Page 70 of Wicked Prince of Shadows
“Then I will die with you!” The chain links clinked against one another as I pressed my hands against his chest, my fingers tangling in his open robe and tunic. “I would risk it for you! Show me what the tablets said. Show me everything. I can find another way to make it work. I know I can! I always find solutions. It’s what I do!”
“No.” He kissed my cheek and held me closer, his arms wrapping tight around me. Kissing away the tears, he nuzzled me, his voice deep and rasping. “There isn’t time. But you did help. Far more than you know. You don’t have to be afraid. You’ll be safe here so long as you stay near the portal. The creatures won’t attack. Our people are safe until the portal opens or everything fails. The Witheringlands listens. But I can’t risk you being destroyed.”
As if it heard him, the wind above us howled and whistled across the chasm.
I trembled. “Vetle, please. I can’t lose you. I would risk it with you?—”
“No, my love. I know this is hard, but you must be strong for me. I will lay down my life, and the Witheringlands will take me to end this curse. The portal will then open, and everyone will come through. When Maltric brings them into the Peace Garden, help them. And take care of Osric for me. He says you’re his mahlda. He never bonded with any of the others the way he haswith you.” A soft smile tugged at his mouth. “He needs someone to look after him.”
I couldn't respond. My throat closed up, words dying before they could form.
He tilted my face up to his, and then his mouth claimed mine.
The kiss was desperate, consuming—full of everything he couldn't say and everything we'd never have. His lips moved against mine with a hunger that bordered on violent, as if he could somehow brand himself into my soul through this one final touch. His tongue swept into my mouth, tasting, claiming, memorizing. One hand tangled in my hair while the other pressed flat against my lower back, crushing me against him until there was no space between us.
I kissed him back with everything I had, pouring all my love, my rage, my desperation into it. My fingers clawed at his shoulders, trying to pull him closer even though we were already pressed together so tightly I could feel his heartbeat against my chest. Tears streamed down my face.
When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard. His thumb traced my bottom lip, his eyes drinking me in as if trying to memorize every detail.
"I love you," he whispered. "And I need you to know this: I would endure the decades of isolation, torment, and loss all over again if only to hold you and hear your voice for just one moment. To know you and love you, even if only for a short time, is worth all the suffering and darkness I have ever endured.” He then spread his wings and leaped up into the air.
“Vetle,” I called after him, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Vetle!”
“Stay in the pit, Sabine. I put wards and markers around it to protect you in case the Witheringlands grows hostile again.” He looked down at me once more, his lips curling up slightly. “I’mglad to have known you. In my final moments, you will be what I see, and my heart and love will always be yours.”
“Vetle!” I screamed after him, then dropped to my knees and ripped at the chain. The metal links rattled uselessly. I yanked harder, bracing both feet against the sloped stone, throwing all my weight into it. The cuff slid slightly, tugging against my skin—just enough to give me hope. But when it reached the base of my thumb, it caught hard. Bone refused to yield.
Pain bloomed as the edge dug in. Blood welled hot beneath the metal, trickling down my palm, but the cuff wouldn’t budge. It was loose enough to rattle around my wrist—but not enough to slip free.
"No, no, no!" I yanked again, the metal cuff grinding against my thumb and wrist. Pain shot up my arm, but I didn't stop. I couldn't stop.
This wasn’t going to be how it ended.
I screamed with frustration and dropped to my hands and knees, my free hand scrambling across the pit floor. There had to be something—anything I could use. My fingers found loose stones, pebbles, fragments of broken rock. Nothing substantial. The biggest was small enough to wrap in my fist, but it had to do. I grabbed the coarse white rock and brought it down hard against one of the chain links.
The impact jarred up through my arm, but the chain didn't even dent.
I hit another link and another, searching for any weakness. Metal rang against stone, echoing in the confined space. My palm stung where the rough stone bit into it, but I kept striking, searching frantically for any weak point in the links as high as I could reach.
Nothing. The chain was solid, well made. Of course it was. Vetle wouldn't have used anything less.
"Please," I sobbed, bringing the rock down one more time. "Please, please, please."
The stone cracked in half against the chain, splitting apart in my bleeding hand.
I threw the pieces aside and searched for another. A larger one. Something heavy enough to actually do damage. My fingers scraped across the pit floor, finding only small rocks and grit. Nothing at all.
My breath came in ragged gasps as panic clawed up my throat and tightened my chest. There was always the chance that the portal could open and I could ask Enola for help. But I wasn’t just going to sit here and wait for that.
No.
There had to be something else.
Anything!
I looked up at the steep walls rising around me. Black stone, smooth in places, jagged in others. The slab of marble Vetle had chained me to reached up beyond the top of the pit, too large to easily move out of here but perhaps high enough for me to climb on and find something better.
If I couldn't break the chain, maybe I could pull out whatever was anchoring it.
