by Skye Horn
And yet, she denied nothing.
His heart sank.
You’ve been lied to.
His entire world was crashing down around him.
“I’m going to give you what you want,” the Goddess finally said, kneeling down in front of Kieran with a gaze colder than ice. “I’m going to break your soul bond.”
Before Kieran could react, the Goddess placed her hand against his chest. The most agonizing pain Kieran had ever experienced shot through him, and he crumbled to the ground with a piercing cry.
Chapter 32
Thea was halfway down the aisle when she started screaming. A pain unlike anything she’d ever felt before coursed through her veins, threatening to burn her alive from the inside. She collapsed to the floor, just as she had the night Declan had kissed her, and blue flames ignited around her, engulfing the train of her wedding dress.
No! Her mouth opened to cry out as the searing pain penetrated her skull. Make it stop, she wanted to beg.
Thea’s eyes flew open wide as she saw the image of the Goddess flash before her face. Ainé’s wicked smile scorched through her, rifling through every thought in her mind no matter how hard Thea fought against it. Screams echoed through the banquet hall as Fae and human guests fled from the magic surrounding her. Thea could sense the fear that radiated off them as they fled as far from her as they could get, but she’d lost all control. A gust of wind erupted through the hall, knocking many of the guests from their feet. The ground shook beneath Thea’s fallen body and flames burnt through the floorboards wildly. Her entire body felt as if it were being ripped to pieces, but all she could do was scream as the world around her erupted into chaos.
“Kieran,” Thea choked out, shaking the image of Ainé from her head and trying to find Haven in the maelstrom of guests.
“Thea!” she heard her familiar voice. Haven stood a few yards away, combating flame with flame as she tried to get to Thea. Declan was beside her, fighting the flames with his own magic. Thea wondered where he’d conjured the water from, but there was no time to consider. Dark spots clouded her vision as she tried to focus on her companions, but another wave of pain ripped at her insides, pulling her into a fetal position.
“Kieran…” Thea whimpered, clutching at her stomach as if she could physically pull the pain away. It was as if her insides were being shredded with razor blades.
She wanted to die.
She needed to die and escape this aguish.
“Do you think he’s—” she heard Declan start to say.
“Shut up!” Haven growled, cutting him off.
“She’s so pale,” Declan continued, but Thea didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. She closed her eyes, and it took every bit of her concentration to keep any semblance of control over the magic threatening to overwhelm her.
She couldn’t breathe.
She couldn’t think.
All she could do was writhe on the ground as the agony tore through her in waves. Each wave felt like it would be the end of her, as if her life would just cease at any moment. She’d never felt such a pain before and knew it must be worse than death.
“She’s coming,” Thea sobbed. “He’s dead. He promised he’d come back…”
Thea wasn’t sure how she knew, but she could feel it. Her connection with Kieran had been ripped from her the minute she saw Ainé’s face. This was what it felt like to have your soulmate die. This was why no one survived.
Run—Thea wanted to scream at them, but Haven and Declan were looking past her now. She wanted to turn and follow their gaze, but her entire body felt useless.
She couldn’t move.
She didn’t want to move.
She wanted to die, because her soulmate was dead. The bond was gone and she couldn’t survive that.
“Kieran...” Declan breathed, but Thea didn’t understand. Her eyes burned as she sobbed against Haven, cradled tight in her friend’s arms as both of their flames finally diffused. She longed to take the dagger from its spot within her corset and plunge it into her own heart, but something about the look on Declan’s face made her pause.
“That’s impossible,” Haven breathed, looking down at Thea and then up at whatever Declan had seen.
Thea tried to turn, but her wings were caught beneath her and her muscles would not cooperate.
“Sorry to break up the party.”
There was a deep chuckle and Thea felt her heart constrict as she forced herself to look at the source of the voice.
“Kieran…?” Thea breathed out, seeing the shape that had just entered the hallway. Most of the guests had fled now, but Thea’s Guard was still there, and so was the High Council.
None of that mattered, though, because Kieran stood in front of her, smiling and very alive.
