weight pressed her to the floor, and she struggled desperately to get free. He was clawing at her face blindly, like he was trying to claw out her eyes.
His nails cut into her skin, trying to find their target. Unable to find any other way to get free, she leaned her head as far back as she could, before ramming it into his skull.
It worked. The blow sent him scrambling off her, clutching his head. He cried out in fury, his unseeing eyes glaring at her madly.
She felt the enormous pressure of magic in the room when he summoned up the next spell. It was by far more powerful than anything else he had thrown at her that evening, and suddenly she knew that was happening. He was going to kill her.
She didn’t have time to move. She was still lying on the floor, unable to get up in time to avoid the burst of magic that was going to end her life.
She forced herself not to close her eyes. If she was going to die, she was going to be looking into the eyes of the one who killed her. She stared into Ilyan’s disfigured face, just as he hurled the shining black sphere at her.
She was bracing herself for the impact, when something threw itself in front of her.
The full force of the spell hit Alassane in the chest, and he was thrown into her with enough force to make them both slide across the floor.
She gasped for air, Alassane’s limp body crushing her to the floor. She placed her hands on the floor in an attempt at pushing herself up, when she felt something under her fingers.
She was aware of Ilyan walking towards them, but she didn’t move. She laid her head against the floor, listening to his footsteps coming closer.
“How foolishly noble… To sacrifice himself for someone who is going to die anyway.” He said as he bent down over her. Fingers that were nearly falling apart from the influence of magic closed around her neck.
She had him right where she wanted him.
Fingers clutched around the sacrificial knife, she jammed it into his chest. She twisted it, making sure to ram it as far into his cold, black heart as she could.
“Just die!” She hissed as she pulled the blade out, just to stab it into his chest again and again.
The fingers around her neck went slack, and his eyes widened in surprise just before the light left them. Blood pooling from his chest, Ilyan slowly slid to the floor as life left his body.
Her fingers kept clutching the knife, her breathing ragged. Part of her wanted to keep stabbing him, just to be sure he really was dead, but she found the last of her strength leaving her.
It was over…
She heard a weak moan from the man who was still lying partly on top of her. She let go of the knife, before gently tugging her legs out from under him. She turned him, so he was lying on his back, facing her.
Alassane was even paler than usual, life slowly leaving his face. Dark brown eyes were looking at her, but not really seeing her.
“Thank you.” She said softly. She didn’t really know what else to say.
“That’s why I’m here.” He said, his voice strong despite the light rapidly leaving his eyes.
She put a hand under his head, supporting him the best she could.
“Are you dying?” She asked quietly. She already knew the answer.
He laughed softly. “I’m already dead.”
She didn’t cry. After everything that had happened, there wasn’t enough emotion left in her to mourn for him. She merely held him as the skin started to slowly flake off his bones. She didn’t even flinch as his bones crumbled to dust and there was nothing left of the man she had known as Alassane.
49
She was still kneeling on the floor when Ardeth entered the room. He looked around the room, seeing Ilyan’s mangled corpse on the floor, but didn’t say anything. Silently, he walked towards her and came to stand beside her.
She looked up at him, but couldn’t find the strength to speak.
His clothes were torn, and he was bleeding from a wound on his chest, but besides that he looked unscathed. She was vaguely aware that she had to look much worse. She was covered in blood and dust, and the wound on her shoulder was still bleeding heavily. But in spite of that, she felt numb.
“I guess it’s over then.” He said softly, looking down at her with those deep, dark eyes. Despite the situation, she chuckled. It was an oddly simple thing to say after all that had happened, but she guessed there wasn’t much more to say.
She started to rise, her legs shaking slightly. Ardeth wrapped an arm around her shoulders, steadying her.
“Are you okay?” He said, almost whispered as if not to startle her. She looked at him and managed a smile.
“I will be.” She said. She turned to look at the bloodied body of the Demios leader. She was finally free of him. She would be alright. Eventually.
“What happened to the undead?” He asked her, while looking around for any signs of Alassane. Selissa shook her head slightly.
“Gone.” She said slightly. Ardeth seemed to understand perfectly, because he accepted her answer with a nod.
