The damn Gray had taken everything from me. And now, he was going to take her from me, too. And when he did, he would rip away our realm, as well. I couldn’t even think that far ahead. Not when all I wanted to do was think about Lyric and her smile. Her persistence. Her strength. Everything. She wasn’t mine in all the ways that mattered, and she never would be. And it hurt.
“You’re right, she wasn’t mine. But she is yours. That wound is evidence of that. You are the king of the damn Obscurité. You have power. So many people behind you. Use it. Use our strength. Break the curse. It’s the only way to save her. It’s the only way to save our realm. Do it. Do what I couldn’t.”
Rhodes’ volume increased with each word, and by the end, he was yelling at me, his nose pressed almost to mine as he screamed.
I didn’t know how to fix this.
However, I couldn’t wallow either. Lyric deserved more than that. She was lying pale in my arms, no longer moving, her heartbeat so slow I could barely detect it.
“Save her, King,” Rosamond said, standing behind Rhodes. She put her hand on his shoulder and pulled him back.
“You can do this,” Wyn said, her face covered in blood. Thankfully, it wasn’t hers. She stood near Teagan, who shook with rage.
Luken held Braelynn tightly as the little cat mewed and cried.
My uncles knelt beside me. And I could still barely feel anything.
I knew that Lanya was around, most likely helping our troops, and the Lord of Fire was doing something, probably grieving his wife. Teagan was by my side, even though his mother had died. He was here.
He was stronger than I was. I needed to do this. Not for myself, but for Lyric. For all of these people who needed us to be strong.
“I’m going to break the curse. I don’t know how, though. The Gray had me in his clutches for so long, and I didn’t even know.”
“I can see the way you look at her,” Wyn said softly.
“It couldn’t mean anything before,” I growled out.
“You love her,” Rhodes whispered. “You will love her with everything you have, so pull on that. Use it. Screw what The Gray says. He doesn’t get to win in this. He doesn’t get to take her. Not now, not ever. The prophecy hasn’t come to pass. She has to survive this. Meaning, you need to figure out how to break the curse and bring her back. She is your goddamn soulmate. Figure it out.”
“I’m trying.”
“Not hard enough. She wasn’t mine. I wasn’t good enough for her. Apparently, you are. Fate gave her to you. So, earn that gift. Do this.”
I closed my eyes and focused on her. Concentrated on everything that she was to me, or what I needed her to be for me. What she was for everyone else.
I focused on what she deserved. While I might not think that was me, she deserved to live. And I would spend the rest of my days making sure she understood that. That she was worthy of so much more than the life she had been given. I refused to let her fall into the abyss of death. And even as I thought that, the oil slick feeling came over my heart again and started to ice. I growled, anger pulsing through me.
I closed my eyes, my hand still on Lyric’s chest even as Ridley began to work again. There was only so much a healer could do in this situation, and I knew he wouldn’t be enough. Not alone. Not when he had used so much of his power to save his husband. He had shown the world his true powers, and there would definitely be a price to pay for that. And if I survived this, if we all survived this, I would make sure nobody looked down on him for his birth. He had chosen Justise, just like I was choosing Lyric.
She deserved more than a half-life, she deserved so much more. So, I focused on that oil slick, and then I let the Fire within me burn. I used my Earth Wielding to ground me as I slid Fire Wielding through my body. I screamed, my skin glowing red-hot as people murmured and shouted around me.
Everyone scrambled away, and I knew the Fire had encircled us. It didn’t matter.
Lyric would survive this, and with any luck, I would get to watch her shine.
I used my Fire Wielding to burn away that oil slick, heated it up so it could slide away and never come back.
And then I pulsed my Wielding through my hand and through her chest.
She gasped in my arms, her back arching, and I shouted, the pain so intense that tears slid from my eyes. I knew I would have a scar on my chest, just like the one on my side.
I would kill the king for this. I would murder him, and I would enjoy it.
Before I could do any of that, though, Lyric needed to breathe.
I did what I knew was natural, even if I didn’t know why. I healed.
The first gasp of her breath shocked me to my core, and I shook, the flames brightening around us as Earth trembled beneath us.
She was healing. I could feel her cells warming, her skin knitting itself back together even as I felt my wound painfully closing, as well.
She would live, she would be whole, and she would survive.
Even as the oil slick burned away, sending ash out my nostrils and my pores, I knew I wasn’t done.
She needed to be whole, had to heal. The King of Lumière had struck her through the heart, severing arteries and doing so much damage, I didn’t know if I would be enough.
This was what soulmates were all about, though. They could heal mortal wounds.
I screamed, Fire erupting from my pores, something it had never done before. It didn’t hurt, it didn’t burn. Instead, I felt like I was being tugged and ripped open from the inside.
And, just like that, something snapped.
The curse was gone. I knew it. I felt it to the deepest part of my soul.
As I looked down at Lyric, her brown eyes wide, and her mouth open on an endless scream, I felt it.
The bond clicked into place as if it had always been there, just waiting for The Gray to be purged from my body.
