by A. K. Koonce
“I won’t kill you,” she whispers, her voice cracking slightly. “Fallon will.”
With a half-smile, the witch turns, releasing the powerful fuming light on President Docile. The vampire’s fragile body flies through the air, shatters the rock as she smashes against the cliff, and falls to the ground.
Kenzent’s tired gaze meets Fallon’s for a single second. A look of peace passes between them before she sinks to her knees, her icy eyes closing for the final time.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Calming Waves
Fallon
Too much has happened. My emotions are becoming too thin and too reckless. I want to sit and cry and … sleep. I just want to sleep this all away.
And I will. As soon as he’s dead.
My body moves faster than my mind can process; my lungs burn but I refuse to wait. I refuse to let their deaths fall away without meaning.
Deliberate and flawless energy rages through me. My fingers are curling around the Crimson Sword before Kenzent even hits the ground, and I flinch slightly as I rip it from her body. The peaceful look on her beautiful face will stay with me for the rest of my life.
For a flickering second Atticus’ attention finds me among the blurred movements that have become my apparent rage.
My eyes flash with preemptive victory as I thrash the sword through the air, my aim perfectly poised. Fear shadows his paper thin features, the first real emotion I’ve ever seen the vampire possess. Swiftly, the blade runs through his chest. Triumph spirals through me, my breaths becoming ragged as a weight lifts from me.
And then there’s pain.
I feel it. The moment my heart starts up and the curse slips away from my mortal body. Magic tenses the air. A vibrating thump within my chest is so strong my legs give out, crippling me to the scraping rocks that cut into my bare knees. The Crimson Sword slips from my hand, clattering against the wet stone. The steady power that circulated in my veins for the past several weeks pulls from me all at once. It leaves me gasping for air and more tired than I’ve ever been.
Tightly, my fingers grip the material of my shirt right over my heart, trying to find some solace among the instant agony.
Asher comes to my side, his fingers hesitantly brushing my bare arm as I lie in the cold waves. The ocean seems to be growing around me, its waves lapping up the rocky shore and touching my shoulders, bringing me some comfort as the pain starts to subside.
“It’s going to be okay, baby,” he whispers in a shaking breath.
He has no idea if it’s going to be okay. I can see it in his beautiful, fearful eyes, but he reassures me anyway.
My pounding heart warms just from his nearness, and tears begin to stream down my face as my emotions come tumbling through me all at once. They attack my weakened state. Kenzent’s body is just a few feet from me. She died for me. Just like my mother.
I gasp through the wet tears, my chest shaking.
She once told me she was done waiting for anyone other than death. She wanted to be free. Now she is.
“You stupid, stupid girl.”
President Docile’s willowy figure stands above me, a smile smearing her dirty face. Her once regal gown is stained with blood and frayed along the hem, but she still clings to her poised posture. “Atticus was perhaps the only thing protecting you in this world. And you killed him.” She shakes her head at me, her red eyes focused intently on my crumpled body as she holds the Crimson Sword firmly in her slender hands.
Weakness lies heavily in my limbs, but with all my strength I push away from her, further into the Emerald Ocean. The cool and calm waves slip over my shoulders, enveloping me into the water. Asher stands, his spine straightening, as he leaps toward the monster before us.
“Stop.” With a wave of her hand and a flash of her glowing eyes, she commands the hybrid. His body shakes but he does as he’s told, his hands held in midair, almost touching her long, blonde hair but not quite. A twisting smile pulls at her red lips as she captivates Asher with a single word.
My heart thrashes in my chest as my fingers slip against the sandy ocean floor, pushing myself ever so subtly farther away. The taste of salt clings to my lips as the waves grow higher around me.
The dark hem of her beautiful dress becomes soaked as she takes slow and deliberate steps toward me. The water dampens the material all the way to her knees. She stands over me, the clear waves reflecting the moonlight into her youthful face. She’s just a little older than me with a mind that’s seen the world fall apart off and on for centuries.
She kneels at my side, the sword held just above the water, just above my exhausted body.
“I always wanted a daughter,” she says as an eerie glint sparkles in her eyes. “We could have been allies.” Her fist tightens on the hilt of the sword. “Your father loved me ... we could have been friends.” With a swiftness I’ve never seen before, she raises the sword above me, kicking my heartbeat into overdrive. “But you chose that pike over power!”
My eyes clench closed, the ocean water pulling at my hair as I wait for the pain I know will come.
From beneath the waves a sound echoes strangely through the water. My eyes fling open, water clinging to my dark lashes as I stare up at my father. His mortal weapon shakes in his hand; the sound of the gun rings through my ears.
Mary’s lips part as she glances down at the bloody bullet wound in the center of her chest. Delicate fingers hesitantly cover the torn material, covering the imperfection in her body. Her lips turn from confused to furious in an instant. Her fiery gaze finds my father once more.
“How dare you!” she seethes, her fist shaking at her side, the Crimson Sword swaying in the waves with the power she’s radiating.
Michael says nothing, his hand still clutching the gun. His nervous dark eyes shift away from her to the ground as he clearly realizes the mistake he’s made.