They started to walk through the basement, Ardeth’s arm still wrapped around her. She leaned against him, accepting the support he offered. After all what had happened, she felt she needed it.
He led her through the rooms confidently, and she followed without a word. They entered the ritual room, and she wasn’t surprised to see dead bodies ripped apart and scattered across the floor. They were no longer moving, and she guessed that the magic that had animated them had died along with Ilyan.
She spotted Aiken between the lifeless corpses, a bone sticking out from his throat. She supposed he had tried to interfere. Not very successfully.
Ardeth didn’t stop and led her towards the stairs. She blinked slightly when they got upstairs and sunlight hit her eyes. Had they really been there all night?
Calen sat leaning against a wall, the morning light making him seem even paler. He looked at them as they approached, his eyes more focused than they had been before. He shot her a weak smile when she kneeled down next to him.
“Hey.” She whispered and gently stroked his cheek. She let her hand drop as she realized it was covered in fresh blood. Calen didn’t seem to mind.
“Did you get him?” He asked, his voice hoarse and raw, but stronger than it had been when she found him.
She hesitated for a moment. He had always told her that all life was precious and should be preserved. And here she was covered in the blood of a man she had killed without remorse.
“I did.” She said softly. He smiled at her.
“Good. Then it’s over.” He said. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes as If it was an effort to keep them open.
She stroked his hair softly, reasoning that it was already caked with blood, before standing. She turned to look at Ardeth who was standing a bit away, watching the scene with a slight frown. She left Calen sitting against the wall and walked towards him.
“What do you want to do now?” He asked her. She thought about his question for a while, not sure she had an answer.
“I don’t know…” She said. “So much has changed. I think I just need some time to figure out who I am. I’m not sure I’m the same person I once was.”
He didn’t comment on that. “We could go anywhere.” He said softly. She looked at him surprised. She thought he had merely followed her this far because he was bored. That he would still be with her after it was all over made her happier than it should, but she knew it couldn’t be like that.
“You can’t come with me.” She said sadly. She didn’t want to say this, but she knew she had to. “These past months people have constantly told me who and what I am, but I need to figure that out on my own.”
The look in his eyes almost broke her heart. He opened his mouth to protest, but she held her hand up to stop him. She placed it on his cheek, letting it slide into his hair, which had come loose somewhere along the way. She pulled herself closer and kissed him softly, trying to expr
ess all those feelings she couldn’t put into words. She felt his arms wrap around her tightly, like he was afraid to let her go.
She slowly broke away, her hand resting against his cheek.
“I can’t do this anymore.” She said quietly and pulled away. Ardeth’s face was carefully blank, dark eyes watching her painstakingly. She slowly let her hand drop from his face and stepped away from him.
She averted her eyes, suddenly finding it hard to look at him. She had never meant to start caring about him. They were worlds apart, and she thought she had been happy keeping it that way. But now, she suddenly found it incredibly hard to tell him goodbye.
She took a deep breath, still not looking at him.
“Will you do me a favor?” She asked softly.
“Anything.” He said.
She smiled sadly, still looking emptily into the air. “Would you take Calen back to the temple of Issara? I’m not sure I could go back to that place…”
He was silent for some time, and at first she thought he would refuse. Finally he sighed.
“If that is what you want, I will do it.” He said. Finally Selissa turned to look at him and sent him a grateful smile.
“Thank you.” She said.
She wanted to linger, but she knew she had to leave now, if she was going to leave at all. It would be so easy to just accept Ardeth’s offer, to stay with him, but she had to do this.
She said nothing as she turned around to leave. There was nothing left to say anyway.
Next book in the Angel’s Voice Series
Silent Sound
Acknowledgments
To my friend Hans Christian who not only pushed me to start writing again, but also created Alassanes’ character and kept encouraging me while I wrote this book. And thanks for designing the most beautiful cover ever.
Jessica, who have become such an invaluable help to me, and have made writing so much fun. Thanks for all the feedback and all the incredible ideas you have given me while writing this, and all the laughs we have had when we were both too sleep deprived to think straight.
And lastly, to my cat Chaos, who made it her mission to disturb me every time I attempted to write. I’m sorry to say that your attempts at preventing this book from getting finished has failed.
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