Chapter 48
Raker’s eyes widen. Widen. At my words or at the fact that I just plunged my sword through his heart, I’m not sure.
Slowly, his gaze drops to my blade, coated in his silver godly blood, before sliding back to mine.
And then he does something unexpected.
He grins.
He’s supposed to be dying.
My hands tighten on the hilt. I push the blade in farther, releasing another torrent of silver, but he only steps toward me, skewering himself, his eyes never leaving mine.
His mouth nearly reaches my lips, as if he could kiss me like this, but I stumble back until my spine hits the wall. Until my wrist, still gripping the hilt, hits his chest.
My sword is entirely through his heart.
He only grins wider.
“Did you think that would kill me?” he says, tilting his head. He looks amused. He looks enraged. He looks enraptured. My hands are covered in his blood. “I am death.” My breath catches in panic as he leans toward me. “You’re going to need to try a little harder than that, Aris.”
“I will,” I spit, my words firm, conviction rooting in my very core.
If he is the only thing standing between me and seeing my family again, I will try for the rest of my life. I will make it my only waking purpose.
“I look forward to it,” he drawls. Then his silver gaze hardens. “Did you mean it? What you said?” he demands, leaning toward me. He says it like he needs to know. Like it’s the most important thing in the world.
I don’t answer him.
I don’t do anything but slip out of his grip, taking advantage of his distraction. Then I reach for his sword, still on the ground where he threw it—
And I take it.
I don’t miss the sharp inhale behind me, of Raker realizing what I’ve done. I can move his sword.
It all makes sense now. Why Raker was so miserable and cruel from the start. Why, just when we would make progress, he would burn it to ashes. Why he’s always tried to keep a firm distance between us.
He knew the risk of falling in love.
And what it would cost him.
I look back, and our eyes lock. His are wide and full of surprise. Like he had been keeping some truths from himself too. My blade is still buried in his heart.
Stellaris.
My sword cuts completely through his body, and into my fist. It’s covered in glimmering silver blood. He curses, reaching toward me, calling my name—before he collapses.
He might be a god, he might be death, but a hole through his chest has to fucking hurt.
I don’t know how much time I have until he’s up again. I don’t hesitate. I put his sword into the scabbard.
And then I run like hell.
My dragon is waiting for me, surrounded by the broken pieces of the god’s arch, standing next to my claimed cup of magic. I grab the goblet, mount my dragon, and then we’re off. My heart is beating too quickly.
Did you mean it? What you said?
He seemed more concerned about my words than my sword sticking out of his chest.
I wish I didn’t say them. I wish I didn’t mean them. But the proof of what we feel for each other is in these very blades.
Great swords meld to your soul. To your heart. And when you let someone into it … they can take what’s yours.
I slip Stellaris into the scabbard, right against his sword, to keep him from calling either of them.
Everything has gone both right and wrong at the same time. I wasn’t supposed to survive this. I didn’t plan for this.
The God of Travels’ words have been etched into my very soul. I can bring my family back. There’s hope.
But killing Raker is clearly not as easy as putting a blade through his heart.
I am death, he said. How does one kill death? I’m not sure. But I’ll find out, even if it takes years. Decades. Lifetimes.
For now … I think about what the Astral Queen said. These swords cannot be united. Raker is the God of Death … and now the God of War too.
Who knows what immeasurable power he might have? Who knows what chaos he could unleash if he were to forge these blades back together?
I could see a glimpse of humanity in him—and I watched it harden as I left with his sword. Now he must truly hate me. He knows I meant to kill him. He could see the surprise in my face when he didn’t die.
Once something like friends … back to enemies.
His words are in my head again.
I know you, Aris. You claim you don’t care about anything but revenge, but I have watched you unfailingly, stupidly care about everyone else’s life over your own. You are not the monster you think you are.
He’s right. I do care. Even though this world has taken everything from me, I don’t want to watch it burn.
