My legs moved of their own volition. I was a puppet on her string, unable to stop or fight. “Evanesce, Tadhg.” The plea wrenched from my dry throat. “Please. I’m begging you. Go.”
Why wasn’t he listening? Didn’t he realize what was about to happen?
When I reached Fiadh, she forced the hilt into my hand. I told my fingers not to close, to let the cursed dagger fall, but they refused to listen.
“You said you’d kill the Gancanagh.” Fiadh’s white teeth gleamed between her red lips; her black eyes reflected my pale face. “Now, do it.”
She forced me to turn, and I watched helplessly as Tadhg’s confusion shifted to understanding. He offered me a sad smile.
“It’s all right, Keelynn.” He dropped his hands to his sides like he wasn’t going to fight. Like he was giving up.
He couldn’t give up. He needed to fight. Why wasn’t he fighting?
“You don’t understand. I can’t stop myself. Please go. Please.” My legs moved forward. One step. Another. I wanted them to stop. Why won’t they stop? Please stop. I don’t want to do this. It isn’t fair. Stop. Stop. Stop. “I’m so sorry, Tadhg. I just wanted my sister back. I was foolish and naïve, and I thought I had nothing left to lose.” Tears clouded my vision, making it difficult to see his beautiful face crumpling in defeat.
“This isn’t your fault,” he said, blinking back tears of his own as his shoulders bowed forward. “It’s mine.”
A crowd had formed inside the gates. Rían stood at the front, holding his head in his hands, frozen, watching from behind the safety of the wards. Why was no one helping us? There had to be at least fifty of them and only one of Fiadh. Why were they hiding like cowards?
Rían had magic. He had power. Why wasn’t he coming to our aid?
The sounds of waves crashing against the cliffs were drowned out by Fiadh’s delighted cackle. She clasped her hands beneath her pointed chin and rocked back and forth on her toes, her skirts swaying.
Tadhg was within arm’s reach. If only I could hold him one last time. If only I could tell him how much I cared. But the words would only make what I was about to do even more painful.
“This will be a mercy,” he said. “You’ll be ending a cursed life with a cursed blade.”
Cursed blade.
The clouds broke, and a solitary ray of sunlight fell on the glowing emerald in the dagger and the emerald in the ring.
Cursed blade.
If you had been wearing the ring when she stabbed you—
The ring doesn’t break curses, it neutralizes them—
Perhaps I could save him. Perhaps it didn’t have to end like this. I brought my other hand to the hilt and tried to pull the ring free without making it obvious. Tadhg’s eyes never left mine.
“Thank you for giving me hope,” he said, brushing the hair back from my face and wiping my tears with his thumb. “Thank you for letting me love you.”
I took his hand and pressed the ring between our palms. His eyes widened slightly. When I pulled back, the ring was no longer in my grasp. I tried with all my might to fight my own body as I slipped the point of the dagger to the soft flesh below his sternum.
He dropped his forehead against mine and whispered, “Thank you for setting me free.”
And I thrust the blade into his heart.
The crowd hiding behind the wards let out a collective wail.
Rían’s hands dropped from his head, his mouth gaping open.
The green in Tadhg’s eyes faded to black, and his body slumped to the ground. Blood spread down his white shirt, painting the grass red. The marriage bond was no longer on my finger, and Tadhg’s was gone as well. He was truly dead, but he would come back because he was wearing the—
Tadhg’s clenched fist opened, and the emerald ring tumbled into the grass.
“No . . .” No. No. No. No.
Why hadn’t he put it on? Why hadn’t he saved himself from this terrible fate?
Thunder cracked above us like the sky was being cleaved in two. The dagger began to vibrate, and a shimmering white light emerged from Tadgh’s prone form, swirling and twisting until it reached the emerald and vanished inside. Green light burst from the gem, so bright it burned my eyes.
Fiadh’s delighted laughter rekindled the hate in my heart. How could she do this to someone she’d once loved? How could she still want vengeance after all this time? Why hadn’t she forgiven Tadgh? Moved on with her life? Found the light in the world instead of sinking into the darkness?
