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This isn’t a goodbye, Father. Only a good way to say bye until we meet again. Because I will haunt you in every lifetime. A shadow of the woman you loved, trapped in the body of an Ordinary you hate. I smile. His eyes widen as though the torture has already begun. Until then, Father.
Kai blinks. “You killed him?” I stiffen. He thought it was me.
“Your Majesty, I must insist that we head to Loot for the second ceremony.” My stomach churns at the sudden reminder of what we have learned. “No, we can’t possibly—” “Holy shit.” I glance over at Kai to find his features arranged in equal parts shock and repulsion. “Took you long enough,” I sigh. “You’re fucking related,” Kai spews. There is something like awe in his voice. Because this is hope. This is a way out of a marriage neither of us wants. “You can’t possibly go through with this ceremony.”
AHAHAHAHAHA
Ilya is our home, and if the only way to save it means Paedyn plays wife in name alone, then… Then let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
Pls dont be foreshadowing
Though, in the end, it is he who is buried beneath the weight of secrets and betrayal. For he never learns the truth of those he loved—and how they loved one another.
“I need you with me—your focus, your loyalty, your heart. All of it.”
Why is he crashing out
Kai steps forward, and I’m unsurprised to see him pause at an equal distance from myself and the king. That is where he has always stood, torn in two different directions. Duty. Desire. Loyalty. Love.
I am numb. I am dead beside him but cursed to keep living. Grief is my equal. Misery a mirror. I call sorrow by its name and speak my own. My head falls back with a roar of agony. My brother. My brother. My brother. And when Paedyn throws open the door, a Healer at her side, I am lifeless on the floor beside my brother.
Nothing is stronger than a woman who is told she’s weak. Something has changed in Paedyn. These Trials have only empowered her. Part of me almost wants to admire her resilience.
I need her gone I need to be great—
What.was.all.of.that
“Well, never again will you have to survive anything alone.” Her gaze grows determined. “Cockroach, remember?” I shake my head, forever astounded by her. “No. You are strength. Life itself. That is why Death fears you.” “All I do is fear Death,” she corrects. “Fear losing you.” It hurts to smile. “Death knows better than to try and drag me from you.”
I can hardly breathe. “I need him, Pae. I need my brother.” “Shh.” “I can’t do this without him.” “Shh. I’m right here.” “I did this to him!” Each sob is a painful shake of my body. “I couldn’t save him. I couldn’t save my brother….”
Actually sobbing
“And you?” I prod. “What does the future king of Ilya believe in?” He ponders this for a moment. “The inevitable. You.” His fingers tickle my cheek on their way to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “I think we got it wrong in Dor. You are the Flame. And I… I am the Shadow falling at your feet.”
Eventually, we fire the rest of our arrows at that target. Unsurprisingly, I gloat thoroughly at my predestined victory. Delicately, we visit the willow tree and those buried peacefully beneath. Admittedly, I fail to be a diversion from Kitt’s death. Foolishly, a poet tells me I am never not his distraction.
Because I love you, Paedyn Gray. And I will happily spend the rest of my life trying to deserve you.”
Adena’s vest captures the attention, its faded, olive fabric snug around my bare shoulders.
OMGGGG AHHH AWWWW SOBBNGG
“At the end of a blade, I would love you. Until it pierced my throat, I would say ‘yes’ to you.”
Time slows long enough to let me bask in a moment I’ve only ever dreamt of. She is my dream. She is my piece of paradise. She is my inevitable.
