33. THIRTY THREE #2
The memory of the waves dragging me under—of the burning saltwater filling my lungs—made myentirebody shudder.
The voices inside me surged, fighting for dominance. Among them, the beautiful voice rose above the others.
"Your mind can be free of the brothers and everything that’s happened. Don’t you want to be free?"
The words hit me like a blow. More voices surged,clamouringfor attention.
"Open the way."
"Don’t fight."
"Fight."
"He lies."
"They lie."
"Tilly, listen to me." The beautiful voice rose above the noise again, clear and haunting. As she spoke, a cold, sharp pain erupted from my mark, a freezingagonythat demanded my focus.
"Do not fear the gate. I am waiting for you. I can help you."
Out here, the voices felt vibrant, as if this place brought them to life. Then I felt a surge of anger, pushing me forwardlike a physical hand. A voice I knewtoowell rose above the rest: "You do not need to die. There is another way."
I took one more step toward the cliff's edge, locking eyes with Horous. Before I jumped, I wanted him to know the truth.
“You will not take me and hang me like some grotesque sculpture.”
His expression shifted, confusion etched across his features as the girl who had been cowering suddenly exuded a chilling confidence.
Glancingdownat the sea once more, I turned defiantly toward Horous and his men. A wild, dangerous calm settled over me, and I smiled faintly .
“Better to leave my fate to the wind and the rocks,” I declared. “I won’t walk throughthatgate. You and your minions can all go to hell.”
For a brief moment, my life flashed before me. I wondered if this recklessness was the 'madness' they had pinned on my father, or if it was the first time I was making a choice that outsmarted them all—even if it cost me my life.
“No!” Horous roared, lifting his hand as I stepped off the cliff.
For a heartbeat, everything inside me snapped into perfect clarity. The wind tore past my face, cold and wild. For the first time since meeting these monsters, nothing pulled at my mind. No voices. No brothers. No prophecy. Just me—fearless and finally free.
Suddenly, two of his men emerged from the mist with predatory speed. Their rough hands clamped around my armsmid-fall, dragging me backfrom the abyss.
***
They hauled me toward themonolith’sdoorway, my boots barely skimming the ground. I twisted uselessly, but their grips only tightened. Yet the fear I had felt at the cliff was gone. The power that had surged through me as I stepped into the wind remained.
The adrenaline was part of me now. It wasn’t going to fade just because they dragged me back.
The doorway loomed ahead, and I dreaded what was about to happen as the ground vibrated with energy beneath my boots.
The air shimmered around the doorway with violet and golden rays, but a dark mist moved through it, revealing that this wasn’t a place of light.
My mark burned searing hot all the way up my arm, into my neck and head, as if screaming at me to run. But I was determined to face this fate.
“Bring her,” Horous commanded, his voice turning my stomach.
I was dragged under the arch. The moment I stood in its shadow, the noise in my head exploded, and a thousand voices and memories of my life flashed before me. The two guards forced me down to my knees.
“This is the Valari Kharun. It responds to the blood of the Marked. You see now,” Horous said.
“The prophecy isn’t meant to be fulfilled. It’s meant to be broken. And you can help me do that. Blood for blood, soul for soul, mark for mark. Through you, I can bring Ignara back. She can end this prophecy forever.”
The voices surged again, louder this time, sharper and almost panicked.
" He twists the truth. "
" He wants what waits beyond. "
" Tilly… trust me... " The beautiful voice echoed.
"Trust your own mind." Her silky voice slid through my thoughts like a dream I shouldn’t have had.
"I was sacrificed just like you."
"Fooled just like you."
"Loved just like you. But I can help you. I can help us."
"Let me return. Let us end this together."
"Then show me," I whispered back into the dark of my own mind, my jaw tightening as I stared at Horous from my knees. "Show me how to break him before he breaks us."
Ignara’s voice became clearer, beautiful in a way that made my stomach twist. It was soft and haunting.
"Tilly… I’m right here. Reach for me."
My hand lifted before I realised I was moving. I didn’t want to raise it. I didn’t want any of this. But something inside me leaned toward that mesmerizing voice. The air inside the doorway shimmered. A shape formed on the other side—a hand, pale and delicate, reaching toward me.
“You can feel me, can’t you?” Ignara murmured . You’ve felt me for a long time. Let me touch you.”
