She’s getting cold too quickly as her magic drains.
Isolde is one of few who has shown me kindness in thispalace. And even if she was closed off and generally dismissive, I sense she cared. She’s looked after me.
My fingers freeze on the sides of her face as her vacant eyes stare up at the king. She trusted him. Her mate trusted him. Earik sent her to the palace to keep her safe when the battlefront would kill her. Only for King Malachi to discard her as if she were nothing.
“Don’t cry, Elorie.” The king reaches for my hair, brushing it off my face as tears leave wet dots on Isolde’s dress. “You are the one with the power to wake her up. If you don’t, that’s your burden to bear.”
I look up and am met with his dark, unsettling gaze. Something surges to my throat, but it isn’t magic. And when his smile grows, bile rises.
“Join us for dinner when you are done. Bring your friend, should you be successful.”
I manage to hold back my sob until the king’s steps disappear. Until Cyan follows. Now I see why there are no guards today. He wouldn’t want witnesses to this madness.
Tears soak my cheeks as I hold Isolde in my arms. “I’m sorry.”
With a shaking hand, I flatten my palm on her chest, over her heart. Her face is blurry through my tears. Her empty eyes stare up at me. One green. One blue. Both duller now. But I don’t close them because I deserve to face what I’ve caused.
My mistakes.
My failure.
“Come back.” It croaks out through sobs. “Please come back.”
Closing my eyes, I try to see the threads. The light in the sky that will guide me to her. I’m met with darkness. An angry, deep emptiness where there is no beginning or end.
“Come back.” I press my palm harder.
No heartbeat in her chest. No breath in her lungs.
I cry and cry, but she’s no longer here. She hasn’t been since the king stole her life from her.
My tears are rivers on my cheeks as I drop my face and cry.
Pathetic and alone.
At least no one is here to see my failure.
Isolde is gone.
Chapter 24
Elorie
When I finally climb thestairs, there are no guards. It’s been hours, I assume. Kneeling over Isolde, trying to wake her. Her skin so cold that my fingers shook.
The tears have stopped, but my vision has yet to clear.
I hope she found Earik when her soul left the realm. I hope she found peace.
I also know that might not be the case. If the rumors of Sarrow’s Arches being closed are true, then her soul may never reach the After.
The door to the dungeon clicks closed behind me, but it doesn’t stop me from feeling Isolde’s empty body below. There’s no shaking the coolness of her skin on mine. No forgetting her empty eyes.
My veins are on fire with magic pushing against them, and yet I cannot wield it. My heart is near bursting, and yet, I could not save her.
With my legs still uneasy, I wander the palace alone until I find the door that leads to the courtyard. I’m barely outside before I fall to my knees and heave what little remains in my stomach.
Isolde is gone.