Prologue
Ashes and embers flow in the air, the evidence of a dying—no, dead—battle. Soot plasters my skin, coats my hair, completely obscuring the copper hues from sight. My eyes drift across the blood-soaked battlefield.
Body parts scattered across the grounds that had been my home only hours before. An arm, a leg, a beheaded corpse.
My gaze catches, my heart stops, as the bodies of my loved ones come into view. My kingdom's people, my parents, my best friend—
My mates.
I’ve lost every single person in my life in what feels like seconds.
I stumble over a decapitated body and fall to the ground. When did I start walking? A sharp rock lances my hip, piercing through my thin armor, as my leg gives way under my weight. In my desperation to get to my mates, I forgot that the bastard Dark Fae fractured my left leg in battle.
But nothing else matters besides them. I must get to them. This can’t be the end.
I put my weight on my forearms and push, hissing out a breath between tightly clenched teeth. My biceps shake from the pressure and my shoulders collapse before I manage to lift myself up. The pain in my leg is excruciating, causing me to clench my teeth so hard they might crack. My vision fills with black dots and unconsciousness threatens. I can’t think, only breathe, only hope that the agony lessens.
With every turbulent heartbeat, the memory of broken promises stab at me.
I promised them I would see us through this unharmed.
I promised them I would marry them after this war was over.
I promised them I would finish this today.
Choking back a sob, the finality of the situation sinks into my soul. I had been overconfident in my abilities and my loved ones had suffered the consequences of my arrogance. This is my fault. There is no one to blame but me.
So many broken promises … How did I let this happen? This has to be a nightmare. Please, Gaia, don't let this be my reality.
A sharp kick to my chin snaps my head back as pain spreads through my jaw. The recoil from the kick causes my head to fall forward, dangling towards the ground, exhausted.
Blood pools in my mouth and I spit it onto the ground, trying to hold onto consciousness when a deep, rumbling laugh echoes across the open expanse of my fallen home. The hairs on my arms stand up and my burned-out power flares within me, reacting defensively to the sound.
Anshar.
I may have broken many promises but I can still honor one.
This ends today.
He kneels, invading my line of sight, staring into my eyes with a sadistic grin. "Are you done feeling sorry for yourself, Oslana? Or should I continue to beat the self-pity out of you? I could keep playing kickball with your pretty little head."
He holds a lock of my hair, rolling it between his fingers, that smirk ever-present. "Or I could give you a quick and painless death. It’s your choice. All you have to do is take the lock off of your soul’s power. Let me consume it and I will end this now. Look around. You have nothing left to live for anyway."
I stare into his eyes, searching for the soul that I know he used to have. The boy he used to be. The friend I spent my childhood playing with. Surely, he has to be there.
"Your mates," he says with a delighted sigh in his voice, a maniacal glint in his jade-colored eyes, as he stares at his bloodstained talons in adoration. "Cutting their hearts out with my bare hands gave me such a rush."
My blood turns to ice. No. The boy I had loved is dead. In his place stands this sick monster before me.
Even as sadness flows through me for the boy he used to be, my resolve steels and calmness overwhelms the grief of what I must do. This man can never have my powers. Gaia gifted them to me at my birth, prophesying a disastrous future in need of salvation. Salvation only my abilities can provide.
He will never have access to my Goddess-given gifts.
My mind works overtime and a plan forms.
A single talon runs down and across my cheek, forming the letter ‘A’ into my skin, marking me as his. Warm blood trickles down the side of my face but I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing my discomfort. In truth, the pain of this minor cut is nothing compared to the loss of my family.
He was right when he said I had nothing left to live for.
He digs his talon into the bottom of my chin, trying to pull that pain out of me. He will never understand that my well of emotion has run dry. After seeing my mates and family slaughtered before my eyes—
I have nothing left to give him, except his death.
Anger bleeds into his gaze at my unresponsiveness. "You know you brought this upon yourself when you turned down my proposal to be with them," he spits, continuing to dig his talon deeper into my flesh. Bringing his head closer and closer to me, his tongue darts down and licks at the blood pouring down my neck from the wound. His eyes roll back in pure ecstasy at the taste.
The high dies down within moments and his anger flares brighter than ever. Spittle flies from his mouth, landing on my face. "You were to be my bride. My queen!" His eyes trace the drops of his saliva on my cheek before he rubs them into my skin with his thumb, as if ingraining that piece of him into me. "The one I would rule the world with." He shakes his head in disgust. "I wish I could still offer you a place by my side but you have been tainted by those lowly peasants that you dared call your mates. You are not worthy of standing next to me."
As he insults my mates and our bond, I feel my power pulsating out of my soul in large waves, threatening to explode outwards and consume us both.
Whenever my power reacted like this in the past, my loves were always there to calm me down with their soft touches and gentle words, coaxing it back down to a manageable level.
I had been naïve to think that I had enough control to win this battle without further training. This is my fault.
Without them here, there is nothing that can hold my power back and that is exactly what I need. I will die here on this field with the other fallen but I will damn well take this tyrant with me.
I will fulfill that promise, my mates. It will be the last thing I do before I follow you into eternal slumber.
I lower my eyes, feigning submissiveness while searching for the hidden weapon on my person. He chuckles low in his chest like my subservience was expected and inevitable.
"You are nothing, Oslana. You are unworthy of those powers bestowed upon you. Look at you," he says, cocking his head in mock pity. My hand clasps around the hilt of the small dagger in my boot. "You can’t even say a word bac—"
His words cut off with a gargle as I shove the blade of my knife through the bottom of his chin. His mouth and eyes fall open. I can see the knife protruding through his mouth, piercing his tongue.
The sound of him choking on his blood is pitiful.
"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?" I say, cocking my head as he had, menace lacing my every word, as I twist the dagger in further. The bones of his nose crunch, giving way to the metal of my blade.
His eyes roll back into his head and he falls, unconscious from the pain and blood loss. But I must act swiftly, for he has stolen the ability to heal from my Light Fae by using dark magic.
All I need is a few moments to center my powers to end this.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath in until my lungs are stretched past full capacity. My power lashes out from every pore of my body, sending my hair flying in all directions, cleansing my body of the ash, blood and signs of battle. A pale teal orb of light surrounds my body and lifts me into the air as my magic starts overflowing.