Chapter 44
Lana
Aripple of cosmic energy radiated from where Thames lay dead, blasting outward, sending everyone in the vicinity to the ground.
I landed on my back, the wind knocked out of me, gasping for air. The earth shook, trembling for a moment as the aftershocks slowly died down.
I felt numb. My body unable to handle anymore, physically or mentally. The emotional devastation I ignored to finish this war burned at my throat, coming back in full force. My broken soul shattered to a point that even Thames’s death couldn’t bring a smile to my face.
I’d completed my purpose, and now? I had nothing left to give.
The fog of darkness retreated slowly, along with the storm clouds, thunder, and lightning. Slivers of sunshine peeked through the waning clouds, warming my slick skin. I rolled to my stomach as the ground shuddered again. Bracing my hands on either side of my body, I gasped.
The land between our worlds, which was once void of life, shook, dirt and decay splitting away as greenery rose triumphantly from the cracks. The rift repaired itself and suddenly, faster than should have been possible. Atheria was finally whole.
Fae cheered around me, their celebratory cries filling the air.
A pack of strox circled above before they flew south toward their home in the forests.
Their help had been invaluable to win this war, taking out more legions of men than I’d even realized.
Perhaps they’d return once they mourned their own losses.
Despite the magnitude of our win, none of the victories today could heal the most broken part of me.
Kade was dead.
Would anyone truly understand what we sacrificed so they could live? I prayed they never did, for their sakes. The price had been too high. But I was a queen, and alongside my king, we chose to willingly suffer so they could flourish. It was what we did as rulers.
Sacrifice.
It was what should be done.
But it didn’t help the torment now.
I rose to my hands and knees, shaking, knowing I wouldn’t be able to stand yet. Grief, exhaustion, all of it weighed too heavily on my body.
I gulped down a full breath and set my sights to where I’d left Kade’s body. Vivienne hovered over both him and Cassandra, who lay still beside him. I choked back the endless stream of tears. How much more death would we face? Would I face?
The others had to be okay. Please, Fates above, please don't have taken anyone else from me.
Forcing myself up on my elbows, I crawled across the distance toward the body of my mate and Cassandra.
I knew Cassandra said she had to die, but hearing Vivienne’s wails as I approached was agonizing.
I continued to crawl, knowing the true heroes of this battle lay dead in front of me. I sobbed, choking on bile rising in my throat. I needed to be with Kade. I had to get to him, to hold him one more time.
Making it to his body was pure torture. What these two incredible Fae did for our world would be written into the history books of our time, never to be forgotten. Vivienne looked unharmed, yet just as broken as me.
Her kind eyes, even in her own grief, found mine.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. I looked at Cassandra, her hand clutching Kade’s arm where a deep cut bled between her fingers. Even in his death, she clearly tried to heal him, the Fae who took care of the boy who needed love when he received none.
Forcefully, I dragged my gaze to Kade, letting my eyes rest on his beautiful face.
I clutched Apollo in my hand. Heaving my body up, despite the exhaustion. My magic barely responded, but I had it in me to try one last time.
For Kade.
I took a few deep breaths. “Please,” I whispered, glancing up at the clouds. “Please help me. Give me the strength to save him.”
I reached, deep inside of me, giving my light the little energy I had remaining. “We can do this.”
My light responded, surging even though I knew I’d have nothing left if this didn’t work. Still, we refused to give up.
I placed my hands atop his chest, closing my eyes and channeling every pure, powerful thought of love and life into him. I gritted my teeth against the drain on my body as both my heart and my light joined together to help Kade.
“Illiana,” Vivienne said, speaking my name softly. It sounded like pity. I wouldn’t accept this end, and I certainly had no time for pity.
The light shone bright in my hands, pulsing a few times over Kade’s chest before dying out.
I gasped, slumping forward. I reached my hand up to his neck. “It worked, it worked, it worked,” I chanted, willing it into existence.
But there was nothing.
No breathing. No pulse, not even a faint one.
“No,” I howled, looking back to the sky. “How could you? I did everything you needed me to do. Thames is gone.” My voice was hoarse, weak, but I kept screaming. “Give him back.”
Pulling myself on top of him, I managed to lay my chest atop his body, desperate to be close to him before I had to return to those around me and don the crown of queen once more.
I didn’t even know if I could lead my people right now.
The thought of walking away from Kade’s body caused my last remaining rationality to completely dissolve from my mind.
