Chapter 48
The blade delivered pain unlike anything I’d ever known before—excruciating, all-encompassing, and unrelenting. It was sharp, it was searing, it stole the breath from my lungs.
As steel severed skin, the sound of screams pierced through the stillness. My screams.
My suffering didn’t seem to faze her. If anything, she reveled in it.
She drove the dagger in deeper, watching gleefully as I howled and thrashed.
I couldn’t do anything else. Not against the binds that restrained me and rendered me as vulnerable as a mortal.
Mortals don’t survive wounds like these.
“You’re still a bitch,” I panted, warm tears rolling down my face.
My strangled words were enough to momentarily distract her from her nefarious task. “Maybe so, but I’m a bitch that will be wearing your skin,” she taunted.
A choked laugh spilled out of my dry lips, the agony causing my insides to reel.
She quirked an eyebrow. “Something funny?”
“My grandmother… is going to obliterate you,” I rasped.
For the first time, doubt flickered on her face. “She’ll have to find a way out of Vantillios first,” she dismissed. “Now hold still, this next part might sting a little.”
As I fixed her with one final, defiant glare, there were two things I knew for certain. The first was that she was going to carve a chasm into my chest, then excavate my heart. The second was that I would be dead soon.
A force far more overwhelming than pain coursed through my body and chilled my veins. Pure, unbridled terror.
Shaking like a leaf, I squeezed my eyes shut.
A carousel of images rotated through my mind—tranquil turquoise waters.
My tail sparkling under beams of golden sun.
The face of my grandmother, shining with pride.
Mae’s throaty laughter. Doran’s forget-me-nots.
I clung to these fragments as I braced myself for the dagger to shred through my insides and deliver my death.
It didn’t.
What came instead was mystifying to my ears.
Gurgling.
My eyes snapped open and were met with the sight of Livia, wide-eyed and mouth gaping.
Blood pooled at her lips, staining her teeth like mulberries as she struggled to draw breath.
The sword that protruded through her neck was swiftly withdrawn, leaving an oozing cavity that trickled vivid blood down the front of her white dress.
My vision swam.
A hallucination—this was a hallucination.
The world went dark. The tang of copper tainted the night air. There was a resounding thump as something hit the ground.
My eyes shot open at the noise; my stomach roiled at its source.
Livia’s lifeless body lay sprawled on the ground in a puddle of blood. Her head rested at my feet.
The world went dark again.
Blinking through heavy eyelids, I glimpsed the weapon that had so violently ended her, and the person wielding it.
Tarben, painted in blood and wrath, stood behind the fallen body, and he was not alone. Filip, twin blades raised, assessed the perimeter while Hugo knelt at Amalie’s side. His distress was palpable, as he tried, and failed, to wake her.
With a steady hand, Tarben lowered his sword. At last, he tore his eyes away from the monster he had slain, and met my gaze. His expression softened, then crumbled.
“Alara.” He hurried to my side. The color drained from his face as he took in the dagger jutting out of my chest and the blood traveling across my gown.
“She stabbed me,” I offered weakly. And then there was blackness. Blackness and Tarben’s voice, both near and far away.
“Find the keys. We need to unbind her! Now!” A command with an undercurrent of fear.
When I pried my eyes open, his face was a mask of calm, betrayed only by the beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.
“You’re alright,” he soothed, his voice too gentle as he brushed my forehead with his fingers.
He was trying to reassure me, trying to pretend the inevitable was not about to happen, and I cherished him for that, but I knew the signs.
Lightheaded… Cold… Every breath hurts… Without my healing powers, I was going to die.
Someone yelled. Through the ringing in my ears, I vaguely heard the triumphant words, “Found it.”
Tarben cupped my face in his hands, speaking so softly it made my aching chest tighten. “Listen to me. They’re going to get you out of these restraints soon. Hold on. Can you do that?”
I couldn’t muster the strength to nod at him again. All I could do was memorize his face through half-open eyes. There was so much I wished I could say to him, but talking wasn’t an option for me anymore.
