Chapter 17 #5
I jumped up, body coiled like a spring ready to snap. My hands trembled at my sides, nails biting into my palms until warm blood trickled between my fingers. The stone burned hotter than ever before, as if feeding on my rage.
Theo and Tavrik moved in beside me, their shoulders squared. Danger crackled in the air like lightning ready to strike.
But none of it mattered.
We didn’t know how to use the stone.
Zaheera had led me to it, set the pieces in motion, yet never once told me how to wield its power.
A clever, wicked thing.
Her voice, sharper than any blade, pierced the silence.
“You thought you could trick me? You foolish girl.”
I was a fool. A stupid, naive fool to ever believe I could outmanoeuvre her. To think I could make my way back here unseen, save my mother, and walk away unscathed.
To believe the universe owed me that much mercy.
Zaheera smiled—a cruel twist of satisfaction. She was enjoying watching my thoughts unravel.
“I looked for you when I could no longer sense you,” she continued. “I reached for you, but you were not there.”
I swallowed hard, the taste of copper flooding my mouth.
“And then I found you.”
She stepped closer. “Lying there… clutching the stone.”
Her words slammed into me. She had seen me.
Zaheera tsked, shaking her head with mock disappointment. “Did I not warn you, mortal?” her hand lashed out, her finger snapping out like a whip as she pointed at me. “You let yourself be blinded. For him!”
Her words sliced me open, dragging my worst fears into the light.
“You let desire cloud your judgment.” Her gaze dropped, ember eyes tracking downward. She brushed her foot against my mother’s lifeless hand. “This… is your fault.”
It hit. like a slap across the face.
Every moment of hesitation—every selfish, stupid decision had led to this.
If I had just done what she asked.
If I had let go of Dalkhan, my mother would still be alive.
Theo went rigid behind me, his sharp breath breaking the silence. Tavrik’s hand hovered near my shoulder, not quite touching. They knew. They could see it happening—the doubt sinking its claws into my skull.
Zaheera revelled in it. “You will do what needs to be done.”
She stepped over my mother’s body like she was nothing more than debris, skirts brushing against her cold skin.
Rage rose in my chest, but my feet were rooted to the ground like I’d turned to stone.
Zaheera was so close now. Too close. Energy radiated off her like waves of heat from a furnace. Her eyes—those evil, ancient eyes—bore into mine, finding every weakness.
Theo slid in front of me like a shield.
Zaheera’s gaze darted dismissively over his frame, then her attention landed on Tavrik.
“And if you don’t, perhaps I should take them too. Perhaps I should show you the terror your mother felt in her final moments.”
Tavrik slammed a hand into Theo’s chest, shoving him aside, and took his place in front of me.
“No.” His voice was steel. “You won’t touch them.”
Zaheera threw her head back and laughed. A low, mocking chuckle like he had just said something deeply amusing. She quirked her head, studying him like a curious insect.
“And what will you do to stop me, soldier?” Her voice dripped with contempt as she circled closer. “What power do you hold against mine?”
Her dark presence wrapped around us like chains.
“Tavrik,” I pleaded, reaching for his arm. “Please, don’t—”
The words died in my throat as her hand shot out, fingers curling like talons.
She sank them straight into Tavrik’s chest.
His breath hitched. A choked, strangled sound. A wet crack split the air—the sound of ribs giving way. Of flesh surrendering.
“NO!”
The scream came from my very soul.
Tavrik’s entire body convulsing as shock and agony crashed over him.
He mauled at the arm buried deep in his ribcage.
The fabric draped over him darkened, blooming with crimson that spread like spilled wine.
Blood bubbled at the corners of his mouth as he tried to speak, his lips forming my name but producing only a wet gurgle.
His eyes—those kind, steady eyes that looked at me with such warmth just hours ago—were now wide with shock. With the terrible realisation that he was dying.
“No!” Theo bellowed. “Please! Not Tavrik. Please!”
His entire body shook with heartbreaking cries. This man who had become his brother, his family, his anchor—was being destroyed right before his eyes.
With one cruel twist, she yanked her arm back, ripping Tavrik’s heart from his chest.
Blood splattered across the floor, the walls, and even across my skin. Hot and thick and metallic on my lips.
Tavrik’s body jolted, then his knees buckled.
For one suspended second, he looked at us, his lips parted around a breath that would never come.
Then he fell.
I hit the ground beside him.
“Tavrik!” I screamed, grabbing him. Shaking him. “Tavrik, please!”
His skin was still warm, still soft. I pressed my hands against the gaping hole in his chest as if I could somehow hold him together—as if I could force his heart back into place.