I heard a scream in the distance as if covered in shadow, and I knew it was him. He knew, and I was glad. He knew he had lost this round. I could love. I could feel. I could be.
Good.
Lyric’s eyes widened even more, and I leaned down, pressing my forehead to hers as a cord wrapped around my heart and connected with hers, tugging tightly. An irrevocable bond that could never be broken, not even by the worst treachery, magic, or soullessness.
Lyric was mine, forever.
I would burn the world to save her.
Everything that had been hidden within me burst inside, slamming into my mind, my ribcage…everywhere.
I loved her.
Lyric.
The girl who could save the world.
The girl who had saved me.
I. Loved. Her.
She was my forever, more so than even this realm, more so than the throne I sat upon.
She was mine.
And she was healed.
The others murmured, saying things that might have been important. I couldn’t care. I didn’t notice.
I only had eyes for Lyric, and she was breathing. She was whole, and she was mine.
Forever.
Chapter Thirty
Lyric
* * *
Had we won? No, I didn’t think we had. Could you call it winning when the world felt as if it had crumbled? When people had died? When I had nearly died?
No, I didn’t think we could call it a victory. However, we could call it life. And the fact that we were here, those who had survived anyway, and we would live to fight another day was something to celebrate.
It was still hard to think of this as a true victory even though those that I loved and cared about were alive—at least most of them.
I sat in one of the chairs in the throne room, tired and yet energized. I knew that it came from the magic swirling inside me, thanks to Easton. I would think more on that later.
First, I needed to look at those around me and see what I could do.
There was pain, so much of it, and I wasn’t sure we would be able to truly heal until we defeated the king.
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Perhaps even The Gray.
And after what I had just witnessed, I wasn’t sure we could do it. Not yet. I had five elements, and I still hadn’t been enough.
I had almost died, and it had taken Easton to save me.
I didn’t like that.
I needed to be able to save myself. I had to protect those I loved. That was just one more thing we needed to work on.
One more thing.
I turned to the right and looked at Teagan, who paced the room, looking down at his hands, not talking to anyone.
I wasn’t sure anyone would be able to break through his barriers at the moment and speak to him.
He looked to be in so much pain, and yet he was stoic at the same time. As if he had nothing to say. Because what was there to say?
His mother had fought for all of us, had used her Fire Wielding in a way I had never witnessed before. I wasn’t even sure I could do it, even with enough practice and training. Then, she had died. Because of the king. Because we hadn’t been strong enough to save her.
Teagan’s father had retired to his room to heal in more ways than one. I knew the man must be grieving terribly after losing his wife, his soulmate. Teagan had mentioned once that they had been together for hundreds of years, had weathered war and famine and betrayal by others. Through it all, they had each other.
It killed me that there was nothing I could do. Nothing would make this better for them or bring her back.
Shimmer had died to protect this realm, to save her son, to help all of us. There was no coming back from that.
I turned away from Teagan, knowing he needed privacy, even in a room with no corners to hide in. Instead, I looked at Wyn, who just stared at Teagan, her gaze distant.
Wyn had changed out of her battle clothes just like the rest of us had, though no one had really taken a full shower or bath. Instead, we simply wiped off the blood, healed our bruises as much as we could, and then came to talk about what we needed to do.
Wyn’s wet hair had been braided back from her face, and she finally pulled her gaze from Teagan, looking down at the sword in her hand.
I wanted to reach out and tell her that we would fix this. That we would find her Wielding again and that everything would be okay. But that was a lie, at least right now, and I didn’t want to promise things we couldn’t deliver.
I didn’t know how to bring back her Wielding. All I had been doing so far was making sure we didn’t let the crystals fail any more than they already had.
If they didn’t fade any more, that meant that no one else would lose their Wielding.
What would happen to those who had already lost everything, though?
I didn’t know. And that’s why I couldn’t talk to Wyn. I would be here for her if she needed me, but I didn’t think she did. I didn’t know what she needed or what Teagan needed to pull himself together…I didn’t believe any of us knew what the next steps would be.
“I can hear them out there,” Easton said, pacing in front of me.
He looked at me then, his dark eyes boring into mine before he turned away. We needed to talk, had to discuss what had happened. But not right now.
The kingdom needed us. Later, we would deal with the fact that the curse was gone, and I could feel the bond pulsing between us even now.
“They want answers,” I said, and Easton gave me a sharp look. It wasn’t anger, though. Maybe it was helplessness. That’s what I felt, after all: helpless.
“I don’t have any answers to give them. They’re going to revolt because they don’t know who to trust. They’re dying, and our court is losing, and it’s hard to want to follow a king that can’t win.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” Justise snapped from his chair on the other side of the room. He had one leg elevated, and a bandage on his head. Ridley sat next to his husband, not speaking.
Ridley had done his best to heal everybody. We all knew that he wasn’t just a healer. Wasn’t a Dane.
No, he was a former Lumière member, a Water Wielder. He had been hidden in plain sight for so long that nobody remembered he hadn’t been born here.
I didn’t know what would happen to him. In the end, it wouldn’t really matter.
