Page 192 of The Last One
“Jadon?”
He looks at me over his shoulder.
“Are you happy?” I ask, echoing his brother’s question.
“No.” Without hesitation.
“Were you ever happy?”
He rolls that question around in his head like a pebble before skipping it across a pond. Air catches in his throat, and he looks at me again before breaking our gaze to stare out beyond our shelter. “No.”
Yes, this placeisa tomb.
Because something has died here and will never find its way out.
Jadon Wake, Prince of Vallendor, eldest son of Emperor Syrus Wake, Supreme Manifest, has abandoned me. He even took both horses with him, stranding me here as the daystar sets. He couldn’t have even left me ahorse? Does he really want me to die in this cave? Is this part of the deal he made with Elyn? Or is this a bonus?
He’s forsaken me as though we had no history together, as though nothing we did together mattered.
He comforted me when I didn’t know who I was and when I’d lost the most important person in my life. We’d lain side by side, as friends, as lovers.
How could I have believed that we were either?
I rest my head against my knees.
Why couldn’t Jadon have kept his lies tucked in at least until I reclaimed my pendant? But I was never going to reclaim my pendant—that wasn’t part of the “plan.” Maybe if we’d returned to the road after Separi brought me my armor and not spent the night at the inn.
But Gileon was already nearby with Olivia. Leaving the inn wasn’t part of the “plan.”
I don’t want to hurt you.
Whatever, Jadon Whoever-the-Fuck-You-Are.
I touch the cheek injured by that poisonous blade. My skin feels soft there. No scar. How many plants would I need to heal my heart? Honestly? I feel better with Jadon gone. I no longer have to hold my breath. I no longer have to wonder what he thinks or how he feels. I no longer have to slow down. Desire will no longer cloud my judgment. As natural as it is, and as good as it feels, touching and being touched won’t be considerations in what I should or should not do.
What was I even thinking, falling for a mortal? I’m a goddess. I’m sure I’ve had better men. Stronger men. Men who’d last eternally, in every way. Jadon Wake is the dirt beneath my feet, and frankly, I’m embarrassed. Embarrassed that I’ve been fooled. Embarrassed that everyone was in on the joke except me. Embarrassed that I wanted to be caressed by someone actively scheming against me. Embarrassed that I fell for a phantom, a farce, a great pretender.
All of it reminded me of my destiny and forced me to remember that I’m nothing more than a killer. That’s what Jadon said. As the eldest son of the emperor, his destiny includes conquering all of Vallendor in the name of his father.
Yet Elyn was the one who claimed thatIwould be the destruction of the realm? How can that be when the Wakes have had a hand in every destruction on her behalf—Maford and Caburh and wherever they’re headed now. Wake, his son Gileon, and his son who’d posed as a simple blacksmith but swung his sword like a…
God.
Hmm.
What if I’ve been wrong all this time? What if Elyn isn’t the One?
What if the One has been closer to me than I thought?
What if the One has been right here beside me all this time?
59
It’s morning again, and the campfire at the entry has burned down to ash and ember. I kick dirt over it to completely snuff the flames. My head is filled with light and energy, excited to start my day. Though I’ve eaten no food or enjoyed true rest, I feel…together. Today, I will move closer to my goal. I’ve determined what I’m meant to do.Destroy. I’ve determined who I’mmeantto destroy.Jadon Wake.
The more I thought about it through the night, the more Jadon being the One made sense.
Sybel gave me all that I needed to know.
