Chapter Forty-Four
Kara
Luke was an excellent cuddler—not that he’d ever admit it. Not even to himself.
He kept his hands on me even when my body gave out. Even when I was too sore, too full, too human.
I couldn’t believe I cried during sex. Luke didn’t mention it.
Luke was an exceptional lover, and I never imagined I’d say those words about my mate.
He tended to me well, always looked and touched me with care instead of the brute force I expected when fucking the Dark One.
The tenderness he showed me made the following hour so much harder.
Every kiss, every stroke of his hand felt like something I’d have to give back.
Like I was borrowing his love on a ticking clock.
And that made the coming hour unbearable.
I knew what I had to do. He knew what he was going to do. And that was that.
Still, I let him hold me until the very last second. Until he stiffened and was the first to pull away. He looked toward the tree, the big one in the distance that stood out so much bigger than the rest. The crossover. My heart gave a little pathetic thump.
There was a sudden tug in my chest, and I winced. It eased when I took a step in the direction I didn’t want to go.
It’s time. I felt the pull deep in my chest—sharp, invisible, undeniable. Which meant they would feel it too. My siblings would know. The end was coming, and it would find us all.
A tingling crept into my fingertips—pins and needles at first, like I’d slept on my hand wrong. But then the sensation dimmed into numbness. Absolute, terrifying numbness.
I lifted my hand and gasped.
The hollow feeling in my stomach grew. My fingers were becoming see-through—fading like Dad’s had, right before the end.
“Kara…” Luke’s voice was sharp from a distance, then I heard his loud footfalls approaching.
But I was too stunned to do anything more than stare at my hand until he grabbed my wrist. The lines on his forehead were harsh, lips flattening into a murderous expression as he inspected me.
“Does it have to be this way?” I whispered, reaching for him with a hand that was barely even mine anymore—barely there. He was the last thing I wanted to hold on to. And the only one making me let go.
“This is the only way.”
But I love you.
Something in me cracked—jagged, deep, final. He’d never let me say the words. He didn’t deserve them. Maybe he never had.
I shut my eyes. I couldn’t look at the man I loved. Not when he was walking me to my end.
When I found my composure, I opened my lids to see Luke, still glaring at my hand as if it offended him.
I couldn’t understand him. And I was out of time. I would never get the chance to.
I sighed. “Why are you so angry about my hand? You did this to me.”
Our gazes locked, and it made my soul hurt to see his glare directed at me as he said, “For once, could you watch me? Truly look at me. I want you to see what I do. Who I am.”
I opened my mouth, then shut it. What could I possibly say to that?
He wanted me to look. To witness. To stand by while he destroyed everything I loved—everything I was.
“You ask the impossible! I can’t watch the world end and my family fade.”
“You don’t belong with your family anymore,” he said. “You have a mate.”
My breath caught. He made it sound so simple. Like mating erased the people who raised me. Like love meant choosing him over everything else.
“You’re asking me to let them die.”
“I’m asking you to stand with me.”
“You’re not asking. You’re demanding.”
Luke gripped my arms, nostrils flaring. “I told you to say goodbye. Now watch what I do—fucking see how much I’ve sacrificed for what I want.”
I ripped away from him and stood. Seeing my hand like that freaked me out, so I tugged it behind me, but the numbness was still there, forcing me to know.
I had to stop Luke before I lost the ability to grip a weapon. Who knew what state my family was in? The thought alone was sobering. I couldn’t let my misplaced affection for Luke cloud my judgement. He didn’t deserve my love—and he kept proving he didn’t want it.
But that didn’t stop my heart from cracking open every time he looked at me like I was the only thing that ever mattered.
I fumbled with my clothes, awkward with just one working hand. Panic pressed against my ribs—I needed to move before I lost the other.
“Let me help,” Luke mumbled.
“I got it.” I yanked away.
That’s when the change hit. My fading hand flared with sudden heat. Power surged inside me like wildfire. I gasped, overwhelmed—not just by strength, but by fear. This was a reprieve. And reprieves always came with a cost.
I dressed fast and grabbed the dagger at my feet, sheathing it at my side. When I turned, Luke was watching me—tail rigid, pants on, eyes unreadable.
“Let’s go,” I said.
“I need you to listen to me.”
“No.”
