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“As one?” “As one, Angel.”
Because she knew all too well what that felt like…how it felt to be shackled with no escape. She tried to save me from a life she despised. My mother saved my life every day and I never knew it.
Rage consumes me as my gaze locks on him. Rage for the little girl he watched be beaten every day. Rage for the man who would do anything for power. Rage for the man who held a knife to my friend's throat, and rage that he has the audacity to come at me with a blade at all.
My three loves. My people, my family. Dead.
The king may be everything that is wicked and cruel and has shrouded his kingdom in the clutches of his darkness, but he will never truly win. I will never let him. Because amidst darkness, light will always persevere.
The people of Aloriah didn’t just hear me—the planet did, and she paid her condolences.
How do you continue to live without the people that gave you the courage to breathe? Without the people who helped shape who you are today? How do you continue living with chunks hacked out of your heart? And yet, there’s a small flicker. A kernel. Deep within the nothingness, in the darkness that has overtaken my body, there is a glimmer. Not of hope—no, I lost that long ago. But it is a glimmer of something far greater, something that I know if I reach out and touch it, allow it to grow and burn brighter, it will give me a reason to move. A reason to blink, to speak, to cry, and to breathe.
I will become the monster he wished to create, and I will make him pray that I was never born. Because the first death my hands will take will be the one of Peter Bartholomew Covington.
When it comes down to it, you either choose yourself or you allow others to decide your fate. And as I race for the palace, I choose myself. Not caring about burning out or fretting over the usage of my magic. All I need is enough to kill the king. Beyond that, I don’t care if I burn out like a shooting star.
I may have to become a monster to take him down but, in the end, it will save the lives of many.
The King will die tonight by the hands of his Heir. The one he brought into this world only to inflict suffering and the one he has spent years trying to destroy. This is my final act of rebellion.
“You were my father and you stared at me with such disgust that I wondered for years if I was broken—if something was wrong with me. You made me question whether I was worthy of love; you made me believe I didn’t deserve it. All because you don’t know the first thing about being a father—a decent human being. You broke the spirit of a three-year-old girl.”
“I look back at that moment and realize how much of a monster you truly are. When I came running to you crying, even after you hit me, you looked at me with such revulsion. You stared at my tear-streaked face like I was filth and that was what broke me.”
“You broke my heart. You were the one that was meant to comfort me when boys broke my heart, but instead, I ran to them and cried about you.” Tears roll freely down my cheeks. “I broke my spirit trying to mold myself into a version that you would be proud of, perhaps even love, but it was never enough. Nothing I ever did was good enough for you. As a parent, you should be ashamed of yourself for tearing me down when you were meant to build me up, and I will never forgive you for that.”
“The sight of you sickens me. I know what love feels like now. I know how it warms your heart and spirit. How it lifts you up, not tears you down. How it feels to be held with warmth and care. I know the sounds of words spoken with tenderness and I know what unconditional love truly is. It was the way in which you were supposed to love me.”
“You destroyed my heart when you placed their heads on those spikes, so in return, I’m going to break yours.”
This is the part I will never utter, the secret I will take to my grave. Because despite everything, despite the pain and heartache this man has inflicted…he is my father. He will never love me enough to stop hurting me, and I will never be good enough to be loved by him, but there is a small part within me that still clings to that hope. That he will change into the father I’ve been dreaming about since I was three years old—the father I deserved.
And as my father sits before me, bleeding out, I know I am not losing a loved one, because you cannot lose what you never had.
Through it all, all I can utter is, “I killed my father.” Behind us, I see my loved ones. I look at them and know I made the right decision…although it just might kill me to live with it.
“You are my home, Angel. I will go wherever you go.”
Beneath Easton’s tombstone lies the message, Together forever.
So, I will be his family, for I always was, and he was mine. Family doesn’t mean blood. Family means love and loyalty.
My trainer, my fighter, my protector, my friend, and my soulmate. And most importantly, my first love. My first love was born of friendship. Because before Easton, I never believed I was worthy of love. If it weren’t for Easton, I would have never allowed Knox into my heart; I wouldn’t have allowed his beautiful court and family in either. It is because of Easton that I stand here today with my mate and an open heart. It may be cracked and scarred, but it is open.
Goodbye, Mother.
“Don’t you dare blame my trust as a reason for not seeing the monster you truly are!”
It was all an act. The woman who cried in my arms, the one who consoled me over Easton, who laughed with me and helped train my magic, was never real. My heart not only crumbles…it weeps.
This monster has taken everything from me—my innocence, my childhood, my mother, Annie, Easton, the lives of the innocent citizens of Aloriah. I’d say he’s taken Hazel, but clearly, she was never truly my friend. He has taken so much from me, and in this moment, I find the strength to not cower. If this is my last moment I want to go out with strength and courage in my heart.
“You,” I spit. Hazel’s eyes widen a fraction, unable to hide the shock of my loathing. “You were the one who revealed their location! You are the reason they are DEAD!”
I always knew my father was a monster but Hazel…sweet, loving Hazel was a lie, an illusion. She preyed on my weaknesses and vulnerability and used it against me. She is the reason they are dead.
The king’s eyes widen, and I could have sworn for a moment there was fear in them, but it’s gone before I can truly discern it.
Ace’s head separates from his body as he’s dropped onto the sword. The scream that rips from Axel is one I will hear for the rest of my life, one that I will feel for the rest of my days.
“No, please!” he begs. “I want to be with him. He’s coming back! I know he’s coming back…he would never leave me.” Axel’s chest heaves with a sob as he repeats. “He would never leave me.”
The king has been manipulating my fate from the moment I was born. My fate has always been broken. My life was never mine to choose. None of it was.
Because as the king returns to his broken kingdom, there is one thing I know without a shadow of a doubt. “The king is not done playing with my fate.”