“You would choose this pathetic little girl over me?” Mary screeches with a hiss.
Asher still stands at the shore, his fist shaking and anger rolling off him. He can do nothing but watch, and I can see it’s killing him. My father stands helplessly just a few feet away. Luca lays in the darkness somewhere. Declan …
My chest tightens as I realize she’ll win. She’ll rip all of these people I care about to shreds. And everything we fought so hard for will be for nothing.
The waves grow a bit higher as Mary shifts to stand, but at the last minute I grip her arm, pulling her back down to me. The cold water greets us once more as we slam into the salty waves, my head dipping fully beneath water. I cling to her pretty satin dress as I kick off from the shore, my nose burning as we slip through the clear waves.
My eyes are wide, the red glow of the Crimson Sword lighting her thrashing movements.
I’m too tired to fight her, but I’m too desperate to give up. Adamantly, I hold her to me as we both slice through the Emerald Ocean.
I feel them before I see them, and it fuels me further, my legs kicking us deeper into the dark waters. My chest heaves, frantic for air, but it doesn’t stop the small triumphant smile from touching my lips.
Confusion creases her face as she sees the look on mine. Long, blonde hair floats around her as fear begins to trickle into her ever confident features.
Strong movements slither through the water, the waves pushing over our bodies. With jarring strikes, she slashes the Crimson Sword through the water, sending its red light all around us.
White, thin bodies begin to drift toward us; sharp nails reach out for us. The slick, white skin of hundreds of water fae slips against my flesh, their hungry, white eyes glowing in the depthless shadows.
My eyes begin to drift closed, and I see their small jagged teeth just before the helpless and diluted sound of President Docile’s scream ripples through the calming waters. It’s a triumphant sound that puts me at peace for the first time in a long time. The blood red glow of the Crimson Sword pulses through the dark and depthless ocean, sinking lower and lower, h
olding my attention as it floats down into nothingness.
Nails drag across my arms, shivering across my skin just as darkness settles over my mind.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rain
Asher
I’m flinging myself through the ocean, irrationally searching for her, when I know she’s long gone.
The empty water is all I find.
“You have to stop,” her father tells me.
My jaw clenches with pain as I recklessly push through the cold waves some more. My fingers slip through the blood tinged water, thrashing through it with only determination fueling my movements.
My heart slams through my chest; my breaths come in heaps. They wrack my body as I finally stand, the water drifting into my chest, my clothes clinging to my skin. I stand there staring out at the endless waves.
A dark cloud drifts above me in the night sky. Lightning toys with the weather, rumbling through the background of my thoughts as I continue to stand motionless in the Emerald Ocean.
Movement catches my eye, pulling me from my dark thoughts.
Long white arms slither though the water; slender bodies glide through the waves toward me. Two water fae peek out, their slick heads bobbing above the surface.
When I see what else they have, my heart soars.
They drag her body through the waves, bringing her back to me.
A breath shakes out of my lungs.
“This one isn’t ours to keep,” one of them seethes in a rattling whisper. “Let her go again, and we’ll keep her, hybrid.” Its tiny jagged teeth are on full display.
An empty breath stumbles past my lips as I clutch her to me, her limp body falling into my arms. She isn’t warm; her body is like ice against mine. I grip her closer to me, cradling her to my chest.
“I won’t let her go again,” I whisper as I back away from their narrowed white eyes, their hands reluctantly slipping from her body.
The waves crash around my hurried steps as thunder roars through the night. The darkness seems heavier now, but her faintly blue lips are all I see.
My boots slip up the slick rocks, dripping water from my clinging shirt and jeans with every step I take. I breathe out a heavy breath, my drenched hair waving against my forehead.
I lie her down on shore the moment I’m able, sinking to my knees as she coughs violently. The rocks cut into my knees, but I don’t even think about it. I push her dark hair from her face, just needing to touch her again. My fingers linger against her cool cheek.
My heart pounds against my chest when her beautiful green eyes slowly open to me. Fluttering lashes look all around.
Water drops on her forehead, beading across her skin as hundreds of droplets fall from the heavens above, a cold current building with each one shed.
“Is that–” She flinches as another one pellets her cheek. “Is that rain?” She raises a hand to her face, looking skeptically at the water on her fingertips.
My heart flutters just seeing her curiosity. Just seeing her once again.
“It’s rain.”
Her brows lower, her gaze turning toward me, flooding me with happiness from the simple sight of her beautiful face.
She isn’t the girl I met at Compound 186 anymore. She isn’t the naive girl who was afraid to ask questions. She’s stronger than she realizes. She’s amazing, and she doesn’t even see it.
“The last of the vampires are gone. You broke the curse, Fallon.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
A New World
Fallon
Curse, curse, curse.
It’s all I’ve heard for days. Decades might come and go, and people will probably still whisper the word every time they look at me.
Will they remember him as well?
Will they remember the hybrid they pushed to the brink? The hybrid who lost his life to save mine? The one who put himself in danger time and time again just to find acceptance among his peers.
The waves knock into me, soaking my jeans as I watch Declan’s body drift out to sea. I hate thinking that he’s alone out there.
