he was dying. Blood drenched his clothes and his breathing was abnormal.
“What happened here?” Risk asked him.
“They were given orders to kill her at all costs while she was distracted with Nero. It was an ambush. They had Maji. They had—” he coughed, and crimson dotted his lips. Risk tried not to grimace.
“Where’s the firedrake?” she asked him. His eyes darted to the side where a mass grave lay. Bodies were piled one on top of the next. She couldn’t make out the beast in it, but beside it, a faint black outline told her that what Dom said was true. They’d killed it; the beast was bound for the dark realm now.
“Return and be free,” she whispered. Power emanated from those words. A blessing. An image of the firedrake appeared, and the beast bowed its head and then got swept away. The embers of its soul drifted back to the dark realm where it would continue onto the forgotten forest—where all beasts came from and where all returned.
Dominicus coughed again. Risk looked down and pressed her lips together.
She knew there was no saving him. She barely even knew him, but he’d saved her sister, and for that, she would stay with him until the end.
“You fought bravely,” she told him.
“I’m going to die,” he said. There was no sadness in his voice. No anguish. No pity. If anything, he was resigned.
Risk hesitantly took his hand and squeezed softly.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Is there anything you want me to tell them?”
His eyes were unfocused, staring up at the great expanse that was the night sky. The stars were just starting to come out when he said, “Tell Lorraine that I love her, and I know she loved Quinn. I protected her, for her. And that wherever I’m going . . .” His voice started to wane. Words were becoming difficult. The end was near. “Tell her I’ll wait for her.”
The light in his eyes flickered, and he closed his eyes for the last time.
His spirit formed in front of her, and she whispered the only thanks she could truly give for a soul bound to her realm. “Return and be free.”
Unable to resist the call of the dead, his soul drifted away along with so many others that were finally free. Risk gave a moment of silence for him with her head bowed, and then she turned and picked up Quinn and brought her home.
Chapter 54
From the Ashes
“To be a hero doesn’t mean to be inherently good, for every villain is a hero when they tell their story. When one can live forever, they need not care whether the future will praise or condemn their past. For they will own the day. Every day, till the end of time.”
— Quinn Darkova, fear twister, walker of realms
Quinn turned on her side and settled into the pillows. It’d been so long since she’d been at rest. She hadn’t been able to sleep since—
Quinn bolted upright. Her eyes flew open.
She blinked several times, simultaneously processing the dim lighting of candles with closed drapes and the sounds of battle that echoed from her memories. As it came pouring back into her, Quinn turned. Risk was there, sitting beside her in a chair. Her sister looked more at ease than she could ever recall. Her white hair was braided back in plaits that had to be Lorraine’s work. She was dressed in leathers that fit her well for once, and her eyes—they glowed with power. Risk smiled.
“What happened? Why was I asleep?” Quinn asked, looking around once more. Lazarus was nowhere to be found.
“If I had to guess, I’d say because killing Nero the way you did launched you into a state in-between life and death. Fear can’t truly kill you, but you exerted a great deal of power to do it and your body needed to heal.” Risk shrugged.
“I don’t have a body, not really.”
“You still have a form, even if it’s not always in this realm. Your magic and your soul are one. As far as I can tell, you used too much of yourself, and it scattered parts of you that needed time to come back together.” Risk leaned forward, one clawed hand running across the silk sheets. While Lazarus wasn’t there, they were in his chambers at the palace in Dumas.
“Where is—”
“Bathing,” Risk said before she could even finish. “I brought you back here after the battle, and he refused to leave your side for several days. Lorraine finally convinced him he