68. Chapter 68
Chapter 68
Lea
L ea’s back arched as she fought for the strength to push back against Alaric. She was nearly drained, her whole body in agony, but still she reached inside, desperate to find shadows lingering in her chest to fight off Eudora.
She searched her chest—between every rib, in every vein, but there was nothing left. The pain was too much, and her head swam, her vision going black as she fought to stay awake. To fight.
And then, so suddenly it shocked her searing lungs into taking a deep, sharp breath, her pain eased. Lea kept fighting, pushing back against Alaric’s sword, wondering if this was what death would feel like this time around—if her pain would ease until she faded away into nothing. It didn’t matter. She would fight until her final breath, and then, she would continue fighting.
Once again, Lea sent up a prayer to the goddess that Emma had taken the potion in time, that she was safely hidden away and tethered to the other side.
Alaric pushed down again, somehow harder than before, but this time, she was able to gain ground, the cool metal of the sword leaving her throat. Her pain eased further, her strength growing as adrenaline pumped through her body.
She pushed back again with a surge of strength, and the sword flew out of Alaric’s hand, soaring across the circle and disappearing into the ring of fire. Alaric's face went pale as Lea dragged herself to stand, her movements growing less shaky by the moment. Eudora's eyebrows furrowed, and her words became strangled, but Lea ignored her. There was no time.
She reached inside Alaric once more, grabbing the final scraps of his power. He turned to run, but Lea grabbed his hair with her shadows, yanking him backward and holding him in place. She pulled on the last thread of his magic, bracing herself for the surge of agony that would follow as she severed it from Alaric’s body, but it never came.
Alaric fell to his knees, throwing up into the grass as he grasped at his chest. “You— You fucking bitch!” he shouted, struggling to get to his feet. “I’ll fucking gut you—”
Lea didn’t hear the end of his threat as Eudora collapsed beside her with a thud. Blood spurted from her nose and ears, bubbling from her mouth as she continued to chant. She met Lea's eyes, and Lea sucked in a sharp breath as she took in the fear and desperation in them. Blood seeped from between Eudora's teeth as she ended her spell, and with those final words, Lea's pain faded away completely.
It was as if she was looking into a mirror for the first time, seeing herself and the worldaround her with absolute clarity. Suddenly, everything made sense. Her heart ached as she looked down at the witch. The one who had deceived them all, but not in the way Lea had thought. Eudora wasn't fighting against them, wasn't helping Alaric, or trying to weaken her or prevent her from taking Alaric's magic. She was taking it for herself.
Lea had no time to ask questions. To confirm her suspicions. As Alaric fought against her hold, she wrapped her fingers more firmly around her sword and threw Alaric to his back in the mud. She spread her shadows out, pinning him down at the wrists and ankles, and stalked toward him like the queen she was—head held high, body covered in blood, mud, and ash, and vengeance radiating off of her in waves. A petal fell from her crown, dancing away in the wind, but she didn't care. Didn’t need more time before the last, and final petal still in her crown fell. She was ending this. Now.
Without ceremony or final words, she plunged her sword into Alaric's chest, blood spurting from the long wound with every beat of his black heart and splashing against her already crimson-soaked clothing. He roared in pain, in fury, and then, he began to laugh.
Lea's blood ran cold as his laughter grew maniacal, blood trickling from the sides of his mouth in a caricature of a frown.
"You think you can kill me?" he laughed again, but even through the laughter, his voice was low and full of menace. Lea shivered as he cackled again, then stopped abruptly, meeting her eyes. "I have no soul left to kill," he said. He tried to sit up, the sword still in his chest, but Lea kicked him back down. With a strength she hadn’t thought possible now that he’d lost all his magic, Alaric fought back, pushing himself upward. The blade slid deeper and deeper into his flesh, through his bones and out his back, but still, he fought, as if he no longer felt the burden of pain.
