Page 64 of Steeling Light
She is the only light in my world, and I will protect her at any cost. The Thrones. Cole. Her brother. Even my life means nothing compared to protecting her. It’s not because I’m so self-sacrificing. No, this is the one thing I am most selfish about. I cannot live in this world if she is not here, but I think maybe she could survive my death.
“You will become Cole’s Wyrdling…”
Chapter 36
I look back on that day and wonder what went through Rhion’s mind. We’ve talked since then, but I can’t ever get a straight answer from him. It’s strange. We were closer to allies on the day he killed me than we have been since. Sadly, that’s the cost of war.
~Cole Cyrus, personal journals
Rhion
My father allowed me to retrieve my sword, stowing it inside me as I do so often, just as he does. Now, I’m cowering with a steel collar around my neck. It means nothing to me. Long, dark-brown hair flows in the wind as my father drags me between alleyways, hoping Cole will see us.
My father has always feared Cole Cyrus. Deep down, I know this is the truth. There is something about my rival Prince that stirs him to rage. Regardless of who wears the Painted Crown, Cole is the man my father has always worried most about.
Which is why he isn’t trying to fight him. I am the bait, and knowing both my father and Cole, the ruse will work. It’s with a heavy heart that I play my part. I don’t like Cole Cyrus. He has been my enemy and rival throughout my entire life. Every day, I was compared to him. He was Draenyth’s golden prince, and I was not.
That’s when I see him out of the corner of my eye. My father catches sight of him flying down the streets as well, and he pulls me into an alleyway. “Scream and run,” he commands, and I feel the heat beginning in my spine again.
This time, I don’t hesitate for long, and I burst from the alleyway with a scream. It feels so wrong to trick Cole, but I don’t have another way to keep Ainslee from death. My father nearly killed me without using either of his relics, both of which will reduce my chances to nothing. And with the Steel Gauntlet, Cole can’t win a fight against him either.
My father races out of the alley and catches me. His arm wraps around my throat, and he presses a sharp, bony finger to my neck. He digs it in, and a thin rivulet of blood runs down my neck. The pain is nothing compared to the knowledge of what I’m doing.
I struggle in my father’s grasp a bit as he digs his finger in a little deeper. “Stop. Let her go,” Cole says, his voice becoming a snarl.
“You’re here to kill me, Prince Cole. Let’s not forget where we all stand. Your beautiful bride is here to kill me. The ten thousand humans outside my gates are here to kill me. A hundred shadow walkers? Your father? Everyone outside of my own House wants to kill me, so let’s not pretend like this is all going to work out without anyone dying.”
Cole stares at us for a few moments silently, and then he offers, “I’ll trade her for me.”
I can feel my father’s body tremble at the words. This is what he’d hoped for. Everyone knows Cole is desperately in love with Maeve. He’d do anything for her. He’d even die for her.
I understand the feeling far too well. I just hate that saving Ainslee means letting Cole Cyrus die. My wrist begins to burn, and I glance at the silver ring that cannot be removed from it, no matter how I shift my body. It glows bright white, and I realize that letting Cole die will hurt Ainslee.
My decision is going to cause her pain. I’m breaking my oath, but what else can I do?
“I’m not taking off her collar,” my father says.
Cole smiles and says, “I don’t expect you to.” It feels as if the world suddenly became silent. The sounds of battle are so distant that they feel more like echoes of the past than the actual sounds of soldiers fighting and dying. The wind has died as if it’s mourning the fall of the man I strove to beat for so many years.
I do not like Cole Cyrus, but he is a man who should die an honorable death on the battlefield. Not this. Not in a trap.
My mind whirs, trying to figure out how to save Ainslee and keep Cole from dying, but I can’t find a single path. The moments tick by too quickly for me to find an answer.
“Done,” my father says and moves as fast as I’ve ever seen. He pushes me away from him and reaches for Cole’s arm. Cole doesn’t fight him, thinking that I’m his powerless Wyrdling. As we pass, he says, “Run. Run to the gate. Scream for help in your mind. Sia will hear you. I’ll always be yours. There is no till death do us part for a soul bond.”
I stare at him in shock. He fully bonded himself to Maeve. His soul is tied to her permanently, and he’s about to die. My heart falls even further, and the oathmark burns so bright that I can’t ignore it any longer.
And then Cole immolates in a way that I have never witnessed.
He explodes in flame so bright it burns white. My eyes ache as I stare at the man I’ve known my entire life. That smile on his lips is so damned typical of him. His flesh peels away as it’s charred by his own power. Still, he burns on.
My father tries to pull away, but Cole hangs on. He might have been able to get away had he fought. He might even have been able to kill my father, but there’s no way he could know for sure. Cole’s only trying to givehis wifea chance to escape. My father screams in pain, and Cole continues to immolate.
I don’t think that anyone, even Casimir, has ever burned so brightly, but my father’s razor-sharp finger snakes around to his breast, and with a single stab, Cole’s flame dies.
My heart had been heavy when I’d thought about Cole dying, but the sight of it is so much worse. Even the burn of the oathmark’s flames climbing my arm doesn’t compare to the reality before me.
Cole Cyrus is dead. My rival. The only other Prince. The man who fought against impossible odds because it was right. He defied his father when I couldn’t. He gave his life and death to save this world and his friends. He was the greatest man I have ever known, even if he was an ass.