“Give me the dagger.” Fiadh’s hair lifted in the breeze, her black eyes wild as she motioned toward the weapon dripping blood on my green skirt.
My legs shook as I turned and told her, “No,” with a strength I didn’t think I possessed.
“Give it to me!”
I clutched the dagger to my aching chest. “I said no.”
Magic leaked from beneath her skirts, twisting and stretching its spindly black fingers toward me. “Have you learned nothing, you foolish girl? You can hide inside this warded castle for the rest of your pathetic life, but I will get back what is mine. I will curse your family, your children, everyone you love. I will never stop haunting you unless you give me that dagger.”
Fiadh never forgives.
Fiadh never forgets.
Tadhg knew. That’s why he didn’t put on the ring. If he had come back, he would’ve been a prisoner in this castle. No one he loved or cared about would’ve been safe from her wrath. He never would have been free. And now that I had defied her, there was no way she would let me leave this hillside alive.
“Our bargain isn’t through,” I said. Fiadh’s magic halted, waiting for her command. “I killed the Gancanagh, and now I get to resurrect my sister.”
Some good had to come of this. Aveen would be alive, and she would have Rían to take care of her. I wouldn’t be there to see it, but at least I could die knowing Tadhg’s life hadn’t been sacrificed in vain.
“Go on then.” Fiadh waved a hand toward the castle. “Resurrect your precious sister.”
My legs moved woodenly toward where Rían waited with a dagger of his own. The creatures flanking him held pitchforks and hoes, swords and axes. None of them were looking at Fiadh. They were all glaring at me.
“Not so fast, girl.” Fiadh appeared at my side, keeping an arm’s length away. “I’m not letting you or that dagger out of my sight.”
“You can’t get past the wards.”
“Then ask your friend to let me inside,” she sneered.
When I reached the castle and went to step inside the barbican, my foot struck an invisible wall. I pressed against it, but the ward refused to budge.
“Rían, please.” My voice cracked as I stared into his hardened blue gaze. “I need to see Aveen.” It was the only way to end this bargain. The only way I would be free of Fiadh’s control.
“Have you lost your feckin’ mind?” Rían growled, gesturing toward Tadhg’s body with his own blade. “You just murdered my brother, and you think I’m going to let you inside this castle? Not a hope in hell. Good luck getting out of Tearmann alive, you traitorous bitch.” The creatures behind him stepped forward, murderous eyes trained on me.
“Give me my sister,” I said.
Rían shook his head. “She’s my fiancée.”
“Rían, please. I need to bring her back to end this bargain.” Couldn’t he see that I’d had no choice? That if it had been up to me, I’d be the one lying dead in the grass?
Rían folded his arms over his chest. The blade in his hand gleamed like his boots. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it when Fiadh stepped forward. The dark waves of her magic swelled around her, spinning and climbing the walls, searching for a chink in the invisible armor.
“If you don’t want me to turn my sights on you, little Rían,” Fiadh crooned, drawing a nail down the invisible barrier, “I suggest you give the pathetic human her sister.”
Rían’s face paled. The creatures behind h
im glanced at one another and started whispering. With Tadhg gone, Rían was the rightful ruler of Tearmann, and he was being forced to choose between my sister and his people. A muscle in his jaw ticked, and his blue eyes narrowed, but he flicked his wrist, and Aveen’s coffin appeared between us.
I glanced over at Tadhg’s body, then back to Aveen.
She didn’t need his life force. In a few months, her curse would be broken. If only there was a way to return it to Tadhg.
“Hurry along, girl. I don’t have all day,” Fiadh grumbled, her nose wrinkling as she peered into the coffin.
My sister’s hair and the ribbon at her waist fluttered in the breeze.