“Hello, Thea.”
“How…? I felt…” Thea tried to crawl toward him, but Haven put her arm out to stop her. “You were dead.”
The last word came out as a sob, but Thea didn’t care—Kieran was alive. He was standing right in front of her. Even from the distance, she could see the flush of his cheeks and the depths of his green eyes. She could imagine his callused fingertips and velvet feathers.
Whatever pain she’d just felt, it wasn’t because he was dead, and that was all that mattered. That was all she could comprehend at this moment.
“Not dead,” came another, more melodic voice.
Thea’s attention shifted to the space behind Kieran, shadowed by his wings. A low growl formed in her chest and she lunged to her feet. She’d regained some of the strength in her legs at the sight of Kieran, but her mind was still swirling over what she’d just felt. If he wasn’t dead, then why couldn’t she sense him? Why did her entire body feel as if it’d been torn to pieces?
This time, Haven had to actually grab her by the waist and pull her back.
“Let me go!” Thea screamed, but Haven only held on tighter, digging her fingers painfully into Thea’s hips.
“Now, now. Is that any way to treat your Goddess?” Ainé asked, stepping out from behind Kieran, who immediately lowered himself to one knee.
Thea bristled as Ainé ran a finger under Kieran’s chin, offering him an affectionate smile.
“What did you do to him?” she demanded, but the Goddess only looked past her to her High Council. The five males in her council had moved as a group toward Thea during her magical meltdown, but now stood frozen as they stared at Ainé. Thankfully, Iris had moved away from the other council members as soon as the screaming began. She now stood beside Ethel on the opposite side of the aisle.
“It can’t be…” Lord Walshe said, but the group of councilmen immediately fell to their knees, heads lowered as the Goddess approached. Thea looked toward Iris, panic filling her with every passing moment.
What had the Goddess done to Kieran? She couldn’t feel him any longer, but he looked fine. He definitely wasn’t dead. So… what was he? And why was he bowing before the Goddess when it was clear Ainé had lied to them all?
Thea’s head was spinning with confusion, but Haven pulled her to her feet, keeping herself positioned between Thea and the Goddess, whom she’d apparently deemed the biggest threat in the room. Iris tugged Ethel as discreetly as possible, pulling her toward the only exit in the room, just as Thea’s Guard encircled her, each of their hands on the hilts of their swords.
“Are you all so foolish?” the Goddess asked, eyeing the guards who watched her and then turning her gaze on Thea. “My sister has gotten her claws into you, I see.”
Thea didn’t respond to that. Instead, she squared her shoulders, meeting the Goddess’ gaze as her High Council watched in horror. “What did you do to Kieran?”
“You should be thanking me,” Ainé practically spat. Thea nearly backed down beneath the venom of her gaze. This was not a side of the Goddess she’d ever seen before. Gone was the caring woman who’d coached her through magic. What stood in front of her was a deity… a deity with no patience left for Thea.
“Tell me what you did!” Thea demanded, tears welling in her eyes as she glared at the Goddess she’d once trusted. She’d been tricked—again. How could this be happening? How could she have let it happen?
“She fixed me.” It was Kieran who answered, moving to stand beside Ainé with a mask of complete seriousness.
“Fixed you?” Declan asked, speaking for the first time. Kieran turned his attention to him with a kind smile that twisted Thea’s heart. How could he show kindness toward Declan, but not her?
“I’ve taken away the soul bond, and in turn, lifted his curse,” Ainé said matter-of-factly, and Thea swore the Goddess had smirked at her.
Impossible, Thea tried to rationalize. Declan said it’s impossible to break a soul bond.
But how could she deny it? She’d felt the connection break. It was gone, and a moment ago, she’d wanted to die because of the agony that loss caused her. Now, staring at Kieran’s blank expression toward her, she didn’t know if she could survive not having the bond.
Haven’s hand tightened around Thea’s forearm as she started to lunge again, but this time, Ainé shook her head, moving closer. “Now… what am I going to do with you?”
