Page 147 of The Stolen Kingdom

She could still feel his arms lifting her as a child, holding her after her father’s death. She remembered the way his eyes had softened with false regret when he forced her to kill Raan. She recalled the moment he first placed Cerberus on her lap, a gift meant to endear her.

She felt his heavy hand on her shoulder, guiding her stance, perfecting her form—molding her into a weapon. And yet, all she bore for him now was resentment. Not just for what he had done to her, but for what he had done to Maris, to the Sealians, to the people who had suffered under his rule. How could he have blinded her in such a way that even after all the things he did, she still trusted him when she was cursed?

At the end of the hall, the crumbling entryway gave way to the throne room. The floor beneath them cracked as another explosion rocked the castle grounds.

There, in the center of the room, Arwin kneeled next to a raised platform, his back to them. His whispered prayers echoed through the fractured remains of the throne room.

Valda’s steps faltered. Around the edges of the chamber, Skylian soldiers lay scattered in grotesque stillness—their throats slit, their stomachs torn open.

She stretched out an arm, stopping Maris from moving further. But it was too late. She heard her mate’s sharp intake of breath.

These men hadn’t been killed by bombs.

They had been sacrificed.

Cerberus let out a low, eerie meow, the sound curling through the room.

Valda’s breath caught in her throat.

On the platform, Arwin straightened, his murmured prayers silenced, interrupted by the very pet he had given her all those years ago.

Slowly, the man turned toward Valda, revealing who lay atop the platform.

Eris.

The goddess struggled to breathe. Her hands were neatly folded over her stomach, her white dress stained with spreading spots of crimson.

From where Valda stood, she could see the dried black blood seeping from Eris’s shoulder and mouth. Her eyes were open, lifeless, staring blankly at the ceiling of the throne room. Drapes bearing her symbol surrounded the dais.

“Look what you’ve done,” Arwin murmured, his voice raw and fractured, his head shaking in disbelief. “You made me kill my own men to keep her alive…”

Valda slowly lowered her arm as Maris stepped beside her. Cerberus’ fur bristled as she licked her snout, her sharp gaze fixed on Arwin just as he rose to his feet.

The castle suddenly trembled again.

With a frantic motion, Arwin threw himself over Eris’s body, shielding her as dust and rubble rained from the ceiling. When the shaking subsided, he raised his gaze, fury burning in his eyes.

“The Fates were right,” he hissed. “You were destined to change everything—by burning it all to the ground.”

“This is no longer Oberon Castle,” Valda spat, lifting her sword toward him. “And I refuse to let it remain her temple.” She took a step forward as her blade gleamed in the flickering torchlight. “You are not stepping outside this place ever again. You will crumble with it.”

Arwin scoffed. Without hesitation, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, gleaming golden apple.

Beside her, Maris tensed. “Valda,” she growled, her grip tightening around her trident, white-knuckled with fury. “Fucking kill him. Now.”

Arwin’s trembling hands cradled Eris’s face. His fingers gripped her chin, forcing her mouth open. Without hesitation, he placed the golden apple between her parted lips.

“Blessed be the goddess,” he whispered before slamming her mouth shut, shattering the fruit between her teeth.

A blinding purple light erupted from Eris’s mouth and eyes, flooding the throne room in an ethereal glow. Valda raised her arm, shielding herself just in time to see Arwin press his forehead to Eris’s.

The light, once wild and chaotic, funneled into the goddess’s forehead before surging into Arwin’s body. A force unlike anything Valda had ever felt blasted outward, sending her hurtling away from the platform. The very walls of the throne room shuddered, groaning beneath the weight of the power unleashed.

And then there was silence.

As the violent glow dimmed, Valda pushed herself up, her breath coming fast. She turned toward the center of the room only to find the goddess’s body gone.

Arwin knelt where she had been, his chest rising and falling in ragged breaths. His entire frame trembled, his hands clawing at the stone beneath him as though anchoring himself to reality.

---