With a click, my hands were free. My body toppled over, but Tarben didn’t let me fall. As if I was made of porcelain, he guided me down, resting my head on his lap.
My eyes fluttered shut. I might have been shivering, but my body had lost all sensation. Thank the goddesses—it was a welcome relief from the pain. It would be a welcome relief to rest.
“Her heart rate is slowing,” said a distant voice. Filip?
“No. No. No,” came Tarben’s voice, also distant. “Listen to me, Alara. Keep your eyes open. Keep your eyes open and focused on me, alright?”
It was a colossal effort to force my eyes open, but for him, I would do it. I would do it one last time.
Meeting his blue-green eyes through heavy eyelids, I saw they were wet from the rain.
No, not rain. There was no rain—tears were flowing from his eyes as he looked at me like his heart was shattering.
“You have to stay alive. You have to hold on.” He swallowed.
“You have to keep fighting because… You’ve been like a bonfire to my starless night.
And now that I know what it’s like to have you in my life, I never want to go back to the dark.
I love you. I love you and I need you to keep burning. Keep burning for me, please?”
My slow-beating heart broke for him. For us. For what could have been. I didn’t say anything—I couldn’t, so I blinked at him, hoping he understood the words that would be forever left unspoken.
The world went dark for the final time.
I could just make out Tarben’s cries, but they were growing fainter.
Until they weren’t.
There was warmth. Glorious warmth spreading through my body.
My eyes shot open. Tarben’s damp, grief-stricken eyes widened in shock. He looked like he had seen a ghost.
Maybe he had, maybe I was dead. Although I’d imagined being dead would involve a lot less pain.
“Alara?” His voice quivered with emotion as he rested his hand on my cheek. His warm touch felt real, as did the lap my head rested on. I must be alive.
“The dagger,” I said, with great effort.
His jaw tightened as he nodded. “I’m sorry about this.”
Before I could respond, he pulled the dagger out of my chest.
It was a pain that paralyzed. A pain that rattled the woods from the sound of my guttural cries. A river of blood gushed out of my body. Without hesitation, Tarben tore his shirt and pressed it against the wound. I hissed at the painful sting of the pressure.
He shook his head and looked down at me. His gaze held a mixture of concern and awe.
“How are you alive right now?” stammered Hugo. I looked up and saw he and Filip were crouched around us, both their faces ashen.
“My body is healing itself.” My voice was a rasp. At the confused looks they exchanged, I went on. “The manacles were made from silver yew.”
Understanding dawned on Hugo’s face. “You’re Velcarin.”
“Mer,” I nodded. I could feel the skin around my wound stitching itself together and the color returning to my face—I was going to live.
Filip shook his head and swore. Tarben’s entire body stiffened. He stared at me as though he’d never seen me before. “You’re Mer?” he asked, his voice betraying his shock.
Looking him in the eye, I nodded again.
“I knew you were hiding something, but this…” Hugo scrubbed a hand down his face. With that gesture, he looked younger than I’d ever seen him before. “How?”
“I’ll explain everything later, but, for now, we need to get the antidote to Amalie. It’s in the basket on the ground.” I tried to sit up, only to be met with severe dizziness.
“Don’t sit up. Not yet,” said Hugo. He and Filip went to inspect the contents of the basket, leaving me alone with Tarben.
“You lied to me?” he said, quietly. Guilt clawed at me at the hurt in his voice.
“I’m sorry,” I said, the words coming out a whisper. “I had to.”
His face was taut as he said, “What does that mean?”
How could I possibly tell him about my bargain with the Crow without mentioning the fact that I came here with the intention of seducing him and breaking his heart? If he knew the truth, he would think I was a terrible person. I needed more time. “I’ll explain—”
“Later,” he finished. “Got it. Is there anything else you’ve been hiding from me?”
Before I could respond, Hugo called out, “We found it! How much does she need?”
“Livia said a few drops,” I replied, my voice hoarse.
