Eternal Sacrifice (Mortal Enchantment Book 4) (20 page)

I got down on my knees and pulled her into a hug. “I swear, if there was another way I’d take it. But there isn’t. I’ve searched the akasha journals, and Rowan found the creator of the mist. He confirmed this way the only way.”

Mom pulled away and her eyes narrowed. “Wait, how long have you known about this?”

I cringed. “I discovered this was a possibility shortly after I gained my akasha powers.”

Her eyebrows raised. “And you decided not to tell me? Why?”

“You were grieving. I thought this would’ve been too much for you to handle.” I lowered my gaze. “I’m sorry.”

“You shouldn’t have done that, Kalin,” She argued. “I could’ve helped you. Maybe we could’ve found another way together.”

“There is no other way, Mom. We’ve exhausted every option,” I assured her, as I tried to help her off the floor. “I have to do this.”

“I don’t accept that,” She replied, as she rose to her feet with determination in her tone. “I never will. We have to keep trying. There has to be something you haven’t thought of. Maybe we can ask Orion or Britta.”

I shook my head. “Orion and Britta are both aware of the circumstances. There’s nothing either of them can do.”

“I won’t lose my little girl,” She sniffled. “There has to be something I can do.”

This was too much for her to bear. No matter what I said, she wasn’t prepared to accept that this was going to happen. I was overcome with worry for her. What would happen to her once I was gone? How would I guarantee she’d be taken care of? I had an idea. A way to protect her after I was gone. “You can make me a promise.”

“What’s that?”

With a firm tone, I replied, “I want you to rule the air court in my place.”

“You can’t be serious.” Her eyes rounded. “I’m not an elemental.”

“Neither am I.” I’d come to Avalon as a halfling. And then, I’d become the akasha. I held her hand. “You’re the bravest, strongest mortal I know. This court will flourish under your rule.”

“The air court won’t need a new ruler because you’re not going anywhere.” She placed her hands on her hips. “I will never accept that.”

I let out an exaggerated sigh.

There was no point in going back and forth with her. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”

“What?” She shrieked. “You can’t go now.”

“I have to meet with the council so that I can name you as my successor.” Her ascension would be my final decree as queen of this court. The council had no choice in the matter. Every one of them would die within hours if I didn’t sacrifice myself.

“So that’s it? This is where I’m supposed to say goodbye?” She waved her hands wildly. “Is that what’s happening here?”

Tears ran down my cheeks. “I don’t know what else I can say.”

Mom didn’t say another word and she turned and walked away. I didn’t chase after her. This wasn’t the way I wanted to spend my last moments with her. I’d expected too much from her. I should’ve known she wasn’t capable of saying goodbye. What mother could? She needed more time to accept what was happening.

But time was the one thing I didn’t have.

Marcus

I wanted to end the agony.

We’d gone into this war with the best of intentions. We wanted to bring balance back to the elements and save lives. But all we’d managed to do was bring pain and death to the ones we loved the most. I didn’t want to live in a world without Ariel. She was everything to me. And now, she was gone. Without her, I’d completely lost my will to live. She’d made the ultimate sacrifice, giving her life to save Kalin.

But it was all for nothing.

I was so desperate to kill Valac that I made a critical mistake. When I dug my teeth into his wrist and shook him with all my strength, Excalibur flew into the air. The sword cut the mist, and now Kalin’s life would end. She would die because of my error. My rash decision. Rowan saw the whole thing. Once he got past the initial shock, he would realize that this was all my fault. I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to end my life.

Death was what I deserved.

Hearing footsteps behind me, I swirled around. It was Selene. She must’ve tracked me all the way back here. No matter. “I don’t need you to follow me around. I’m fine.” No, I wasn’t fine. I was out of my mind. Grief and regret flowed through me in waves, making it hard to breathe. “Don’t worry about me.”

She stayed on my tail as I moved through the winding obsidian walkways, totally ignoring what I’d said. I let out an aggravated growl, trying to scare her off. She wasn’t fazed. Didn’t even flinch. I tried to increase my pace. Each time, she caught up. When I reached my bedroom, I closed the door behind me. The message was loud and clear.

