Page 138 of Ecliptic

“It’s too late,” Maddock replied weakly, and as soon as a drop of his blood landed within the core of Indrasyl, veins of Light spread throughout the ground. “Indrasyl has accepted me, Keira. She has accepted my sacrifice.”

“No,” I screamed to Indrasyl, pressing my hands harder to Maddock’s wound. “You have the wrong person. It’s supposed to be me!”

I’d told Maddock in confidence what I meant to do, never believing he would betray me to do it himself. He let everyone believe he’d deserted our army to keep me from guessing his plan. And I believed it so easily.

I was sobbing, pushing my Light into him to heal him. I regretted every horrible thought I ever had about him.

“I’m going to heal you and take your place,” I said in a determined daze.

“Do not break this connection, Keira,” he demanded weakly. “Indrasyl might not accept me again. And if you try, she might deny you. It is done.”

“You did this for nothing. You don’t have enough power. You only stole a small amount of my Light. It’s nowhere near what is needed. Your death will have been for nothing,” I cried, myhands slathered in red. “I’ll still have to do this, and you could have . . . could have lived.”

I hated him. Hated him more than when he’d violated my mind because now he had violated my trust.

His voice faded by the second. “You’ll have to help me, Keira. Use me; use my body as a conduit. Do what needs to be done.”

Inside the trunk of the tree, the battle was no more than white noise, but I knew the longer I prolonged Maddock’s death, the more people would die, including Rowen.

“I’ll hate you into the next life,” I said, releasing my hands from his gaping wound and letting his blood fall.

“I know,” he murmured. “Be with Rowen. Be happy.”

I extended myself beyond, reaching the tendrils of my astral light toward Maddock. Our connection was already in place, formed through the soul flame bond he had stolen. Finding the threads of his existence was simple, and I latched onto each one, our bodies fully connected through the Alcreon Light that surged between us.

“Do it,” he whispered against my cheek. We both knew he was right. He was dying.

With an anguished scream, I pushed all of Maddock’s blood and my Light through him. It soaked into the tree whose roots were so long and ancient that they covered the entire earth. It would be a reset as the vines and roots healed the earth from the inside out.

Maddock arched back as I pushed the light of the heavens inside of him, using my astral projection powers as a gateway to heal Luneth. Indrasyl greedily accepted the blood I pushed into her through Maddock. I was bleeding him dry, and she was hungrily accepting his offer.

Maddock struggled to keep his eyes open as I fed his life force into the tree along with the power of the Alcreon Light.

“Come closer, Keira,” he whispered, and I did as he said. How could I refuse him this last wish?

His lips softly touched my cheek. “I just wanted to taste you one time.” His hands wrapped around me as he licked, kissed, and nuzzled his way down to my mouth. He hesitated as if waiting for me to push him away, but I didn’t. Suddenly, he pressed his cold lips to mine, startling me. A little strength returned to him as he took my mouth, slowly exploring my lips as if it were the last thing he’d ever do. And it was.

When I first saw him in the hospital, unconscious and beautiful, he looked like a prince in need of a kiss to wake, only now, it was a kiss to sink into silence forever.

“It’s better than I imagined,” he murmured against my lips, then kissed me harder.

I felt a push through our bodies; something warm, golden, and painfully missed filled me as I kissed him back. Where I was giving him everything, he found the one channel to return something to me—my soul flame bond with Rowen.

I sobbed into his mouth as he returned what he had so violently stolen. The small missing piece clicked back into place, and a broken yet healed cry charged up my throat.

My bond returned to me fully, and I realized I was kissing Maddock. Not the man from the crevice, or the thief, or the bond stealer. Just Maddock.

He dove his tongue between my lips, exploring my mouth as he took and tasted what he wanted. My fingers threaded through his hair as I held him to my mouth.

“Ple-please, forgive me,” he said against my lips then slumped in my arms.

Before I could say yes, yes that I forgive him a million stars over, his eyes closed forever. He would never get to hear that I forgave him. “Yes,” I screamed, hoping some part of him was stillclose enough to hear me. I wanted to tell him there was nothing left to forgive.

Maddock slumped to the ground in my hold just as the tree around us illuminated in a blinding white light. The tree shook from deep within the earth, accepting the blood that carried the Alcreon Light, spreading and feeding it to the world.

Tears poured from my eyes. I couldn’t stop them. The joy of Indrasyl coming back to life while Maddock lay lifeless in my arms was hard to reconcile—that one had to die for the other to live.

A comforting shadow appeared in my periphery, and I lifted my head to see Rowen joining us in the tree. He was covered in even more blood and sweat.

---