Theo tried to pull me away, but I fought him, grabbing Tavrik’s face between my palms. His stubble was rough against my skin.
“Please, please, wake up.” The words dissolved into broken weeping.
Nothing.
Just silence.
Zaheera towered above me, her hand dripping with his blood, his heart still gripped between her fingers. It twitched once, twice, then gave a final spasm.
I recoiled, my stomach twisting in horror.
“Such loyalty,” she mused, turning his heart in her hand. “Such devotion. And for what, I wonder?”
With a broken, anguished roar, Theo lunged at Zaheera, his hands slick with Tavrik’s blood and his face streaked with tears.
“I’LL KILL YOU!”
Zaheera’s hand shot out, grabbing him by the skull. Her fingertips dug into his temples, pressing indentations into his skin.
He jerked violently, limbs thrashing, but couldn’t break free.
She was too strong.
His eyes widened in terror as they met mine. His chest heaved, lips trembling.
“Theo!” My voice broke. “Don’t do this! Please!”
I crawled toward them, reaching for him. Brushed my fingertips against his boot, just out of reach.
Zaheera’s grip tightened. The bones in his skull creaked. His body convulsed, a thin stream of blood leaking from his nose.
“Zaheera, please!” I pressed my bloodied palms to my chest. “Don’t hurt him! Take me instead! Take me!”
I lowered myself until my forehead touched the floor. Every shred of pride, every fragment of dignity—gone. I was nothing but desperation and prayer.
Her grin was triumphant as she savoured my destruction.
With a voice that shook to its very core, Theo whispered.
“I love you, Elira.”
“Don’t.” I curled in on myself, tears blurring my vision. “Please. I’ll do anything. Just let him go.”
Zaheera’s eyes lit up with wicked delight. “Too late.”
A burst of searing flames erupted from her hand, devouring him.
Theo’s screams shredded the air. His body seized and contorted, burning alive in her grasp.
“THEO!” I wailed, lunging for him, only to be thrown back by a wall of blistering heat. The smell of burning hair and cooking flesh hit me.
His features melted into something unrecognisable. His eyes… his beautiful eyes bubbled and burst.
“Stop it!” I screamed, over and over. “STOP IT!”
She didn’t stop. Not until his cries became gurgles, then silence. Not until there was nothing left but the horrifying crackle of charred remains—the ashes of the boy who had once been my everything.
I collapsed, clawing through what remained of him, my entire body wracked with soul-crushing agony.
Zaheera knelt beside me, her fiery wrath now smouldering into amusement.
Her breath was hot against my ear.
“Now you know.”
The world shattered.
A force like fire and glass tore through me, shredding me from the inside out.
Everything blurred, twisted, and collapsed in on itself.
With a violent gasp, the forest slammed into focus.
Trees swayed in the breeze, their leaves rustling in a gentle rhythm. Birds sang distant songs from somewhere high above.
I looked down at my outstretched hand, still hovering above the stone embedded in the earth.
“Elira!”
His voice crashed into me like a wave.
Theo.
I jerked my head up, and there they were.
Theo and Tavrik, whole and alive and staring at me with wide, frightened eyes.
I wept, my chest heaving, but each breath only brought more panic. More nausea.
I fell backwards, every fibre of me wracked as if I’d actually been pulled apart and hastily reassembled.
The phantom scent of burning flesh still clung to my skin.
Tavrik’s lifeless stare haunted the darkness behind my eyelids, and Theo’s dying cries echoed in my skull.
A sound I would never be able to unhear.
Cold fingers trailed across my mind before vanishing like smoke.
Zaheera.
It wasn’t just a vision she had shown me.
It was a warning.
It had been real. Every sensation, every drop of blood. The taste of Tavrik’s life still lingered metallic on my tongue. The heat of Theo’s burning flesh still scorched my own.
I had thought of everything—had played out every outcome, but I had foolishly forgotten what Zaheera was truly capable of.
She could see into the future, and she had shown me mine.
What I had planned to do would have ended the lives of everyone I loved. There was no way around it—nothing I could do to protect Dalkhan.
I dropped my head, staring at the stone still nestled in the earth. Its surface mocked me.
A hand clamped down on my shoulder, and I jerked upward so fast the forest tilted sideways.
Theo.
His face was etched with worry. His eyes searched mine, hunting for answers I couldn’t give.
I threw myself into his arms, crushing my face against his chest. His heartbeat thundered against my ear—alive, strong, real. Waves of silent agony rolled through me, the memory of what I’d seen branding itself deep within.
He struggled to breathe. “Elira…”