Chapter 43
43
KATERINA
B efore Katerina could cut the bond that tied her to her Shadow, the very earth convulsed, ripping Niko from her arms. The murmur of the Void rose in a cacophony of clamoring voices; the air buzzed with the discordant power of it. Katerina forced her eyes open as silver-blue lightning flashed, splitting one of the huge oaks that guarded the clearing and catching it aflame. By the lightning’s unearthly gleam, she could see its source: Elena, body curving backward in her demon’s arms. Darkness and bolts of hellfire poured from her, merging with the night. The demon wailed, an awful sound of metal-on-metal, as the hellfire blazed again, silver-blue tongues of flames gobbling the trees and snaking toward where Niko lay. Clots of dirt flew through the air, hurtling into the Void. Elena was screaming, her demon was screaming, the Void was screaming?—
Then, as suddenly as it had begun, everything fell silent—but for an awful, triumphant voice that issued from everywhere and nowhere: Hail, Elena of the Void .
On her hands and knees, wiping dirt and ash from her face, Katerina crawled to where Niko lay. He was motionless, face and body awash in blood, his open eyes reflecting the gleam of the night sky. She gathered him into her arms, brushed his hair from his face, pleaded with him to stay with her, but it made no difference.
She knew it from the hole in her heart where he should be, from the emptiness in her mind where she’d become accustomed to hearing his voice. From the ripped-apart feel of their bond, sheared fibers sparking in a hopeless attempt at reconnection. But she pressed her fingers to his neck nonetheless, praying to feel the thud of his pulse, however faint. More than anything, she wanted him not to have died alone.
It was too late for her to give him the end she’d wanted for him, the end he deserved—cradled in her lap, her lips against his as he breathed his last. Too late for so many things.
Her Shadow was gone.