold on, my girl, please. Hold on.”
There’s no more holding on.
My face tilts back to the sky and I…smile.
The voices around me fade beneath the rush of memories.
Lambrit’s face meets me in the clouds first. Then Laney’s.
They come without order or reason.
My parents’ embrace, the first time each of my men stole my breath, impossible victories, unbearable losses, quiet moments that somehow mean the most.
My life doesn’t flash before my eyes in a single image.
It unfolds in countless fragments, each one reminding me…
I am very loved.
Slowly, I drift toward the clouds and my eyes drift shut.