“What do you mean?” Lord Thompson gasped, seeming to find his voice as he lifted his eyes to meet the Goddess’. All of the council members remained kneeling on the ground.
Thea could see the tension in each of her Guard’s backs but none of them flinched at the proximity of the Goddess. Mica had taken Iris’ place beside Ethel a few yards away, unable to reach the exit without drawing too much attention, while Iris had moved to take up the spot on the other side of Thea. This created a clear circle of protection around her, but did nothing for the vulnerability she felt looking at Kieran.
Say something… she thought, but he remained the ever-faithful soldier by Ainé’s side.
“Come back to me…” Thea begged, her voice cracking with the ache she felt to her core. Kieran didn’t even flinch, though, and her heart began to shatter all over again. She’d been wrong to think Kieran was a stranger before—this man was the real stranger.
“He’s no longer tied to you, Thea. This is the real Kieran—loyal to his Goddess.”
Tears streamed down Thea’s cheeks as Kieran stared at her with blank eyes. It was as if every part of him that she’d fallen in love with had been ripped away, and now, all she saw was an empty shell.
“In fact, I think it’s time we test that loyalty right now.” Ainé held out her hand to Kieran and motioned him forward. “Come here.”
To Thea’s horror, Kieran moved to Ainé’s side without hesitation, looking more curious than concerned.
“Thea, Queen of Ivandor, I find you guilty of treason—” the Goddess started to say.
“WHAT?” Lord Thompson shot up from his kneeling position, eyes bulging. “That’s absurd!”
A flash of annoyance crossed Ainé’s face and she waved her hand toward Thea’s High Council member. A moment later his head snapped to the side with a loud crack and he crumbled to the ground as Thea screamed.
“No!” She tore herself free of Haven’s grip, and everything in the room seemed to slow as she ran for Lord Thompson’s body, kneeling beside him with a choked sob. “No…”
But he was dead.
“Why—” Declan gasped and Thea was pleased to see Haven snatch him by the arm before he could move toward her. The leader of her Guard positioned herself between Declan and the Goddess, ready for a fight, but all Thea could think about was the ease with which Ainé had just taken Lord Thompson’s life. It had been like stepping on an ant. One minute he was there, the next—gone.
Thea twisted her fingers into Lord Thompson’s tunic, letting her tears fall against his lifeless body. With one hand, she reached up to shut his eyelids before turning to face the Goddess once more. Angry shadows flickered from Thea’s fingertips as the darkness sprouted from within her.
“As I was saying,” Ainé continued as if she hadn’t just murdered someone in cold blood. No one else dared to move. “As you can see by your queen’s use of dark magic, she is just like her father.”
Ainé was smirking now, staring at Thea with blazing fury. “And therefore, I sentence her to death. Kieran, you will kill her to prove your loyalty.”
Thea rose from the ground, stepping over Lord Thompson’s body with as much confidence as she could muster, but she could not force herself to look at Kieran.
“He won’t hurt me,” she said, but her voice faltered.
Was that even true? Thea’s feelings hadn’t disappeared, but the soul bond had. And whatever magic Ainé was using to influence Kieran was obviously affecting his judgment if he hadn’t even flinched seeing an innocent man murdered. Thea’s knees shook as she tried to steady herself, but every thought and emotion was laced in fury. Lord Thompson had been kind to her, even if they had not always seen eye to eye. Even in his final moment, he’d been on her side.
But he was dead because of her. Just like Marcus and just like her mother. When would the death end?
“My queen,” Kieran said, and he was not speaking to Thea. The sound of his voice brought an agonizing ache to her chest. “If I kill her, will it not kill you too?”
Thea had been wondering the same thing. When they’d freed Morrigan, Thea’s life had been tied to the Goddess’. Wouldn’t it be the same now that they had freed Ainé?
“I broke that connection when I broke your soul bond,” Ainé replied, smiling between Thea and Kieran as if she were the most brilliant being in the universe. “Killing Thea will hurt neither me nor my sister.”