My fingers trembled as they moved closer. Cold wind from the cliff cut across my face. The men holding me shifted uneasily, but they didn’t let go. Horous stepped beside me, close enough that I could smell the iron tang of blood on his shirt from where I had sliced his vein.
“This is what the Valari Kharun wants,” he said with conviction. “You don’t need to do anything except stand there. Your mark is enough. Your blood is enough. You are the key.”
The voices surged again, louder and more desperate.
"Walk through, Tilly. Just one step. I can leave your mind today. You can be free of all of this."
Her voice wrapped around my mind. My fingertips hovered inches from hers. Then, the air changed.
A crack of light tore through the doorway. Ignara’s hand pushed through. Her fingers brushed mine, long and cold. Her voice filled my head until I couldn't hear anything else.
"It’s time."
The men staggered back. Horous shouted something I couldn’t understand. The doorway flared with blinding light. The constellations shimmered across the Gate. My mark burned along my arm and neck, and Ignara’s hand pushed further through the Valari Kharun.
I hummed under my breath, shutting off her voice. Horous leaned closer, his eyes wide and desperate to see Ignara. In that heartbeat, my adrenaline exploded and my mind snapped into focus. Every bit of surrounding noise fell away.
The mark surged up my arm, across my throat, and into my skull. Deep within the depth of my soul, a voice that was real—that felt like me, spoke with the weight of a burning star, not Ignara, not the whispers.
I am the stars they cannot vanish, I am the end they did not see coming.
I turned my head slowly toward Horous, letting my voice tremble just enough to play the part.
“Ignara wants you,” I whispered, steadying my voice. “She wants you to see her.”
Ignara’s voice rose sharply in alarm.
"No! He is nothing. Do not let him touch the Gate!Tilly what are you doing?"
Horous stepped forward without hesitation, drawn by the promise that Ignara wanted to see him. He was like a moth to a flame.
I turned slightly. “Do you see her”
A sob he couldn’t suppress escaped his throat. I see her. He whispered, and for the first time, his voice wasn't a command. It was excitement.
He stepped into my personal space, not thinking I was a threat. His entire body leaning toward the shimmering hand in the doorway. He reached out, his fingers twitched in the air.
“You, you’re so beautiful,” he breathed, his face inches from the Valari Kharun. He was mesmerised, his guard utterly shattered
As he and his men focused on the opening. The guards grip on my arms loosened just a fraction. It was the only distraction I needed.
A memory of the Ballet classes back home flashed though my mind. I used to think those classes was a useless skill. But as I moved, I felt the pull of my muscles, the flexibility to bend where others would break, the balance to shift my weight without a sound.
I didn’t just wriggle. I moved out of their grip with a fluid, practised precision and moved quickly behind Horous. I planted my feet firmly on the ground and drove both hands into his back with all the fury the mark poured into me and pushed him as hard as I could.
I heard the pounding of feet. My eyes fluttered open just long enough to glimpse Fionn riding through the fog with a feral expression on his face. The glint of metal flashed in his hand, and I recognised the weapon he had used to fight the guards.
“Tilly, stop!” he commanded. “Nothing returns from the Valari ’Kharun. What waits behind doesn’t belong in any living world.”
Horous stumbled back toward me. Fionn wasn't close enough to reach me, and he knew it. Besides, his choices were not mine.
“Blood for blood!” I screamed, adrenaline pumping through my trembling body. My fear was my strength.
The guards faltered just long enough for me to move forward. With all the strength I had left, I shoved him, harder this time. The Valari Kharun roared open, and bright light burst everywhere.
“No!” he bellowed, as the gate swallowed him whole.
For a brief second, everything stilled. The mark burned, not painfully, but with power. I stood, my hair whipping through the air, and spoke out to the Valari Kharun and Horous as he disappeared.
“You wanted to push my soul through the gate. Now, let the darkness you created for the marked judge you. Today, your justice is served.”
***
I had brought Horous down. His fate dragged him into the same darkness he had condemned the sacrificed souls to. For the briefest moment, I felt the damned, as though their vengeance had finally been answered .
I stood tall. The fear was still there, but it no longer controlled me.
"Well played, little spark," Ignara’s voice a fading whisper in the depths of my mind. Her presence faded with one last warning:
“Little Spark, you didn't just close the door. You opened it.”