The gates were gone.
There was nothing but space in their place. Nothing but a deep and threatening sense of uneasiness.
I'd failed again.
But there was still the chance to stop this bitch going after the third key. Still a chance for some good to come from this goddamn mess. I swooped, picked up Amaya, and ran toward the fading light of the second key.
But the hands got there before me.
They pulled the shadows from the sorceress, then grabbed her, tore at her, as they ushered her forward, ushered her down. If she screamed I didn't hear it. In fact, she didn't even appear to struggle as she disappeared into the ether. Maybe she couldn't. Maybe the magic that had taken her safely to this point had faded away, leaving her defenseless.
I stopped. I had a bad feeling I didn't want to go anywhere near those hands right now. That if I did, they'd take me with them.
Where are they going, Amaya? Into hell?
No. Pens.
Pens? Even as I watched, the last part of her was swept away. The hands stopped moving, but the calm warmth of this place didn't reinstate itself. There was only one gate left. Only one gate to protect the Earth and the fields from all of hell's demons.
Because of me. Because I'd failed to do what I'd been sent here to do.
I closed my eyes and flung myself back into my body. The force of it sent me toppling off the bed and onto the floor. Where I screamed and ranted and cried at the unfairness of it all. And at my own stupid uselessness.
Hands eventually touched me, cocooned me. I wrapped my arms around Azriel's neck and pressed my cheek against his chest, drawing in the sweaty, bloody, and very real scent of him as I listened to the steady beat of his heart and wished mine was anywhere near as calm.
"I'm sorry," I whispered eventually. "I tried."
"I know." He brushed a stray strand of hair away from my cheek, his touch so warm against my skin. "The blame for this lies not just with you, but all of us who seek the key."