The sun hasn’t risen yet. The world is still quiet as the night still clings to the skyline. A blazing hue stains the sky, a hint of the sun casting across the ocean while the clear moon still hangs high above me.
With little strength, I pushed him out to sea while everyone slept. By myself. I didn’t want the others to help me. It’s something I had to do alone. Something that was too close to my heart to share with anyone else.
I swallow hard, my arms wrapping around myself as his body becomes nothing more than a spec of color in this world, the distant horizon enveloping him into nothingness.
My eyes close tightly, his careless smile burning into my memory.
We didn’t save the others. We did all we could do to save the hybrids locked away within the Capitol, but it wasn’t enough. Too much damage had already been done. My lungs tighten, struggling for a normal breath.
Asher and Gabriel might be the last remaining hybrids of this world.
Steps slosh through the water, sweeping waves onto my calves. The noise halts, and I can sense someone at my side. Wet lashes bring my attention up to Asher.
Quietly he waits, his arm lightly brushing mine, his Crimson Sword dipping into the water. The image of the other glowing Crimson Sword disappearing into ocean flits through my mind.
I sniffle as I look back out at the ocean. He’s gone, though.
“He was a good friend,” Asher finally says in a gravelly voice.
I nod adamantly, blinking back steadily growing emotions that are clouding my chest and mind.
“It’s okay to have loved him,” Asher says in a whisper. I glance to him but his silver eyes remain on the horizon, as if he can still see the hybrid there.
My fingers slip into his, pulling his attention down to me. A breath shakes from my lungs as I cling to his warm hand.
“He was a good friend. I did love him.” He swallows slowly, nodding just slightly. “He reminded me of you, and in a way he reminded me of me.” The uncertain feelings I always seem to have define everything about Declan. He wanted acceptance in an unaccepting world. If the world had been different, would he have been different as well? I think of the way he accepted me and understood me when I was most alone in my life. “I loved him like family. He was my family.”
Asher pulls me to his chest, his strong arms sweeping away the drowning sorrow that is rising in me. He presses a soft kiss to my temple and whispers into my hair, “He loved you, too.”
My lungs falter, hating that I failed the one mystic who might have needed me most.
I slip my hands around Asher’s waist, holding him tightly to me. He grounds me in a way. Makes me feel whole, more solid, stronger …
If I could have been stronger, could I have saved him?
“Do you ever think about how different everything could have been?”
My eyes close tightly as I breathe him in. My hands fist into his soft white shirt, clinging to him like he, too, might drift away from me. He’s here, and I’m never letting him go again. Nothing can separate us now.
I won’t let it.
“You changed the past,” he says. “Don’t ever think about what it might have been. What it could have been. Trust me, it doesn’t fix anything to dwell on the past. It is what it is.” His chest expands, a heavy breath shaking from his lungs. “It’s a new world today. Because of Kenzent and Declan, your mother, and Ky. Because of you, Fallon.”
A small smile presses to my lips, and tears streak down my cheeks as I nod into his chest. The tension between the mortals and the mystics has subsided. The sun rises, warming my skin, sending a tingling feeling across my body.
A new life starts today. A brand new world is quietly being built all around us.
And it all started with one beautifully lethal hybrid-vampire.
Epilogue
One Month Later
Asher
I never thought I’d find so
meone to spend my life with. I never thought that person would be as amazing as Fallon … I never thought she’d love me.
I can’t take my eyes off of her even as my best friend starts his bonding vows with Luca. The air is tinged with a smell of salt water and a hint of burning flesh as Kaino bonds Gabriel and Luca’s hands together.
Kaino’s words aren’t sweet like Kenzent’s were the day Fallon and I were bonded. Today Kaino’s words are short and to the point.
My attention slips from Fallon’s soft hair that tumbles down her back just long enough to see Gabriel and Luca raise their tied hands proudly in the air for all to see. I give a triumphant cheer along with everyone else, clapping loudly, but Gabriel’s blind attention is held on the woman he loves, as if he can see her wide and beautiful smile. The wind tears at her long white dress.
Then without fear they jump.
A gasp slips from Fallon’s lips, her attention turning abruptly to me.
“They’re fine,” I whisper to her, my hand squeezing hers.
“What if they’re not?” Pale green eyes wide with worry look to me with urgency.
“Then the water fae will sort them out,” I tell her with a playful smile pulling at my lips.
She shoves me hard, making me stumble slightly, a laugh rumbling through my chest.
“They’ll be fine.” I hold her worried gaze. “Do you really think a water fae would have the nerve to harm Luca?”
The line between her brows smooths as she begins to nod. “You’re right; they’re probably fine.”
“I have a surprise for you,” I whisper against her hair as I slip my arms around her waist, walking us away from the small crowd. We linger at the edge of the forest watching the mortals and mystics for a couple of minutes.
With ease she melds into me, her back lying flush against my chest, her eyes slipping closed as she leans her head back. “Hmm … most of your surprises are kind of …”
“Kind of what?” I ask, pressing an innocent kiss to her warm neck.
“Kind of dirty, Asher.”
