Sin
It unnerved her, however, because the king’s face never slackened.
Not an ounce of fear was on his face. The king’s expression was a familiar mask, one that hid something far darker underneath, just like her.
The lack of fear—it was a reminder of how dangerous he truly was, how dangerous even she could become.
In fact, his arrogance reminded her of someone. Someone who was too cocky, too cruel, and had never been told ‘no’ a day in her life.
With the fae magic he wielded against her, she felt as if her bones were being crushed together.
Spitting out blood, she used every bit of magic she had left in her arsenal, and thrust it at him.
Power pulsed around him, causing a golden glow around his skin to shine.
Sin’s heart sank at the sight, a mix of despair and anger welling up inside her.
The glow was almost beautiful, a cruel reminder of how far out of reach victory truly was.
She clenched her jaw, fury simmering beneath the surface—how could he still have this kind of power when she had nothing left?
Her face slackened, and defeat washed over her at the realization. He had wards upon him. Of course he did, she thought. He was the fucking king. And she just used every ounce of magic she had remaining.
There were no voices near the outside of the dungeon. Which meant they were all occupied or dead.
Her gaze met Max’s. His eye was wide with mania as his father used whatever power he had to make every bone in her hands snap.
The scream that escaped her was scratchy, echoing Max’s panic as he thrashed against the chains. His eye was wild, his expression a mix of rage and terror, his mouth opening in a silent roar.
Every scream that tore from her throat was an anthem of her failure—every bone that snapped in her hands brought her closer to a realization she wasn’t ready to face: she was losing, and Max was watching her crumble.
Tears stung her eyes, frustration gnawed at her insides, but she couldn’t stop—wouldn’t stop.
She felt him in her mind, as she was in his, when she looked down upon the king before her in disgust.
His smile broadened, but his eyes were filled with rage.
He opened his mouth, but Sin spoke first. “Your reign is collapsing, my king.”
A snarling expression washed over him, matching his eyes. “My reign will never fall, only to my son when I get rid of you, and he marries his bride.”
Sin growled. “He will never marry someone else, or I will kill him too, do you understand?” She could feel Max’s amusement at her words, like he knew that would never happen, regardless.
Sin reached for the well of power, searching for only a spark.
It came and went. Like the flicker of a flame within a storm, it was gone.
The King finally moved his hands, not to help her up or attack, but to grasp her chin roughly, lifting her face to inspect her like she was a wounded animal. His eyes danced with cold delight as she gasped in pain. “You are nothing.”
The words struck her deeply, as if heard by every voice at once who had told her that. But she couldn’t afford to break now. She had already been broken and remade a thousand times over—this was just one more fight.
“I know,” she rasped. “That’s what makes my ending you so pathetic.”
The rage on his face grew, but she needed him angry. She needed him distracted enough, because she knew exactly where that spark went, knew exactly where the wind carried it when Max teleported the few feet it would take him.
The crack of the king’s neck echoed throughout the room, ending in a silence that seemed to stretch on forever.
The weight of the moment pressed down on them, as if time itself had stopped.
Sin’s ears rang, her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the lifeless form before her.
The shock of it all left her momentarily frozen, her mind struggling to comprehend that it was finally over.
The moment his body hit the ground, so did Sin. The pain barely registered as she crawled towards Max, her heart pounding with a mix of disbelief and desperate hope.
She reached out, her fingers trembling as they found him.
Max, alive.
She could feel the warmth of him, the steady thrum of life.
The tears came then, unbidden, as they both collapsed into each other’s arms, the bond between them humming with a renewed energy.
The world around them seemed to blur, and for that brief moment, nothing else mattered but the two of them, alive and together.
His hands shook as they wrapped around her, and she could feel every ounce of his fear, his love, his desperation for her. And she let herself crumble into it, surrendering to the fragile hope they shared.
Max’s silent voice was barely a whisper, rough and broken, even in her mind. I thought I’d lost you.
Sin shook her head, her forehead resting against his.
Not yet. Not ever.