I glanced down at my clothing and sighed. Blood was everywhere. Before I transformed, I had time to remove my clothes. But I’d put them back on after the battle and now the shirt and pants were ruined. I slipped them off, throwing both pieces in a nearby wastebasket. I headed into the bathroom and bent over the sink. Using a liquid cleanser, I scrubbed soap on my hands and face.

“I’m not leaving you alone,” she yelled from the hallway. “I’ll stay out here all day if I have to.”

I dried my face with a hand towel. This girl was stubborn. It was a family trait. “You’re just as annoying as Rowan,” I shouted.

I heard her laugh. “Then you know I’m not going anywhere.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Let me in already,” she pleaded. “I feel ridiculous talking to you like this.”

There was no getting rid of her. I changed into a plain white shirt and jeans, then strode to the door and opened it. “What do you want?”

Her eyes rounded. “I came to support my friend.”

I crossed my arms. “What if your friend just wants to be alone?”

Ignoring my question, she replied, “I want to talk about what you said back there.”

I tried to shut the door, but she held it open. “There’s nothing left to say.”

“Yes, there is.” She pushed her way inside my room. “Valac is responsible for the mist getting cut. Not you.”

That wasn’t true. It was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention or even considering that the sword might fly out of his hand. I was too caught up in my own pain. It was like I could think of nothing else but revenge. I turned away from her. “You didn’t see what happened.”

“It doesn’t matter what happened.” She tried to comfort me, putting her palm on my shoulder blade. “You wouldn’t have been there in the first place had it not been for my brother. He’s to blame for it all.”

As I replayed the events that led up to our failed ambush, I placed my hands over my face. “We were there because of me. I convinced Rowan to go after Valac. I was so angry and miserable I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“You did what you thought was right,” she tried to assure me in a soft tone. “No one blames you for what happened.”

The image of Rowan—holding Kalin as she cried—flashed in my mind. “Maybe not now, but someday he will. He’ll be immersed in the pain of Kalin’s loss and realize it was his best friend who took away the love of his life.”

“You’re wrong.” She shifted around, and lowered my hands. “Rowan knows who you are. He’d never believe that.”

I shook my head. “You don’t know him the way I do.”

She cupped my shoulders, and waited until I met her eyes before she spoke. “I know that he needs you right now. He’s about to lose someone he loves and the one person who can understand that pain won’t be there.”

I lowered my gaze to the floor. “I can’t face him right now.”

“He
needs
you, Marcus,” she repeated in a persistent tone with her hands on her hips. “Now more than ever. So you have to decide if you’re going to stay here and feel sorry for yourself or be there for your best friend.”

I chuckled. “You’re a lot tougher than you let on.”

She grinned as she punched me in the arm. “Only when I need to smack some sense into my friends.”

Selene was right. After Prisma forced me to tear off Rowan’s wings, I couldn’t deal with what had happened. I’d left him a note and asked that he not try to find me. During my absence, he’d gotten hurt and nearly died. When I returned, I had sworn to him that I’d never leave his side again. I won’t go back on my promise. I refused to abandon him again. Not when his circumstances were the most dire.

I let out an exaggerated sigh.

“I’ll go back, but I want to wait a while.” I thought back to Ariel’s final moments, and how Kalin had ordered her knights to surround us so we weren’t disturbed. I owed her the same in return. “They need some time alone. Trust me, it’s for the best.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “What should we do in the meantime?”

My stomach growled so loud, she laughed. “I think I’ve got an idea.”

The light illuminated the mess hall when we entered it. It was surprisingly empty. On any other day, hounds were here in droves. But I had already put the pack on high alert. Most of them were on guard, and the ones that weren’t took their families to safety. Hounds were strong at any age, but anyone unable to fight had to leave. This was only temporary. Once Valac was found and killed, I’d have them all return. It was strange being here when there was no noise.

“Looks like we’re on our own.” I scratched my stubble. “I don’t suppose you know how to cook.”

“Come on.” She grabbed my hand, and led me toward the kitchen.

