Page 196 of To Ashes and Dust
I snickered, but the thoughts returned, and I pressed my lips together as the question lingered on my tongue. “Any news on Cole?” I asked, glancing back at him.
He let out a sigh, his shoulders sagging. “They’re holding him until they can pass judgement. It’ll probably be a couple of months before they hold his trial.”
“Any news of Ka—” I drew a deep breath, wishing I could purge that name from my mind. “Of Melantha? Of Cody?”
His amber and ashen eyes lingered on me, as if watching for any hint of the pain that had worked its way into me. “None.”
I slumped against Thalia, my eyes falling on the dark forest before us.
“I’m sorry about everything with Kat,” he said, and I hated the sound of her name on his lips.
“Don’t be... It was never real for her, so why should it be for me?” I wished I could believe those words, wished I could will the pain in my chest to vanish.
“It’s okay to feel hurt by her betrayal, Cas.”
I swallowed, hating that Ididfeel the hurt.
“I do… And I hate it. I’m so hurt... and sad... and angry.” I turned my gaze to him, something sparking within me, something else stirring in that abysmal void at my core.
“And I will destroy her for everything she’s done.”
To Be Continued...
EPILOGUE
Melantha’s shriek rang out through the cavern, followed closely by a loud crack as the tendrils of dark magic launched a stray boulder to the far stone wall. Darklings scattered out of the way as best they could, but a few lay broken and shattered on the ground, black blood oozing into a pool beneath a pile of mangled limbs.
I...Weremained where we stood, silent, listening… waiting.
That was all we could do. Wait. Wait for a command, an attack, an itch we couldn’t scratch. Our chest twisted, the unending nausea and hunger clawing in our gut, our fangs throbbing.
I needed to get back to—
We don’t need anything but to serve. We are a tool.
What... did I need to get back to? What had I been fighting for? What had I been protecting?
Melantha’s chest heaved, her hollow black eyes wild and furious. “She was mine!”
Another boulder flew through the cavern as she shrieked again, and the darklings’ clicks were drowned out by the thunderous sound of crushing stone. More black blood, more shrieks. “That filthy mutt! How did she find us?”
A darkling crawled past me, baring its sharp teeth, and my fingers twitched as I fought for control of my limbs to strike—
They are us. We are them.
We... are them.
We rolled our neck, easing the building tension, and turned our gaze back to our injured queen. She examined her arm, half of it had been torn from her body by the immortal shifter. The flesh was sealed, her body already working to grow back the missing limb. “I finally had her!”
Our skin bristled at the mention of her, and something icy sliced deep at the memory. She is our enemy.Theyare our enemy. They are to be destroyed. And we will do it all for the glory of our queen. We will destroy all who stand in her path.
No…
Yes…
I didn’t want—
Wewant this.Wewant to be used.Weare hers.