“As soon as the gate opens, I want you to hide until I’ve dealt with Harvest.”
“You know I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. You’ll be mortal.”
I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “We’ll all be.”
“That’s what worries me.”
“Luke, you can’t control my reaction to what you’re about to do. You know I’ll do whatever I have to do to stop you.”
“Kara, please.” He caught my wrist again. When I turned toward him, I wished I hadn’t.
His expression…Hades. It was heartbreak carved in flesh.
“I don’t want your hate or fear…but I was willing to take anything you’d give me. A glance. A moment. A single touch. Anything was better than nothing. I’m not the good guy in your story, but I—”
The ground shuddered.
Luke caught both of my hands as the earth trembled beneath us. The quake lasted only seconds, but it was enough to steal the breath from my lungs.
We both turned toward the tree.
It had split down the middle like a wound, and from its core, a swirling black-and-grey vortex formed, sucking the light from the air itself.
Power drained from me like blood from a wound.
I was mortal again.
The reprieve was over.
The end didn’t whisper.
It roared.
???
The blade at my hip felt heavier than it ever had. I glanced at my mate, dread curdling in my gut. Was he mortal yet? And if he was… would I still hesitate?
Harvest, Nadine, and several dragons ported into Hell. Harvest’s head snapped toward the vortex forming in the tree first, then locked on Luke, glaring at the one who made him.
The dragons were a problem. I had no advantage against the beasts, and if Luke was mortal, neither did he. Luke tugged me behind him.
“Go now,” he ordered. “The vortex will pull you closer soon enough. For now, I want you out of sight.”
“Those dragons won’t let me go anywhere,” I muttered, pointing as they circled above us.
I gripped my blade, studying Luke’s back. Do it now. End him before he claimed the human world—even if Harvest killed me after. I hesitated. Too long.
Luke shoved me down and unsheathed his blade as the first dragon descended. In one strike, he gutted the beast. I gagged as black blood splattered across me, the stink unforgettable—like burnt rot and poison.
“Run!” Luke yelled.
A portal opened above the second dragon—and a massive, flaming beast tunneled through. Payne. He roared, tackling it midair. Fire scorched the trees, but I didn’t care. More portals opened.
They were coming.
Out of nowhere, a green wingless dragon launched from behind Harvest and Nadine. Joy. Nadine shrieked, shifting into dragon form, but Joy was already on her. Like a serpent, she wrapped around the larger dragon’s body and squeezed. The fight was over in seconds.
A roar from Payne met Joy’s scream. She answered with a hiss and launched skyward—twisting around him in midair. A laugh escaped me.
We might be mortal, but they were dragons.
And we were not out of the fight.
Then I caught Luke watching the sky—not me.
The laughter died in my throat. I stood unsheathing my dagger. I stepped into a fighting stance.
Luke turned. His body stilled.
“I can’t let you walk through,” I said.
He didn’t move.
“I’ll kill you if I have to,” I added. My hand shook. My voice did not.
Then—he lifted his sword. His tail lashed the ground behind him. The sound split me open. He was really going to raise his weapon at me—not as my mate, but as the monster the world feared.
Tears blurred my vision, but I didn’t waste a second. I ran.
My dagger slipped from my grip.
Panic slammed into me. I looked down. My hand was translucent.
I caught the dagger in my other hand and ran anyway. Luke was rushing toward me. Not even looking at me—just coming.
I lunged.
The blade sank into Luke’s chest with a sickening crunch. He didn’t block me. His sword moved behind me, and—
Splatter. Gurgle. Blood. His blood.
Luke groaned, gripping my hand as he staggered. He slid off the weapon—and something behind me crashed to the ground.
I turned.
One of Harvest’s abominations lay twitching in the dirt. My head spun. Luke hadn’t raised his blade at me. He’d been protecting me.
I blinked and blinked, but the tears wouldn’t stop.
“It’s my fault,” Luke whispered.
Which part? I didn’t know. I couldn’t speak.
“Kara!” Maureen’s voice split the air.
She ran toward me, twin blades drawn, and I could see the murder in her eyes. If looks could kill, Luke would’ve been ash.
Luke shoved me in her direction. “You’re safer with that one than alone.”
Then—he ran. Not from me. Not from the fight. But toward the widening vortex.
Toward the end.
Toward his choice.