“You’re too soft. You always have been, Nyssa,” Kahlia said.“It's time this land was purified of this filth. We need to begin again and extinguish the Hollow once and for all, so we can rid this land of its putrescence. Of Deimos’s will. This is my life’s task. It will be done, so it shall be.”
“The Hollow aren’t filth!” Vesper barked. His voice broke Emmery out of her stunned racing thoughts.
Kahlia spun on Vesper, her eyes narrowed. Unflinching, he stared as his twin’s mouth twisted into a vile, ruthless grimace. “Did you not enjoy the rot? It was intended to be a quick sweep. A means to an end for all of you. Hollow or Fallen, it does not matter. You will all burn. You will all bleed. You all have that rancid human blood anyway.”
“You’re disgusting,” Vesper seethed, his jaw clenched. “And give me my sister back you fucker!”
“You can have her corpse when I’m done with her,” Kahlia replied in an eerily melodic voice.
“We won’t let you do this!” Emmery choked out. “The prophecy says once I find my tethered and the six, this will all beover.” She willed all her strength into her words. “I willnotburn the whole fucking world. And I won’t let you either!”
In the laziest gesture Emmery had ever seen, Thellonius waved his hand. Creatures emerged from the adjoining room, and though Emmery didn’t recognize the people in their grasps, Vesper did by the way his breath snagged and jaw hardened, especially as he spotted a woman with reddish-purple hair caked in blood.
Then Briar and Callias’s limp forms were tossed to the floor. Fear sliced into Emmery’s heart as she caught the wound on Briar’s throat, and her sallow, lifeless complexion. And her skin, too, wasburned. A sheen of sweat glazed Callias’ face and neck, his tanned flesh burned too. Several others in various states of disarray were dumped on the floor, all bound.
Emmery quickly counted seven captives, excluding Vesper. She readied to roast every single one of these creatures when she got her hands on them.
Kahlia said, “Once we are done with you, we will kill every last one of your friends, and vanquish their souls. This prophecy will never repeat. This is the end.” She stepped back from Emmery and released a tired sigh. “You see, in this world there must always be balance. So your equal, your match, the opposite of your power, was created each time your soul was revived. It’s the only force that can bring you to your knees.” Sheer amusement painted her face. “And it just so happens we have it.”
Emmery could do this. She could free them. And though she’d been waiting, she couldn’t anymore. She felt for the marks, pressed the barrier, her flame flared, burned, cracked, the tiniest fissure appeared—
The cadence of footsteps halted her. But not just any footsteps. They were ones she knew like her own, ones she’d heard in her dreams, the smooth, steady cadence echoed in her heart,and flickered that sunlight inside her. Her ears perked and her heart slowed. She hoped and prayed she was sosogodsdamned wrong.
Head lowered, he ascended two steps and stopped beside Thellonius.
And it was Destonne who stood at his father’s side.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
EMMERY
As if she was caught in the eye of a hurricane, a wind swept blur, ears ringing, heart bursting, Emmery stared at Dez. She reached into their bonds, her hand, her chest, anything to pull his attention, but his sunlight lingered too far away, barely a flicker of warmth. There and gone too fast to hold.
Blood streaked his hair, face, neck, and his thorns punctured through the fabric of his mangled black tunic. A cold expression hardened his features, and once again, he became the same man she’d met all those months ago in Malheim. The one that snapped necks and executed treasonous rioters. The one whonever begged, grovelled, or cared for anything. Not the one she’d opened herself to.
That man was gone.
“Dez—” she breathed, his name sour on her tongue.
He didn’t even spare her a glance, his eyes fixed ahead, frigid and hard, as if she wasn’t worth his time, or maybe he couldn't bear to look at her.
“Destonne. What’s going on?” He still wouldn’t meet her gaze, and her swollen, water-logged heart pounded, heavy and so damn sad. “Destonne O’Daire! Fucking look at me!”
All eyes slid to her as her world narrowed and his gaze met hers. She swore his vestige wavered, flickered like a pulse, but he shoved his hands into his pockets, then blinked at her, bored, like she wasn’t tied to a chair, in danger. As if they hadn’t been making love, uttering promises, and sealing them in blood only a day ago.
“Seems he’s done with you,” Thellonius taunted, his eyes bright like demonic fire. “You gave him what he wanted. You shared your power and made it so easy. Such a pathetic little harlot.” Thellonius smiled. “Spare a few pretty words for a whore and she will get on her knees. And that’s exactly what you did.”
“You’re wrong! That’s not—Dez tell him.Tell him!”Emmery shouted. Her sanity slipped, her restraints on the verge of bursting, but she needed the right moment to get him out of here. Away from all of this.
Thellonius turned to his son. “What do you have to say?”
Dez huffed a breath, and the thorns wrestled inside him, a slithering insidious mass, same as the creatures. His eyes met Emmery’s, his brows pinched in confusion. “I’m not sure what you expected, angel,” he said.
His response sank into her gut with a dense thunk. “We—” She choked as a sob wormed up her throat. “Webonded. You promised and…”
“You should be cautious who you make deals with,” he drawled. His voice opened her ribcage and thrust a blade into it. He gave her the bored stare he’d once hidden behind, which left her cold and empty and aching.
“How could you?” she whispered. “This—you can’t do this!” Her voice rose, hysterical as her erratic heart. “No, Dez. You can’t, youcan’t!”