Page 204 of The Trials of Ophelia

With them a sprinkle of crimson liquid so dark it was nearly black coated us all. Then, four things happened at once.

Sapphire whinnied—a pained, strangled sound that had Ophelia crying out, too. She writhed like they shared that pain, her eyes flying open.

The shadow lowered to the ground, a great wind gusting through the courtyard.

And Kakias released a bloodcurdling shriek that echoed like the end of a thousand lives.

Chapter Seventy-Three

Malakai

They fell. One by one, Kakias’s army of Engrossians and Mindshapers collapsed to their knees.

“What’s happening?” Mila breathed, disbelief making her words airy. She adjusted her grip on her swords, eyes flicking across the valley below.

But they were not rising. Some fell on daggers or axes, impaling themselves. Some tumbled to the ground, a daze on their faces. Some were entirely unconscious. But almost every soldier in the queen’s army bowed before us.

It wasn’t only the searing light that had punctured the darkness. This was something more. Some final cord of Kakias’s reign being snapped.

This was a lifting of a dizzying air, spiraling dark and hazy above them, like dust being spread through the sky in a storm. It drifted apart into small bits until it was swallowed up entirely by the clouds over the mountains.

“I think they did it.” I turned to Mila, beaming, a surge of knee-shaking relief mixing with desperation and lust in me. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I spun her. Her swords clattered to the ground with a ringing that echoed like victory bells.

Mila’s eyes widened, but she gripped my shoulders and dared to let a smile show.

Gripping the back of her neck, I kissed her as hard as I fucking could. I melded us together, leaning her against the side of the cliff, and memorized the feel of her against me. Earlier tonight, I hadn’t been sure I’d get to do this again, and I had only done it once so far. Not nearly enough.

Her sinfully sweet taste danced across my tongue, and I instantly was hard at the thought of tasting her elsewhere, wanting to experience this woman in every fucking way I could now that the battle was over, fear becoming a heady rush.

“You really think they got her?” Mila asked when she pulled back, eyes sparkling and cheeks flushed.

“Mila,” I said, cupping her cheek, and dragging up the two words I knew would mean more to her than anything else, “we survived.”

Chapter Seventy-Four

Ophelia

Blinding pain exploded through my back, and it burned.

“Aoiflyn’s holy tits,” Mora gasped.

“Ophelia!” Tolek’s voice was a beacon in the night. “Ophelia, what is it?”

I couldn’t answer, though. This was worse than the Angellight I’d manipulated on the plane, worse than the heat of the emblems. This seared along my muscles, stretching them.

My horse’s pounding hooves and distressed whinny stood out among a riot of cries, an alluring call to steady me.

“Sapphire,” I mumbled.

“She’s—”

“Need to see her,” I panted. Light still flared before my vision, but strong hands helped me up. Blindly, I followed my instincts to find Sapphire. I needed to feel her, to help her.

My hands fumbled through the air, finally meeting something soft. Downy and decadent, almost like layers of cascading velvet. Whatever it was, it wasn’t Sapphire, but running my touch across it soothed my frantic nerve-endings, dulling the sparks shooting through my body.

Spots of reality pushed back into my vision, and I took stock of the different sensations to ground myself. The pain in my spine solidified along my shoulders. An arm draped around my waist, supporting me. Citrus and spice and all that was good, beautiful moonlight remaining my tether as it had on that plane.

Spirits, my head was heavy on my neck. Around me, voices were loud and in frantic discussion. The ground seemed to sway.

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