Page 93 of Fractured Shadows

“You…you were the hunt,” he recalls correctly. It took him far too long.

My men spread out around the room, but they know this is my fight, not theirs.

“It was the best thing to ever happen to me,” I purr. “My name’s Cora. I bet you’ve forgotten.”

“Your name never mattered. You never mattered. You will be forgotten quicker than this whore here,” he spits out, dragging Kai closer. Her whimper boils my blood.

“I don’t need to be remembered to have lived, to have loved. That’s your legacy, not mine. I don’t need greatness, fame, castles, or crowns. I never did. All I ever wanted was happiness and a choice. You took that from me and from her, and you’re going to pay for it.”

“Not if I kill you first,” he sneers as he drags Kai outside.

I rush after him, stepping out into the darkness beyond.

The moon welcomes me, a storm brewing in the sky brought by my fury so the sky can rage with me.

I can’t throw my magic at him, not without hurting Kai, and I will not risk her, not for anything.

He drags her across the stone platform we are on, the tower’s edge a rounded thing, and I can see the drop into the abyss below. Nerves fill me as I meet Kai’s eyes, but she just nods slowly, trusting me.

She trusts me to do this, to do what needs to be done

I glance back at the king, and I see his fear.

He knows what my presence means, especially since I have returned with monsters at my back.

He knows this is his end, and when his eyes harden, I see the truth.

He knows he will die, but he’s going to take my sister with him.

“Me or her?” he calls.

“Let her go now,” I order, “and I’ll make it quick.”

“Wrong answer.” With a cunning grin, he lifts my sister by the throat and dangles her over the edge of the tower, his meaty fist cutting off her air. I didn’t expect him to have that amount of strength, and when his arm begins to shake, I know I don’t have much time. He meets my eyes, unflinching, hard, and evil.

My heart stops as she kicks and struggles, her face going pale as she struggles for breath.

The magic inside me swirls, looking for an outlet, but I hold it back with gritted teeth. After all, I’m still human, and to be human is to love.

I love my sister more than anything, more than my own life.

I died for her once, but she will not die for me.

“Don’t,” I beg.

He tosses the knife to me. “Kill yourself, and I’ll let her live.”

It’s a lie, I know it, and the magic knows it.

My eyes meet Kai’s as I search for a way out, knowing I can’t kill myself, that it wouldn’t change anything. Her familiar eyes close for a moment before they flutter open, and then she nods once more, despite the hand around her throat.

She knows it too.

“Kai, I love you,” I tell her, magic building in my hands and flowing through every fiber of my being. “It’s going to be okay.”

Another lie.

Her toes catch on the ledge, giving her just enough leverage to pull air into her lungs. “Do what you need to do. I am already lost,” she croaks out, and then with more strength than I thought my sister possessed, she uses her feet on the stone to wrench her body from the king’s arms and throws herself into the darkness.

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