“I miss you already,” I whispered as tears streamed down my face. “I miss you so damn much. I don’t want to do this without you.”
“Sweet child,” Vivienne said, her warm hands somehow steady as they brushed my tears away. “You did so well.”
“I don’t want to stay here without him,” I admitted.
“Lana?” A strangled sound interrupted us, and Storm fell to his knees beside me. I couldn’t even lift my head from Kade’s chest to comfort him as he brushed a hand across his friend’s forehead. “No,” he whispered, laying his head atop Kade’s.
I let out an unintelligible sob.
Footsteps approached, shuffling toward us, and I glanced over to find the horrified faces of my friends.
Raya fell to the ground and howled Kade’s name.
Jax stumbled, falling beside her. I sucked in a sharp breath at the soaked bandages around his arm.
Besides his bloody form, the others looked worn and dirty but unscathed.
Ian approached and gasped, looking between me and Kade’s body. Dropping to his knees he reached for me. “Lan, oh Lan,” he murmured, stroking my hair. “I’m so sorry.”
“I killed him,” I said, my voice almost inaudible. “He sacrificed himself because I couldn’t find a way to destroy his darkness. So I had to—”
I raised my head, wanting to see Kade's face despite how painful I knew it would be. Storm rose and reached for my hand. “I'm so sorry.”
Vivienne inhaled a shaky breath, eyes turning white. “A gift for the one who suffered through strife, a choice for her blood, a life for a life.”
My gaze shifted back to her. “What?”
Her eyes cleared, and she smiled at me as one single tear fell from her face. “A thousand years is long enough to spend separated from my sister.” Vivienne reached forward, cupping my face gently. “Watching you become who you were meant to be has been a privilege, my queen.”
I swallowed, not sure what the seer meant. She ran her fingers through her sister’s hair before placing her hand next to Cassandra’s on Kade’s arm. She took a deep breath before making eye contact with me. “Live well, Illiana.”
Vivienne’s hand shimmered, emitting a white light. My eyes widened as the seer trembled. A moment later, her figure went limp, and I lunged forward to catch her falling body.
I didn’t understand what was happening as the life visibly drained from her.
“W-what? Why?” I stammered.
I looked at Ian, whose surprise and confusion mirrored mine.
Cradling Vivienne’s head and laying her on the ground, I heaved a breath. “What was the point? Why would she die?”
I pulled my hand back, touching Kade’s chest again as my mind swirled in torment watching another person go.
His chest dipped beneath the weight of me, and I yanked my hand back.
His chest dipped?
I ran my hands over him, trying to see if it was my imagination.
A nearly invisible wisp of shadow curled around my wrist, and I gasped.
Kade’s eyelids fluttered, and he spoke, his voice barely audible. “I knew a certain dagger-wielding princess would be the death of me.”
My heart stopped, my body frozen as I stared into the grey eyes of my mate. “Kade?”
He tried chuckling, but it turned into a cough. “I’m here, Little Rebel.” He reached up, cupping my cheek and taking me in. He closed his eyes and reopened them, like he didn’t quite believe he was here again. “Turns out Vivienne had one last sacrifice of her own to fulfill.”
“You’re alive?” I stared in disbelief, my body unable to move. He winced, trying to sit up, but before he could, I flung myself into his arms, burying my face in his neck.
I bawled until I practically lost my voice as Kade held me.
“Fucking Fates.” Storm’s choked up voice was joined by the sound of Raya crying.
Jax, of course, laughed. “I’m putting in for an extended vacation,” he said. “I need a break from this shit.”
Kade chuffed but didn’t let go of me.
I squeezed him harder, murmuring against his skin. “How?”
His hand circled the back of my neck, pressing me against his skin.
“Vivienne changed places with me somehow, sacrificing herself as well. Cassandra gave me the last pieces of her magic. It wasn’t enough until Vivienne channeled whatever she had left into me.
I swear I heard their voices pleading to the Fates themselves, but I don’t quite understand the rest.”
My lip quivered. For years, I’d been furious at Vivienne for reciting the prophecy, but she gave her life so quickly for his. She and her sister. Not only did they save our world, but they gave me a gift I’d never be able to repay.
“Two thousand thirty-one,” Storm said, punching Kade’s arm. “Fuck you.”
Kade laughed, but still didn’t release me. “Two thousand seventy-three.” He replied. “Guess we still have time for you to catch up.”
I couldn’t see his face, not with my own buried in Kade’s neck, but I heard Storm’s hoarse laugh.