This world doesn’t need gods. It doesn’t need a blade that claims them all. It needs peace.
I vowed to kill all of them … I killed one. Raker killed another. Two are now dead. The rest will follow. Somehow, some way, I will make sure they all fall. Even him.
But first I must make sure he never gets these weapons.
We fly through the day and night for nearly a week, only stopping to rest when absolutely needed. My dragon is fearless, unflinching, untiring. It’s as if she knows how important it is for me to outrun him. As if she is invigorated by the goddess she ate.
Because I can feel that thread … Even with his sword in my possession, I feel him. I feel his fury. His determination.
He’s getting closer. He’s chasing after me.
No. Not me, I think. The swords. It’s what he’s wanted this entire time.
His rage washes over the world. The night flickers with it.
The day bleeds with it. Of course. I told him I loved him, and then I stabbed him through the heart.
The worst thing is, I don’t regret it. If killing him will bring back my family, then I will try again and again until his death finally sticks.
We’re not just racing against him—we’re racing against time. At sunset on the fiftieth day, the gates will close, and I feel the hours counting down.
When that day arrives, my dragon’s wings push harder. The sun begins to dip. She flies faster still.
Finally, the gates come into view, towering and glittering, and relief slithers down my spine. They’re still open. So close. So close.
The sun is melting against the horizon. There are minutes to spare.
My dragon lands just short of the gates, and I turn, realizing only now that I can’t bring her with me.
“You belong here, among the magic,” I say, tears stinging my eyes. “I don’t have anything to feed you over there.” Gems don’t exist. Even if I raided the king’s entire castle, she would starve after a few years.
No. She deserves to be in a place just as glimmering as she is.
I throw my arms around her nose and make her a promise. “I will come back one day. And then … then you can finally tell me your name.”
She nods, brushing against my cheek. We stay there, together, for a few stolen seconds.
Then, the world begins to tremble as those massive sheets of metal begin to close.
I can’t be stuck on this side. I need to leave. She dips her head lower, telling me to go. With one last look at her, I turn and sprint toward the closing gates. I’m almost there.
“Aris.”
I hear his voice, feel it like a caress down my spine and a blade through my back.
He’s right behind me.
I’m just a few feet away from the gates.
My heart thunders as I run faster than I ever have before. I run for all the people I have lost and all the ones who will fall if Raker gets his hands on these swords.
I run for the hope that I will figure out a way to kill him and bring my family back. I will be patient. I will be strong. For them. Always for them.
The gates are almost closed, and even the God of Death can’t stop them. A growl sounds in the back of my throat as I throw myself through—
And a hand locks around my ankle, dragging me back.
Raker.
I turn, and he’s right above me.
This is my last chance. I think about his words: I am death. Maybe the problem was I used my own blade. Maybe, to kill him, I need to use his.
I drag his sword out of the scabbard and bury it in his heart. Again.
His eyes blaze with fury.
It doesn’t work.
The gates are almost closed. I thrash below him, but he won’t let go. He won’t let me go.
A shriek cleaves the sky in half.
My dragon lands behind him, rattling the ground. He loses his hold, for just one moment.
It’s all I need.
In a flash, I’m on my feet—and then I’m soaring through the gates again, my body brushing the metal, just slipping through. I land roughly on the other side.
Raker crashes into the gates not a moment after, but he’s too late.
He roars as he tries to wrench them open, to take them down. And under his godly power, those towering gates shudder. But they do not break.
His eyes slide down to me, still panting on the bridge. His own blade is still sticking through his chest. I rise to my feet and stand right in front of him. I grip the bars, just as he does.
We stare at each other through the silver, chests heaving, only metal between us. He looks down at the sword still in my scabbard. Then he looks back up at me.
“These gates won’t keep me from you,” he says. He says it like a curse.
I press as close to him as I can. He’s just inches away—but he might as well be across the world. “See you in fifty years, Raker,” I whisper.
Then I turn back toward my home of ashes.