We kept telling each other that it wasn’t Lumière versus Obscurité anymore. It was those against The Gray, and those who didn’t want the realm to heal all the way.
Honestly, I didn’t think a single person in this room would judge Ridley for the choices he made. Actually, it almost seemed like a perfect love story.
I didn’t know what anyone else thought, though. All I knew was that Ridley had sacrificed everything for Justise. And, most likely, Justise had done the same for his husband.
I was honored to know Ridley. And the fact that we had such a strong Water Wielder on our side could only mean good things.
“What do you mean?” Easton asked, his voice a growl.
“They know the power that you Wield. And everything that you have done for them. They’re scared, yes. You go out there day after day to make sure that they can see your face. Just like the rest of us.”
I still had a hard time knowing what to say. I hadn’t been here long enough to truly feel like I could be of help. I was just a vessel, even though I didn’t know what I’d be used for in the end.
Justise continued. “Add the fact that you and Lyric are together? It will help. It would also help bring other people on the Lumière’s side, scared of what their king has become, to want to come over here.”
My gaze shot up, my eyes going wide. “Excuse me?” I didn’t care that Justise was speaking to Easton at the moment. I didn’t like where this conversation was headed.
“We all felt it, the bond between you. The curse is broken.”
Silence. Utter silence. It glided over my skin, and I held my breath.
“Yes,” Easton growled out. “However, that’s something that Lyric and I need to talk about in private later. First, we have to discuss the war.”
“Your bonding is part of that,” Justise countered.
“How?” I asked.
Easton stood near the side of my chair, but we didn’t touch. I could feel him. He was mine, and I would do anything to protect him.
I didn’t know how I felt about that yet.
“You have always been the symbol,” Rosamond answered instead. “And now, with the two of you together, you will be stronger than ever.”
“It’ll help,” Rhodes put in, and I held back a wince.
“It’ll help what?” I asked.
Rhodes just looked at me, those silver eyes narrowing on me. “You’re not Obscurité, not Lumière. Now, you are bonded to the King of Obscurité. It will help those who have always believed in the prophecy. Those who want The Gray gone, even if they don’t know that The Gray exists. Those who want to realign the crystals and help our dying factions. I’m not saying they’ll become Obscurité. They will see reason. And you being Easton’s mate and the future queen will help that.”
There was no bitterness to his tone, no anger there. I was grateful. Rhodes had never loved me, and I had never loved him. We had just thought there was a connection between us until we realized that there hadn’t been.
“I’m not the Queen of Obscurité,” I said, and Easton reached out and squeezed my shoulder. I didn’t want to hurt him. It just needed to be said.
“You’re with the king, it sort of makes sense,” Emory said. I looked over, having forgotten she was even there.
She stood by Rosamond and Rhodes, her hands clasped in front of her.
She had nowhere else to go, so she was with us.
She had helped bandage and clean wounds. She hadn’t been on the battlefield. But she had been there for the aftermath.
And that was healing. At least I hoped it was.
“No, I can’t be the queen of a kingdom when I’m also the Spirit Priestess.”
There was silence, and Easton squeezed my arm again. I reached out to grip his fingers. H
e didn’t pull away, and I breathed out a sigh of relief.
“She’s right. And we’ll deal with titles and all of that crap later. First, we need to have a realm or even a kingdom to rule.”
I didn’t know what that meant. Would he step down? Abdicate? I didn’t know. It didn’t matter then. And, he was right.
First, we needed to protect our people. And to do that, we needed a plan.
We needed rest.
“We’ll regroup after we rest. After we sleep and try to figure out what to do. We healed who we could, and next, we’ll formulate a plan.” I looked over at Teagan. “With your father, if he can.”
“He’ll want revenge, will want to tear out the throat of anyone who dared to hurt his wife. To take her from us.” Teagan swallowed hard.
It was Luken who came over with Braelynn on his shoulder. Teagan leaned into the other man, and Braelynn hopped over onto Teagan’s shoulder, nuzzling his cheek.
I didn’t say anything because there wasn’t really anything to say.
So much damage. And I didn’t know if we had anything to show for our losses.
It didn’t matter that the longing for Easton pulsed inside of me.
Didn’t matter that I was finally bonded to the one person I could love more than anything—except perhaps my purpose. I’d never been given the chance to wonder.
We had lost too much.
And I didn’t know what to do or say.
Instead, we said our goodbyes, promised we would meet in the morning, that we’d have another summit with the lords and ladies who were left, and then we would go and try to win.
I followed Easton to his room, not even bothering to go to mine.
I didn’t know what would happen. I just needed to think, and even though it was sometimes hard to think with him around, I knew that wasn’t going to be the case tonight.
Easton closed the door behind me as we walked into his room, and suddenly, I was nervous. I didn’t know why. I had slept in this room before. I had slept near him before.
I had touched him and held him. Kissed him. But now, it was different.
There wasn’t anything pulling him back. He was here. I could feel him in my heart, in my soul, with every breath I took, and in all that I was.
From Spirit and Binding Page 27