“What?” Declan looked as confused as Thea felt. How could the soul bond have anything to do with the bond she’d had with Morrigan?
“Think of it like putting too much magic in one place,” Ainé said, looking bored. “Your body could only handle so much, so it expelled the rest.”
Fear gripped Thea by the throat then as Kieran smiled.
He’s going to kill me, she thought, and although she’d thought she was going to die before, this felt different somehow. She couldn’t fight for her life, not against Kieran—and she wouldn’t beg. So what choice did that leave her? And how could she leave him as this soulless creature? Her Kieran would have rather died.
“Kill her,” Ainé commanded, and without hesitation, Kieran unsheathed his sword and lunged for her.
Instinct told her to side-step his attack. She’d fought him enough times to accomplish a simple dodge, but he also knew her too well. He’d know exactly what she was going to do before she managed to do it. The dagger in her corset wouldn’t stand a chance against Kieran’s sword, even if she could manage to get it out in time, and Haven was too far away to interfere. As all of these thoughts raced through her mind, Thea knew that she would die. In fact, the fight was already lost.
At least until a small body moved like lightning between her and Kieran’s sword just as it swiped through the air.
And with the sickening sound of steel on flesh echoing through Thea’s ears, Ethel fell to the ground in a pool of her own blood.
Everything happened at once then. Haven shot toward Kieran with her own sword drawn; Jami and Derek bordered Haven; and Thea collapsed beside Ethel’s motionless body. The clash of swords surrounded Thea. She knew in her gut that she needed to get up and fight alongside them, but all she could do was stare at the broken body—Ethel’s body—on the floor.
Thea pulled Ethel into her arms, sending a pulse of magic out to heal her, but nothing happened. Her tiny body only trembled before going completely still once more.
“Wake up!” Thea begged, pressing her hands to the gaping wound in Ethel’s abdomen. Ethel did not stir, though, and blood soaked into Thea’s ruined wedding dress, pooling out beneath her on the ground. Thea could feel the darkness swelling within her and see the black magic coursing through her veins, crawling toward her heart. Soon there would be no coming back.
“Please wake up…” she sobbed, bu
rying her face into the dark curls atop Ethel’s head.
She pressed her ear to Ethel’s chest, listening closely for a heartbeat that she knew would not be there. She twisted her hands into the dress her friend had been so eager to wear, cursing as the blood soaked the light blue lace. The council remained staring at Thea with horrified eyes as she cradled Ethel’s body, rocking slowly, but Ainé was distracted momentarily by the fight between Kieran and Haven.
“Run,” Thea commanded her council, motioning them toward the door while they had the chance to flee. Not a single one of them hesitated, eyeing the body of their fellow councilman as they went.
“Oh Goddess, no…” Mica kneeled beside Thea, face pale with horror. She hadn’t seen him approach, but she wished she could shield him from the pain she felt. Iris soon collapsed opposite them, brushing the hair away from Ethel’s face slowly as blood began to drip from her nose and ears. Thea wretched. If it weren’t for the blood still pouring out around them, she could have convinced herself that Ethel was only asleep, but that was not the case.
Ethel was dead.
Lord Thompson was dead.
Her mother was dead.
Marcus was dead.
Each one of those deaths was Thea’s fault, but not hers alone—Ainé’s too.
“Take her,” Thea said, shifting Ethel’s lifeless body into Iris’s arms as gently as possible. She leaned down to kiss Ethel’s forehead, wiping away her own tears. “I love you, Ethel. I’m so sorry I failed.”
Thea pulled herself to her feet, blood dripping from her fingers, but she didn’t have time to comfort Mica or to try to think of the right words to say to Iris. It was Ainé’s fault so many people were dead, and it was Ainé’s fault that Kieran could no longer even grieve the death of his own family. Ethel had been a little sister to him, but he hadn’t even blinked as he killed her. Thea’s fury went beyond anything she’d ever imagined. The darkness overshadowed her vision and the magic within her was unquenchable. The clash of swords drew her forward, away from her family and into the fight as she prayed—but not to Ainé.