I observed the way she searched through cabinets. This was only the second time she’d been here but she moved around like she knew where everything was. I sat on a stool in front of the large chopping block while she sliced several pieces of fruit. When she was done, she set the plate in front of me with utensils and a napkin. I gobbled everything up within minutes. While I ate, she put together a variety of breads and cheeses. The assortment of smells made my stomach rumble. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten. Everything happened so fast after the wedding.

It was a daze.

When she brought the final plate over, she sat on the stool next to me. I watched while she placed a napkin in her lap, then cut her bread into bite-sized pieces. She held her utensils delicately, and her movements seemed rehearsed. She’d obviously had some formal etiquette lessons. It was the opposite for the hounds. Table manners weren’t part of our training. We were loud and ate mostly with our hands. And it wasn’t uncommon to see several of us with food all over our faces.

“Are you feeling any better? I mean, since we talked?” she asked, right before she took her first bite.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged, swallowing a mouth full of bread. I didn’t know what to say. The love of my life was gone, and every dream I had for my life went with her. Now I was alone in this world. I had no direction. “It still hurts.”

She pushed the food around her plate. “You know you can talk to me about Ariel, right?”

I had no words. The only thing I felt was the overwhelming emptiness of her loss. “I’m good for now.”

“Well, I’m here.” She glanced over at me, then back to her plate. “If there’s ever anything you want to say.”

I glanced down at her plate. “Why aren’t you eating?”

“I am.” She put another small bite of bread in her mouth.

“You barely touched anything on your plate,” I noted. “You’ve got to be hungry.”

“We were always taught to take our time,” she replied, smearing soft cheese on a chunk of crust.

All her movements were careful, like she feared she’d make a mistake. Like someone was watching and judging her every move. For once in her life, I wanted her to relax. “Well, you’re one of us now, so you can cancel all that proper shit.”

“Okay.” She laughed. “How am I supposed to eat?”

“Like this.” I tore a big hunk of bread off the loaf and stuffed it in my mouth. “You try.”

Her eyebrows raised. “I can’t do that.”

I took a cue from her. Using her knife, I delicately cut the rest of the loaf into even slices. Each portion was half the size of what I’d stuffed in my mouth. When I was finished playfully mocking her, I smeared cheese on a section and held it out in front of her. “Open wide.”

With a broad smile on her face, she shook her head. “No way.”

I rolled my eyes. “Why? You don’t trust me?”

She pointed her finger at me. “I’m only taking a bite.”

“Okay,” I assured her.

As soon as she opened her mouth, I stuffed the whole piece inside. Her eyes widened with surprise, and I couldn’t help laughing.

She playfully smacked my arm as she tried to chew.

Ethan ran into the kitchen with a frantic look on his face. As soon as I saw him, I stood. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“We’re under attack,” he replied, with wild eyes. “Rogues have entered the castle. I’m not sure how many, but I’ve gotten reports from three different locations.”

Valac.
He was badly injured during our fight. With every other court searching for him, he had nowhere else to go. No other elemental would offer him any healing herbs or ointments. He had to return to the eternal flame. And there was only one way in. “Send reinforcements to every location. I’m heading down to the portal.”

Ethan’s eyebrows knit together. “You’re not going to join the counterattack?”

“This is a diversion.” Valac didn’t care about the rogues. He’d sent them into battle knowing most wouldn’t survive. There was no question in my mind. He’d sacrifice every last one of them to heal himself. “He’s heading for the eternal flame.”

“Only the king of the fire court can enter the flame,” Ethan insisted, with a look of confusion on his face.

Rowan had once challenged Valac to enter, but he refused. If he entered the flames they’d likely destroy him for what he’d done, but he could heal if he managed to get close enough to the caverns just outside of the entrance. The power should be enough to repair him or at least get him to the point where he started to self-heal. “He doesn’t have to go inside. He just needs to get close.”

“I’ll go with you,” Ethan replied as fire flashed in his eyes.

“We’ll all go,” Selene added.

The moment I’d waited for had finally come to fruition. Killing him wouldn’t bring Ariel back or heal the aching hole her loss had left in my heart, but it would end his war against the courts. That was enough for me. “No, he’s mine.”