I stepped closer to the coffin, but also to Fiadh. Aveen’s cold hand felt heavy as I lifted it in mine and squeezed, saying hello and goodbye. With a deep breath, I drew the tip of the dagger across her palm. At first, nothing happened. Then Tadhg’s blood dripped down the blade and into the wound, and a line of deep red appeared in the broken skin. Aveen’s face lost its waxy gray sheen, and the black of her lips slowly faded to a delicate pink.
The light from the dagger flew between her lips, and I heard her suck in a breath.
I’d done it. I’d saved her.
Tadhg’s body loomed in the distance, the price of this victory.
“Our bargain is complete.” Fiadh stepped forward and held out her hand. “Now, give me the dagger.”
If only I could change the way this story had ended.
What was I saying? I could change this. I had the dagger; all I needed was the courage to take back control.
I adjusted my hold on the hilt and plunged the blade into Fiadh’s gut. Her piercing scream rattled the castle walls, and she stumbled back, her pale hands covering the gaping wound. Black blood seeped between her fingers, dripping into an onyx puddle on the cobblestones.
If it had been an ordinary dagger, it wouldn’t have killed her. But this was a cursed dagger, created to steal life from immortals.
“You scheming bitch!” Fiadh lunged for the weapon still in my hand, but I was quicker. A nightmarish black mist emerged from her wound, stretching and writhing toward me. The first tendrils hit the emerald, and it began to glow brighter and brighter.
More mist poured from Fiadh, coming faster and faster as she stumbled forward and fell onto the cobblestones with a vicious curse.
I hurtled for Tadhg’s body. If I could reach him in time—
Pain ripped through my chest. Something warm and wet trickled down my nose. My movements slowed, like I was wading through tar. Only three more steps. Only two more steps. Only—
Coldness settled into my bones, and I caught a glimpse of Fiadh’s sneer when the bloody dagger clanged onto the cobblestones.
The world tilted, and my head slammed against the unforgiving ground. I tried to breathe, but there was no air in my lungs, only liquid fire. My hands searched the ground, landing on the hilt. My fingers shook as they gripped it. I knew I was dying. The only way to save myself was to use the dagger on my own hand.
With every ounce of will I possessed, I stretched toward Tadhg’s open hand, but he was too far—
Aveen screamed my name as my eyes drifted shut.
There was too much pain. I wanted it to go away. I wanted the whole world to go away. There was movement and screaming and cursing, and somewhere, someone was crying.
Something warm touched my face.
Something cold touched my lips.
And then my heart stopped.
35
There once was a girl from Graystones,
seeking a cure for death.
She met a witch and begged for help,
but instead drew her last breath.
36
Breathe.
I couldn’t
couldn’t
couldn’t breathe.
My lungs had been replaced by stones. Darkness surrounded me. I’d been swallowed by an inky black pool of frigid water. My stone lungs anchored me to the bottom of whatever abyss had claimed my life.
Breathe.
BREATHE!
A crack.
There was a crack in the stone. I tried again, and the crack expanded to a fissure.
Breathe Breathe Breathe
I felt the stone cracking, breaking, crumbling, until my lungs could finally, finally expand and contract and I could
breathe.
My tongue had turned to ash, and air burned my newly formed lungs, and I was on fire, burning from the inside out. Why did this hurt so much? Breathing shouldn’t be so painful.
I changed my mind.
I didn’t want to breathe. I wanted the comfort of the cold, ruthless darkness.
Something touched my forehead. A wisp. A cobweb.
“Your senses will take some time to return,” said a muffled female voice. The owner of the voice drew me upright and pressed something to my lips. “Drink.”
Water dribbled down my chin, but some of the ashiness subsided. The glass was taken away. I whimpered, shocked when the harsh noise broke free from my chest. The glass returned. This time my tongue cooperated, and water doused the fire.
“Can you open your eyes?” the woman asked.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
But the quiet question left me peering between my lashes at smudges of light and darkness, shapes and colors.
“Very good.”
The room around me was unfamiliar, not opulent but open and airy. White drapes around the bed undulated with the breeze blowing through the open window.