"I am death," he said, blood flying from his mouth as he used both hands to grip the sword's blade. His fingers were sliced to the bone as he pulled on the sword with inhuman strength and slowly drew the blade from his chest, inch by inch. “And death,” he pulled again, another sliver of sword sliding free, “cannot be killed!”
A sudden gust of wind blew, whipping Lea's hair around her face, and a memory danced through her mind—her mother, Adelaide, speaking as she hung a wreath of moonflowers above her bed. Wait until they’re ready, Wildflower. Picked by the right person with the right intentions, at the right time, the flowers from these seeds can stop death himself .
Lea sucked in a sharp breath, Thomas's voice replacing her mother's as the image in her mind shifted to the locket in the hilt of her sword. I want you to place a moonflower there, when you learn how to harvest it. Because I know you’re going to do it one day, Lea. You’re going to cure the Lonely Death and find a way to stop your husband-to-be's father from destroying our kingdom.
Blood racing, she let go of the sword with one hand, using the other to keep the blade inside Alaric’s chest. Her fingers tingled as she pulled a moonflower from her pocket and popped open the locket. Alaric threw his head back, laughing. Howling and cackling as he gripped the sword harder, fighting against her. Blood pooled around his teeth, his eyes and veins still black.
" I am death," Lea growled, shutting the moonflower inside the locket and snapping it closed. The sword glowed white, but remained cold in Lea’s hand, and Alaric's eyes went wide, his laughter replaced by a sudden gasp for air.
The black of his veins spread, thickening and branching out until his entire body was as dark as the night sky, and bit by bit, he began to crumble, his body turning to ash just as she had seen the moonflower petals do hundreds of times before.
With a flash of silver-blue light and a gust of wind, Alaric was gone, nothing remaining but black, dead earth, and her sword plunged into the bloody ground where his wicked heart had last beat. The fire blinked out with the flash of light. The rain stopped, and the sounds of battle in the distance faded away into nothing but a soft breeze.
Lea scrambled over to Eudora, her hands hovering over her body as she tried to heal her. She reached out to Lea, blood bubbling from her mouth as she pressed a scroll into her hand.
"Tell him”— gasp —“it was the only way." Eudora coughed, more blood spattering on Lea's face, but she didn't even blink .
"You knew. The whole time, this was your plan?" Lea asked, tears pricking the back of her eyes.
Eudora nodded. "To speak it aloud... is to change the fates. Tell him—" Blood gurgled again from her mouth, her breathing pausing for several seconds before she managed to take another short, raspy inhale.
"I'll tell him, I promise," Lea said, squeezing Eudora’s hands and pressing them to her lips.
A howl sounded in the distance, then more, coming closer and closer as the fenrir sang out a melody of grief and sorrow. Lea turned toward the sound to see Gray only feet away, his mouth open and his chest heaving, covered in blood from head to toe. His sword was gripped in his shaking hands, and behind knelt Evangeline, a hand pressed to her heart and tears streaming from her scarred eyes.
An old, gray Fenrir raced past them, lowering its head to nuzzle Eudora's cheek.
"Hello, old friend," Eudora said to the beast, her eyes growing heavy. "Thank you," she whispered, a small smile gracing her lips before her breath stilled completely and her eyes went dark.
The fenrir howled at the eclipse, and suddenly Gray was at Lea's side, his shadows caressing every inch of her body, his hands cupping her cheeks as he forced her gaze away from Eudora's body and to his eyes.
"You did it," he whispered, his voice gruff and thick with emotion. He crushed his lips to hers, and the dam holding back her own pain broke. A sob wrenched from her throat as she kissed him back, collapsing into his arms.
"I'm so sorry," she said.
"Shhhhh," he soothed. "We're okay, Little Flower. Everything’s okay."
"Because of her..." Lea finally tore her gaze from Gray, lifting a hand and closing Eudora's eyes forever, breathing a silent prayer to the gods.
May the gods hold her in the light of day and serenity of night. May the magic of the wind carry her, the kiss of rain cleanse her, and the promise of eternity soothe her weary soul, until beyond the veil we follow.