Chapter 69
Sixty-nine
Zellie
As the shattered glass rained down on us, I spring into action.
I summon my water magic forward, urging the connection between my power and the awaiting river below to meet and obey my command.
I shape the water into a gentle wave, raising it higher and higher to meet Jada’s falling body and soften the impact.
She connects, and the water embraces her as if she were a lover, softly cradling her and rocking in slow ripples as it eases back to water level, depositing her at the riverbank.
A life saved. I palm the moonstone dagger resting in my pocket before pulling it out and adjust my grip. A life to end.
Without hesitation, I star-shoot, closing the distance between where Pluto falls and myself.
He’s still distracted, using his magic to blast falling objects away and building an air shield.
Faster than a comet rocketing across the sky, I collide into his body.
Wrapping my legs around him as we plummet faster, harder towards the end.
The world blurs around us as we tumble and spin, him trying and failing to gain the upper hand.
Squeezing the dagger, I aim for the chest—straight for the heart.
“This is for Lenny,” I say, my teeth gritted and tears in my eyes.
For Orion, who lost his sister to Pluto’s antics.
For my fellow competitors, some of whom lost their lives.
For every fucking person in this universe who deserves better than a corrupt leader.
For me. With every ounce of my heightened strength, I shove the dagger to the hilt into Pluto’s black heart.
Shock flares across his features as his grip on my arms loosens, his strength failing him. A sizzle sounds from the inner cavities of his chest; the moonstone is burning him from the inside out. I shove him away from me, watching him fall down, down, down with the dagger extended from his chest.
A shuddering sob wracks my body, the sudden lack of air making it impossible to breathe. Before exhaustion claims me, I use the last of my waning strength to star-shoot to Jada’s side, watching the colors of the sky shift from inky darkness to an array of golden pink.
It feels like a promise. A new beginning.
I wake to Orion hovering above me, and stars, if it’s not the most glorious sight I have ever seen. He’s bloodied and bruised but alive and mine.
“We made it out alive.” He says, his hazel eyes crinkling in unadulterated excitement.
“Are you okay?” I croak.
“We’re okay. Today, you saved the universe.” He says, looking at me as if I hold the weight of the worlds.
“No,” I shake my head, shaking the fatigue from my limbs. “She did.”
I feel her attention on me from where she lies beside me and turn my head to meet the beautiful blue eyes I’ve known my entire life; eyes that remained unchanged despite the odds. “This story isn’t mine. It’s yours.”
Our hands find each other’s while Orion eases us up into sitting positions.
“I’m so proud of you,” I gush, my eyes raking over her changed form. She feels… like me. Did the Fates will this? So that we wouldn’t be without the other? My heart aches at the possibility.
“You did it,” she laughs, tears leaking from her eyes.
“We did it,” I correct. “Tell me everything.”
So she does, recalling her time with Elio walking in a never-ending sky before discovering the Temple of No Return.
The necessity of a Kosmo to help her acquire the dawnfire, the creature who offered her life—and how Jada willingly gave hers instead.
The strange in between, eyes like a moon, and an ancient voice that was as foreign as it was familiar.
She speaks of every moment leading up to her racing towards the bridge, but struggles to get the words out.
Instead, she grins wildly, gesturing beyond where we sit on the riverbank. “See for yourself.”
I turn, and the sight before me is my undoing.