Page 131 of Of Vows and War: Special Edition
“Now you can watch him die and know it is all your fault,” Mia said, practically steaming from the ears. Her hand reached out, latching onto Malcolm’s sleeve and dragging him out of the room. The moment they left, Zaib was on Dante, trying to will her magic to heal him through the four brand new blockers and the poison they had force-fed her. But even when the silver sparkled to life and surrounded him, she knew it was too late.
Dante’s eyes opened, a small smile stretching his split lips and showing his bloody teeth. Even toeing death, he was perfection incarnate.
“I love you,” Zaib breathed out through her sobs. She held onto him, crying so hard her body shook. He reached up, his hand sliding across her cheek.
“I love you,” he mumbled. “And I loveyou, my little one. My sweet son.” His hand fell to her stomach, but instead of the glassy gray eyes that had stared into her nearly black ones, she watched a glazed and vacant gaze take over. And then the Tomorrow spoke. “Your magic is a force, a strength previously unheard of and ever reaching. As you find the light and dark, you shall see they will guide you if you dare heed their call. When you do, a prince you will lose, a prince you will gain, and a king you will hold. And when the moon paints the sky red, retribution will light fire to the realms. As promised by the true queen who defied her false destiny, when two worlds collide and history repeats, from it will come the salvation. From it, love will defeat vengeance. But if you fear what you do not know or do not understand, you might find yourself dead before you have even lived. And so the world will fall not far behind. No matter the choice you make, your reign will be the end.”
At the close of the prophecy, Dante Daniox died in the arms of his love.
***
Stella realized her mistake after she had listened in on the prophecy of the Tomorrow. Zaib Ayad had not been the one the Oracle had foreseen. No, it had been her daughter. Yes, the pair had been wrong in thinking they would birth a son. The high demon of Sun and Moon knew it even before Zaib’s screams echoed off the dungeon walls, no one around to help her as labor bore down on her. Knew it before the youngling came out completely silent, looking almost dead in her stillness.
The demon princess had grabbed onto her daughter, cryingtears of joy and terror. Just as Stella had been prepared to open the heavy wooden door and free the pair, the sound of boots meeting stone came from her back, and she was forced to hide within the shadows.
Malcolm Ayad approached the door slowly, tears streaming down his cheeks. Before he opened the door, he quickly wiped them away and took a few deep breaths. Then he went inside. Stella listened as Zaib screamed at her brother to leave. As she asked him if he was proud. Begged to know if he was finally satisfied with his life. Malcolm had remained silent, listening as his sister hurled insults his way.
Stella wished she could rip the waste of space to shreds. She went to the door again, watching the scene unfold through the small bars.
When Zaib finally calmed down, her daughter sleeping through it all, Malcolm cleared his throat and spoke. “They will continue to torture and use you, and they will take the youngling. Use him against you.”
“Her,” Zaib hissed, squeezing the tiny form tighter.
“Her, sorry. They will use her against you. The best thing for you now is death.” And then Malcolm revealed a dagger, shining and sharp in the nearby light of the fire. Zaib cried out, but did not attempt to fight as her brother closed the distance between them. “I will make it quick.”
“Name her Asher!” Zaib blurted, looking up into her brother’s dark and soulless eyes. A sob slipped past her lips when he did not respond, her bravery fading just as her life would. “Name her Asher, please. Let her know that she is a blessing. That she was her mother and father’sgreatestblessing.”
Malcolm said nothing as he slid the dagger across his sister’s throat. For the first time, the youngling began to wail. The demon prince spared her no glance, pushing himself to standand then quickly leaving. When his footsteps had faded, Stella wrenched the door open and ran into the room.
The siphon spell from the drawn runes were painful, sucking the magic within her out, but Stella did not care. Did not have time to do anything but get to the dying female. She offered a quick apology, a hasty explanation following its wake. But Zaib did nothing but nod, her eyes falling to her screaming daughter as the seed attempted to heal her mortal body.
“My little blessing. My sweet Asher,” Zaib gurgled out as Stella took the seed of Mind and Soul. The princess’s body slumped, dead now in truth.
Stella faced the crying little one—Asher—and, as she held the seed near the youngling’s chest, she vowed that she would find a better ending for this one if she somehow survived.
Epilogue
Off the shores of a once stunning sanctuary bordered by a dark forest, a fallen empress stared out across the sea. Over the course of her long—too long—life, she had seen many things, hurt many beings, and lost far more than she thought was fair. But, as the holder of Sun and Moon felt the pain of her descendant coat the air, she wondered if she had ever felt as Asher did. As hopeless and scared and doomed as her.
Twirling her fingers, she looked up at the sky, watching clouds converge as they darkened. Soon, trickles of rain started to fall, a great boom following a flash of lightning. The storm matched Stella’s overwhelming feelings. Ones she once thought she might never possess. It was odd for a high demon toexperience such strong emotions. To exist not in purgatory, but in life.
She silently basked in the idea of death instead. Of finally ceasing to exist. Soon. But first, she knew it was finally time to go to Asher. To meet her and tell her the truth. Very little of that time was left now. Padon would have felt the seed awaken fully just as she had.
So the high demon stood, letting sand slip between her fingers and breathing in the sea air.
Things had gotten murky. She had messed up a lot along the way. In fact, she thought of one of her many failures then. The male with black curls and dark skin, his mind as curious as her late husband’s had been. She had accidentally stumbled upon him, listening as he talked with excitement about a new salve he was inventing.
His hand had reached up to twirl a small chunk of amethyst around his neck, and Stella had made a hasty decision. She wanted him for Asher. The female had already lost so much, she deserved joy and love. Above all else, she could surely use the brightness of a curious mind in her life.
Throughout the next week, she would hide things in his room at their Academy that made him think of the princess. She would make him late so that he would see The Manipulator alone—as the young female often was. She would find his favorite scent and then ensure Asher, too, favored vanilla. She plotted and planned, slowly but surely making him grow obsessed with the new holder of Mind and Soul. And then, just to make sure the male would be brave enough to fight his terror and talk to Asher, Stella dropped a piece of parchment just outside of his door. One full of her writing—of supposed questions about Asher’smagic.
Later, when Stella witnessed Asher’s grief, she would learn that her place was in the background.
Now, as she dusted off her legs and thought of her long life, Stella was unsure if she was ready to be a part of Asher’s story. Not quite confident in her ability to be of use. More than that, Stella was simply tired.
Long ago, when she had lived beneath a teal sun and beside a golden beacon of love, she would have never guessed where she would end up. But now, well it all felt right. And awful beyond comprehension. Asher would still lose more. That was inevitable. Stella just hoped the female would at least keep her life.
As Stella turned around to head back to the forest, she spared a final glance at the fading red cloud. Then she began her slow walk to her cottage.