I held my breath as Hugo carefully poured a few drops of the milky substance into Amalie’s parted lips. Please let it be enough.
While we waited for the antidote to work, Tarben helped me slowly sit up, but he wouldn’t meet my eye.
The scene before us was grim and bloody. I tried not to look at Livia and Magnus’s corpses which had now, thankfully, been moved to the edge of the clearing.
“Here, drink this,” Filip offered me a flask.
I mustered a small, grateful smile. At least the truth of my identity didn’t seem to upset Hugo and Filip.
In fact, they were taking it remarkably well now that their initial shock had lifted.
By the time I had gulped down half of the water in the flask, a thought occurred to me. “How did you know where to find me?”
“Not long after you fled Oriane’s chambers, we heard that Amalie was missing,” said Filip.
“We went looking for you in your bedchamber. We wanted to tell you the wedding was on hold until Amalie was found, but you weren’t there.
We saw the book—you left it open on the page about the amulet—and realized you had found a way to break the enchantment. Then we saw the note on your floor.”
“It didn’t take him long to figure out where my sister had been taken,” Hugo interjected, from where he sat next to Amalie.
Filip continued. “But we needed Tarben. We found him with Oriane and told him about the amulet. It took some convincing, but eventually she agreed to take it off. As soon as she did, he was completely over Oriane.” I felt Tarben stiffen next to me.
“She denied having any knowledge of the amulet’s powers, insisting it was given to her as part of her inheritance from Lord Hywell,” said Hugo. “She said that Livia had instructed her to wear it at all times.”
“As soon as the spell was broken, and we realized Livia was behind everything, we raced into the forest to find you two,” said Filip.
“Now, your turn. Why was Magnus here? What happened to him?” asked Hugo.
My lips pressed into a thin line. “He was Livia’s accomplice and lover, that’s why. He attacked Hugo and killed Runa.” Their expressions changed from disbelief to fury as I recounted all that had happened with Magnus.
“Traitorous bastard,” spat Tarben, clenching and unclenching his fists. “I only wish I could have ended him myself.”
“He got what he deserved,” snarled Filip, looking equally murderous.
“I always warned you two that something wasn’t right about him,” said Hugo. “Remember how excited he would get about killing things when we were children? It was deeply unnatural.” He shook his head, his face twisted in disgust.
Before anyone could respond to that, a small voice croaked, “What happened?”
Collectively, our heads turned to the groggy-looking Amalie. My chest lightened in relief—she was awake.
Before she could utter another word, Hugo and Filip enveloped her in a bear hug. Tarben helped me to my feet and guided me over to where the others knelt around Amalie. I definitely wasn’t back to my full strength, and my chest, though nearly completely healed, still felt tender.
This time I didn’t hesitate to embrace the little girl. “Thank Tuli you’re alive. You really know how to frighten a female half to death.”
We gave her a quick overview of everything that had happened and, when we were done, she stared at me in amazement.
“You’re a mermaid,” she said, wide-eyed and spellbound.
“That’s what you took out of the story?” I laughed.
She nodded her head vigorously. “Would you show me your tail sometime?” she asked.
“Of course.” I squeezed her hand and winked at her.
Hugo cleared his throat. “As pleasant as this reunion has been, it’s time we return to the castle. Amalie needs to be examined by a healer.”
We all muttered our agreement and got to our feet, dusting ourselves off.
“Touching,” came a voice that made my blood chill.
The others searched for the source of the voice, but I didn’t have to. I knew who had come.
A gust of wind sent shards of twigs and leaves dancing in the air. The flames of the fire flickered and flared underneath the cauldron. Tendrils of matted hair came loose and billowed around my face.
I locked eyes with Tarben, my heart pounding violently in my mended chest. Before I could tell him to run, the voice spoke again. “This entire display has been most touching. It’s a shame Alara will not be going anywhere.”
A figure emerged out of the trees—darkness incarnate in her black robes. “Well, not with you anyway.” The Crow had come to collect her bounty.