Salem. The word now was a blade of ice in my heart.
A glance behind me showed me that Lyr was already bringing more knights into the fray, armor gleaming in the hot sun. And around them, the trees and grass were withering, blackening. Already, the island’s grass had browned. Nausea rose in my gut. This had only just begun, and already the life was wilting around us.
Screams curdled my blood, and I whirled, blade ready. Fomorians were starting to burn some of the knights. My mouth went dry, and I drove my icy sword into another attacker.
Salem set us free…
I could have stopped this. My damn soulmate was the one to unleash it.
We are the forgotten ones…
From the corner of my eye, I winced at the sight of Melisande, her wings blazing with flames. She was trying to run into the water to douse them, but another Fomorian gripped her by the hair. Burning Fomorians surrounded her, and she screamed.
Around us, the knights and the ancient fire fae were clashing, bodies burning. The air smelled of seared flesh.
This was a scene from hell.
From Salem’s cave.
I moved farther into the hot salt water, determination sliding through me.
We wouldn’t win this with swords, would we?
I had to go down there, into the hot water. I had to go down to the mouth of the beast and use all my magic to seal it up with ice.
Fighting off the burning Fomorians around me, I rushed deeper into the hot sea.
Then I dove.
The water felt scalding against my body, but I used my magic to try to cool myself down.
Did Salem feel bad, I wondered? Or did he have what he wanted, and he’d moved on? A tumble in the grass with his mate, then he’d moved on to his real destiny.
Icy anger buzzed through my body. I dodged between the Fomorians in the water, heading for the hot crevasse.
My heart had shattered into pieces, and anger spilled through my body like dark ink. At least wrath gave me clarity.
A broken heart left you so cold.
I could use the cold right now.
The chasm was a wide, gaping wound now, like a slash in a pregnant belly. And the Fomorians spilled out of it. Molten heat was ripping open the ocean floor. I fought through the blistering water, heading right for the crevasse. As I swam, I let my magic build in my body, stronger and stronger, until I felt powerful as the divine combustion of a star.
At the bottom, where fire had ripped the seafloor open, I gripped the hot rocks. I felt my fingers burning.
Salem left me here.
I couldn’t even remember if that thought was rational anymore. I only knew that it broke me open and hollowed me out, like an empty oyster shell.
The sea glass glittered on the rocks beneath me, and I swam for it. Snatching it up, I carved it deep into my arm. One more sacrifice to the god of the sea…
My blood spilled through the water.
“God of the rivers and sea, grant me the strength to seal the crack. Grant me the strength to stop the Fomorians.”
In the hollows of my mind, the sea god spoke in a whisper: I’ll need more than blood… The dark waters sucked up the blood greedily, a vortex whirling around me, hungry for more sacrifice.
Alarm bells rang in my mind, but that seemed like a problem for another time.
I gathered all my cold rage and let it build in my chest to a wild pitch, an explosive force of power.
Then, when I felt my body was about to burst at the seams with magic, I flung back my arms. I unleashed the full force of it. The icy power of the sea exploded out of me, rumbling over the ocean floor in an atomic blast of cold. The vibrations trembled through the rocks, through my bones.
Ice spread out from my body, freezing the Fomorians in place. Their limbs contorted, fingers bent. The flames on their heads snuffed out in the dark water, eyes bulging with horror. Then, one by one, their bodies fractured into tiny pieces of ice.
I loosed a breath, then looked down at the seafloor below me. The fissure filled with gleaming ice. It spread out, sealing the Fomorians in. As it covered the red glow, cold shadows swallowed up the world around me.
In the dark and the cold, I floated.
Above me, the battle raged, but there were no more Fomorians getting out. The knights had to kill only those who’d escaped.
Darkness pooled around me, and I felt a bone-deep chill. I couldn’t leave here, could I? I’d be here for good, keeping the crevasse shut. Through the water, I felt the battle growing quieter. I thought the knights were regaining control now.
My hair wafted around me, and the sea grew quiet. Above me, the sunlight grew dimmer. Salem had left me, and I felt like I was falling through the darkness. It was like someone had distilled the essence of a million lonely Sunday evenings, drowned me with it.
I looked up at the surface of the sea, flickering red with the flames of the Fomorians. It looked like the flames were dying out now, the knights winning the battle.
Thorns twisted around the inside of my chest. This was what I’d done to Shahar, wasn’t it?
All those years ago, Mama had gotten me drunk when it was time to drown Shahar. But she always had a clear head. She always knew exactly what she was doing.
What was so off about me that I couldn’t be trusted? She used to say that I could wither plants with the looks I gave when a temper struck me, and I could poison the mood in a room. I made people nervous.
I never knew if I was supposed to be strong like Mama, or sweet like the lithe, smiling river fae. The pleasant ones who laughed and danced and sang at court.
I just had this gnawing feeling, deep in the hollows of my mind, that I’d never been quite right.
Above the crevasse, I traced my fingertips over the large swath of ice.
With a shock of surprise, I realized I’d felt right with Salem. Maybe because he was more twisted than I was—no judgment from him. And even as he made my heart race, he made my thoughts quiet. At times, he drew my attention so sharply that the chaos calmed. He’d taught me how to channel my magic so it didn’t overwhelm me.
At least, until I’d come at him with the sea glass, and he’d left in the boiling sea.
I stared at the world of ice beneath me.
Wasn’t I enough now? I’d closed the chasm with ice. I’d stopped the attack. I’d fixed it.
So maybe I wasn’t quite right, and maybe I made people nervous, but I got the job done in the end.
I just had to stay here, forever, and everything could be fine.
I looked through the murky water at the empty driftwood cage, its door hanging open like a gaping jaw. As the sound of the Fomorians faded, the only noise was the creaking of the door.
I’d finally gotten the silence I craved. I’d gotten the job done.
But webs of frost spread over my heart.
39
Salem
My wings lifted me into the air above the sea. Gripping Shahar tightly to me, I glanced down at the sea. Shahar was still flailing, shrieking.
But all I could think was—maybe I didn’t care if the world burned. But I cared if Aenor did.
This was supposed to be my moment of victory. I’d saved Shahar, and I was on my way to achieving my destiny. We’d become gods again.
As I left Aenor behind, a jagged ache hollowed out my chest. Whatever came next, I had to believe Aenor would survive. I’d given her the immense sea power back—protection against whatever she faced.