Page 281 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“Your…” Valter’s eyes flew to the other side of the room, and so did Eviana’s where she found Caris standing just inside the door. The stone on her upper arms was gone, and darkness flowed around her like a midnight mist. She glided forward, and as she passed Tessa, the female handed her a gold dagger.
Not a blade of black to end the former Arius Lord, but a blade of light.
Caris stopped in front of Valter, and the male stared back at her.
“Finally taking your vengeance then?” Valter sneered, holding himself up with his desk as his legs trembled from Axel’s blades.
Caris said nothing, but she looked over her shoulder, locking eyes with Eviana. Caris glanced at Priya, then back to her, and Eviana gave a nod of her head, smoothing her hand down Priya’s hair once more.
“It’s almost over,” Eviana whispered, even though Priya couldn’t hear her over Lange’s magic.
But Lange heard her.
“It is,bellana,” he said. “You’re almost free.”
“You took my place in this kingdom,” Caris said, her tone strong and unwavering. “You took my son. My love. My life.” She lifted her other hand, her fingers covered in her darkness, and she reached inside Valter’s chest and gripped his heart, squeezing.
Valter gasped, his knees giving out, but Theon and Axel were there, holding him up. Making him face his comeuppance.
“And still this is not for me in the end,” Caris said, her voice taking on the edge of death she came from. “It is for everyone who suffered because of you. Me. My sons. The people of the kingdom you stole from my family.”
Her hand tightened again, and Valter’s eyes rolled back before she loosened her grip.
“But in the end, this is for Eviana and everything you stole fromher,” Caris said, and then she yanked her hand back a moment before her other hand sank the gold dagger into the muscle.
Axel and Theon released him, letting Valter drop to the floor as if he were nothing, and they stepped back, turning away. Eviana knew they would never think of the male again.
She nodded at Lange, and he pulled his hands back. Priya shifted, and Eviana sucked in a sharp breath as her chest tightened. She reached up, smoothing her daughter’s hair back from her brow before taking her face in her hands.
“It’s over, Priya. You were so brave,” she murmured softly.
The girl’s eyes were haunted, her face tearstained as her gaze bounced around Eviana’s face.
Eviana was doing the same. Taking in her turquoise eyes. The scattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her wild auburn hair.
She sucked in a shuddering breath, her chest constricting even more. “You are such a bright and beautiful flower,” Eviana murmured, her hands slipping from Priya’s face.
The world tilted a little, and Lange caught her shoulders. “Easy,bellana,” he said, brow furrowing in alarm. “Let’s get these off you.”
He gently pulled the bands from her wrists, her power springing forth at being free. The few potted plants in the room reached for her, leaves stretching, and she smiled.
But removing the bands wouldn’t do what Lange thought it would. Her power wasn’t going to replenish. It wasn’t going to heal her or strengthen her.
Eviana lifted a shaky hand and turned her palm up, a seedling appearing in the center. Priya gasped, staring in amazement as the seedling opened and grew. Sprouting and unfurling until a perfect bright pinkbellanaflower formed.
Priya reached for it, twirling it between her fingers. A wide smile spread across her face, and Eviana marveled at it.
Until her chest tightened further and she was sinking down, her head in Lange’s lap.
“Eviana? What’s wrong?” Lange demanded, eyes darting from her to Priya and back.
“Take her,” she rasped. “Don’t let her see.”
“See what?”
But someone was there, lifting her daughter into strong arms. She blinked as the room blurred, finding Corbin’s features tight with grief as he stared down at her.
“Don’t tell her,” Eviana whispered. “Don’t tell her who I am.”
