Page 116 of Oath of War
His body burned like a torch, but Ani didn’t stop. The more blood she lost, the more the fire intensified, and I stared in utter shock at how she destroyed Cahyon’s magic, leaving nothing but a burning effigy of the immortal lich.
The ash thinned, and the storm subsided, ice and snow falling lifelessly to the ground. Freed from the magic that had held usall in place, I moved with desperate speed, but once again, I was too late.
My Nivale crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath.
I reached her just as she looked up at me, her tear-streaked face illuminated by the dying embers of her power. Blood foamed at her lips as she mouthed, ‘I love you.’
‘Annika! No ... gods, no! Dark Mother, save her!’ Alaric’s voice broke as he rushed to her side.
Cahyon’s burning husk writhed in Ani’s flames as I kicked him far away. ‘I bet you regret your immortality now,’ I growled before turning back to Alaric, who was cradling my Nivale against his chest. His hands trembled as he pulled the dagger from her back. I dropped to my knees beside her, laying my hand on his as his green, healing magic enveloped them both.
‘Orm, I need to focus ... I need to ... Hrae! She’s gone so far ...’ he whispered frantically, and I pulled away, barely breathing, desperate not to disturb the spell he was casting.
Fight my love, fight for me, fight for us.
I repeated it like a mantra, my world narrowing to those three words and her face where the ash mixed with the tears flowing down her cheeks.
Movement behind me caught me off guard and I twisted just in time to intercept Rowena, her dagger aimed for my throat. The blade grazed my shoulder, but I caught her wrist and twisted it until it snapped. I’d forgotten about Ari’s sister, but there she stood, all sanity gone from her pale blue eyes. With a snarling curse, I squeezed harder. I wanted to punish her, to crush the hand that wielded the knife, but Annika came first.
As I prepared to send Rowena after her burning master, she screamed, and my vision blurred. Thoughts not my own invaded my mind, insidious whispers telling me that my mate was dead and urging me to join her beyond the Veil.
My consciousness was thrust from my body, and I watched in disbelief as my hand grabbed her dagger, turning the blade towards my heart. I knew it was wrong, but the compulsion was too hard to resist.
The tip of the blade passed through my armour like butter, scoring my flesh and drawing blood. With a snap, everything stopped, and Rowena sank to her knees, whimpering in pain. A net, woven from smoke, had wrapped around her body, its coils tightening with each breath she took, slowly suffocating her.
Valaram’s rattling laugh echoed in the courtyard. I glanced at the fae, shocked at his appearance. He held his bloody throat, the same green healing energy pulsing around his hand, while the other grasped the smoky tendril wrapped around Rowena. I was in awe; I had never heard of a mage who could wield two different kinds of magic simultaneously.
‘Lara’mei, I loved you last, but I’ll follow you first,’ he wheezed, more blood seeping between his fingers.
I frowned, my gaze locking on Alaric, whose eyes swirled with crimson. He whispered an invocation, his hands pressing against Ani’s chest, but the desperation in his voice revealed his thoughts.
‘I can’t ... I can’t heal her,’ he muttered, his voice thick with grief. ‘The death spell that bastard used—it’s unlike anything I’ve seen before. It’s limitless. The wound ... Her spirit isn’t drifting behind the Veil, it’s hurtling through the Void like a fallen star. I can’t stop her or even call her back ... I tried to close the Veil, but ... The one time I truly need my necromancy, and I’m failing.’
With a quick, urgent motion, I pulled Ani from his embrace. The gaping wound in her chest had vanished under Alaric’s healing touch, but her chest remained still, an ominous silence hanging in the air. I pressed my lips to hers, forcing air intoher lungs in the hope that she would respond, that maybe, just maybe, she needed a breath of life to bring her back.
‘Breath for me, Nivale. Please, my beloved. I’m lost without you,’ I whispered desperately, trying to breathe for her, but my efforts were in vain.
Above us, the two titans collided, their roars shaking the heavens. Vahin’s cry split the sky, and lightning rained down, striking the palace walls with enough force to turn rock to ash.
The world trembled as the storm tore the air apart, lightning and thunder clashing in a vicious dance. The dying convulsions of the Zmij sent shockwaves through the earth, and fire and molten rock surrounded us. The very skies seemed to scream in agony.
I cradled Annika’s lifeless form, wrapping my cloak around her, as if the simple act of protecting her could somehow tether her to this world.
‘I will never let you go,’ I told her. ‘How could I? You have my heart, my soul. I would give you my life if I could ... Annika, you are the strongest of us all. You can’t just fucking die!’ I shook her body, praying she would just open her eyes and scold me for waking her too abruptly. I would happily endure her harsh words if I could only hear her voice again.
Ari rose to his feet, his gaze locked on Cahyon, whose soul clung desperately to his charred body—an impotent spirit in a broken vessel, suspended between life and death.
‘You took her from me.’
Alaric’s voice was a low growl, thick with anger. ‘I wanted to kill you ... just kill you. But now, I’ll make you suffer for eternity.’ His eyes burned with an intensity that sent a ripple of dread through the air.
‘You will never die, Cahyon Abrasan,’ he said. ‘The gods themselves will pity your fate. The mountains will turn to dust, the oceans will dry up, but you—you—will remain here.Powerless, locked in unending torment, knowing that one woman was your downfall. And even that won’t be enough for what you took from me!’
Alaric’s skin glowed, his power surging outward. Cahyon’s lifeless body was lifted off the ground, crashing violently into the walls of the palace. On impact, his chest split open as flames erupted from his still-beating heart.
But as the Lich King’s heart began to fade, Alaric’s power held it in place, encasing the organ in a shimmering, purple glass shield—preventing death from taking its due. Cahyon’s decaying form twisted in anguish, his silent scream a grotesque mockery of life, but this time, it was not his body that burned—it was his very spirit.
Molten stone flowed like thick syrup, controlled by Alaric’s will, until it encased Cahyon in a crystalline prison. Only then did my fae turn his attention to his sister.
