We run until the pounding of feet fades and the earth stops shuddering. At last, we stumble into a hidden cave, hastily smearing mud over the entrance to mask our scent. Collapsing against the clammy wall, I strain my ears, listening for any sign of pursuit. Silence. For now.
Questions burn on my tongue, but as I turn to Uncle Leo, he lurches to his feet.
“Where are you going?” I rasp, catching his sleeve.
“They need warmth. Water. I’m going to find firewood.” He tries to pull away, but I tighten my grip.
“I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not.” He wrenches free of my grasp.
“I wasn’t asking.” I push to my feet, swaying slightly as the cave tilts around me.
“The venom is still in your system, Nickolas. We can’t risk it.” He plants himself firmly in my path, unmovable as a mountain.
I suck in a shuddering breath, struggling for calm. “We can waste time arguing while they fight for their lives, or we can work together to ensure they see the dawn.”
“Stay behind me,” he grits out, shoulders sagging in defeat. He turns and stalks out of the cave. I shake my head in disbelief. He forgets I’m not just his nephew anymore. I’m a king.
We search the woods for kindling and water, senses straining for any hint of danger. The gurgle of a stream leads us to a small lake. Gently, we carry Ava and Eric to the water’s edge, trickling drops into their parched mouths, washing away the blood crusted on their skin.
“The bastard double-crossed us.”
I still, fingers tightening on Eric’s shoulder. “What do you mean, double-crossed? What did you do?”
Uncle Leo looks away, jaw working. “We made a deal with him. Joined forces. But he betrayed us.”
White-hot rage explodes in my chest. I surge to my feet, dumping Eric unceremoniously on the ground. “You did what?!”
Uncle Leo catches him before he can hit the rocks, lowering him down carefully before rising to face me. “I had no choice, Nickolas.”
“No choice? Are you fucking kidding me?” I snarl, stepping into his space, my face inches from his.
“Tell me right now, would you have killed Nathaniel tonight?” he demands, his voice laced with urgency and accusation.
“So that’s why you’re partnering with the enemy,”
“You didn’t answer my question, Nickolas. Would you have ripped out Nathaniel’s heart from his body and smiled down at his lifeless eyes tonight if you met him?” he presses, moving closer to me, locking eyes with me in a fierce stare.
I remain silent, knowing my answer won’t sit well with him.
“That’s what I thought,” he says coldly. “I did what I had to do.”
“And look what it fucking cost us!” I roar, flinging my arm toward Ava and Eric’s broken bodies.
“You think I don’t know that?” he shouts, anguish cracking his voice. “Ava is my mate, my heart. I almost lost her because of my blind need for vengeance. I know exactly how badly I fucked up!”
I deflate, scrubbing a hand over my face. “What about Eric? How did he end up in this mess?”
“He was at the house when Easterlin attacked. Looking for you.”
I close my eyes, guilt rising like bile in my throat. Of course. They must have lowered the wards for their new “ally,” not knowing he’d stab them in the back.
“I know it didn’t go as planned, but this is for the best,” Uncle Leo says, gripping my shoulder. I jerk away, fury sparking through me again.
“For the best? Amelia is dead, Leo! Dead! Because of your brilliant fucking plan, and you have the nerve to say it’s for the best?” Tears burn my eyes, grief and rage a living thing inside me.
“She didn’t deserve you, Nickolas.” Uncle Leo’s words hit me like a punch to the gut.
“No,” I snarl, getting right in his face, “I didn’t deserve her.”
Uncle Leo opens his mouth to retort, but suddenly, he wrenches me around, shielding me with his body. I watch in horror as an arrow sprouts from his back. Then another. And another.
“No!” I scream, blood splattering my face as it gushes from his mouth. No, no, no, not him too, please…
I blink, and three more arrows slam home. I can’t breathe. I try to push him away, to take the arrows myself, but he won’t budge, his body jerking as the shafts punch through his flesh, one after another.
“Do it now,” Uncle Leo grits out, his face ashen.
“Fucking movie!” I howl, but my legs won’t obey. I look down and see my feet sinking into the earth, black ropes of magic snaking up my calves. Panicked, I strain against the bonds, ancient words slithering past my ears in a language I don’t know. What the fuck is happening?
“Go!” Uncle Leo groans, shoving me with the last of his strength. I stumble backward into the portal, my cry of protest snatched away by the vortex.
As I tumble through the in-between space, I catch a glimpse of Ava on her knees, blood trickling from her nose as she holds the portal open with sheer force of will.
“I love you,” Uncle Leo mouths to Ava, his eyes shining with unshed tears as he sinks to his knees, blood pooling around him.
“I love you too,” she whispers back, just before his eyes slide shut, and he crumples to the ground.
“NO!” I scream, but the portal is already starting to fray, the magic flickering as Ava’s strength gutters out. I should have been flung out the other side by now, but the vortex is collapsing in slow motion, seconds stretching into eons.
Through the disintegrating gateway, I see Lord Easterlin triumph, twisting his face into a skull’s grin as he urges his men onward, arrows flying in a black cloud.
Ava lurches around, a shaft blooming from her shoulder. “We love you,” she mouths, tears cutting through the blood and ash on her cheeks. With the last of her power, she hurls Eric’s limp form through the portal and seals it shut behind him, severing the last link to everything I’ve ever known.
I land hard on the other side, shock, and grief crashing over me in relentless waves. For a long moment, I just stand there, staring up at nothing. I don’t move. I don’t blink. I don’t even fucking breathe.
This can’t be real. It can’t fucking be.
And then, sharp and sudden, I feel it. A searing pain in my chest. I look down to see an arrow protruding from my heart, its shaft slick with my own blood and black with oak venom. A laugh bubbles up my throat, crazed and broken. I let my head fall back, howling my mirth at the uncaring stars as tears stream down my face. I laugh until I can’t anymore, until the poison in my blood turns each breath to molten agony.
My shirt is soaked with blood, the fabric squelching obscenely as I struggle to stand. I know my heart is stuttering in my chest, the beats irregular and shallow, but I feel no pain.
There is no pain left to feel.
My knees give out and I slump back down, limbs gone leaden and cold. Through dimming vision, I see Eric lying a few feet away, his chest barely rising.
As the darkness rushes up to claim me, one final thought flickers through my mind, faint and fading.
Even if I die tonight, even if it all ends here… I know my death will be avenged.
I will be avenged.
With a last rattling sigh, I let my eyes fall shut and welcome the void, a smile on my bloodstained lips.