The woman turned away as she refilled the glass from the crystal jug on the bedside table. Her blond hair cascaded in ringlets down her back. Then a pair of brilliant blue eyes met mine, set in a face I’d known my entire life.
“Aveen?”
Her smile was the same. I had missed her smile so much.
My sister’s arms came around my shoulders, tentatively at first. It wasn’t until she crushed herself against me that I believed she was real and not a figment of my imagination.
“Oh, how I’ve missed you, sister. Every day without you has been torture,” she said in my ear.
“Without me?” Her hair fluttered when I huffed a harsh laugh. “You were the one who decided to kiss the bloody Gancanagh and spend four months in the underworld.”
Aveen pulled away, and her smile faltered as she started fussing with my hair, spreading the glossy curls over my shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Keelynn. For everything. But mostly for deceiving you.”
She had sacrificed herself to get me what I wanted and she was the one apologizing? It was I who should be apologizing to her. “And I’m sorry you thought you had to die for me to find happiness.”
“Don’t be daft.” She smacked my shoulder, the hit barely registering against my useless limbs. “It was my choice, and I’d make the same one all over again. There was no way I was going to marry Robert. And I can’t say I’m sad that you didn’t end up with him either.” A laugh. “The bloody Gancanagh. You would win the heart of the Prince of Seduction.”
Tadhg.
My own heart broke.
If only I’d been enough to save him. The backs of my eyes burned, but there was no moisture in my body for crying.
Aveen’s lips pursed into a perfect pout as she glanced toward the door. “Speaking of Tadhg, I’m surprised he’s not in here already. He’s been unbearable waiting for today to arrive.”
“Tadhg’s alive?”
When she nodded, my heart gave an answering thump.
He’s alive.
He’s alive.
He’s alive.
“How is that possible? He was dead. I killed him.” And then the witch killed me and—Wait. How was I alive? I remembered Aveen shouting and had assumed she had used Fiadh’s life force to resurrect me. Had they sacrificed someone else to bring Tadhg back?
Aveen’s mouth flattened. “Rían brought him back with the dagger. And then Tadhg kissed you.”
Tadhg kissed me? Why could
n’t I remember?
Hold on.
If Tadhg kissed me—“Are you saying I’ve been gone for an entire year?” No. It couldn’t have been that long. It felt like I had just closed my eyes.
“A year and a day,” Aveen confirmed, pressing a cool hand to my forehead. “Do you want more water? When I woke up, I was desperately thirsty, and I was only gone a few months.”
I nodded, unable to find my words.
Aveen retrieved the glass and held it to my lips. I hated feeling like an invalid, but my hands refused to work. I drank until it was gone, wishing I could fill the emptiness growing in my heart as easily as I could quench my thirst.
What would happen when I saw Tadhg again? Could he find it in himself to forgive me for killing him? For not being enough to save him? And I’d been gone for over a year. What had he been doing in the interim? What if he’d found someone else? What if he was in love with her?
“I see our guest has returned to us,” said a voice from the doorway.
Aveen turned and smiled at Rían. “It’s about damn time.”
“Good to see you looking so well after your stay in the underworld, Lady Keelynn.” Rían executed a courtly bow, his black-on-black attire impeccable.
I didn’t bother speaking to him. The memory of the terrible things he’d said to me at the castle gates was too raw. Aveen had said he’d saved Tadhg in the end, but he could’ve done something before I stabbed him. But that was a problem for another time.
“Aveen, I’ve held him off for as long as I can.” Rían inclined his head toward the hallway. “If you want to keep the castle intact, I’d suggest you catch up with your sister at dinner.”
As much as I didn’t want my sister to leave, I needed to speak to Tadhg. Aveen hugged me again, kissed my cheeks, and told me that she loved me. A throat cleared from the doorway, and when my sister pulled away, I saw Tadhg standing in the gap, his green eyes shuttered and white shirt surprisingly unwrinkled.
My stomach fluttered. He looked the same as he had a year ago. I wasn’t sure why I had expected him to look different.
A Cursed Kiss (Myths of Airren Book 1) Page 33
