Page 100 of Fated for Dawn

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Evelyn

Darkness swallowed me whole. I was falling—weightless yet suffocated—my body no longer my own.

Inside me, Eris raged.

You think you can contain me?Her voice slammed into my skull. A thousand whispers and screams at once.You tricked me. You think this is over?

My body convulsed.

She clawed at my mind, prying into my thoughts, twisting them, trying to unmoor me from reality. Images flashed before my eyes—my mates turning against me, the world burning, my body moving against my will. My limbs jerked unnaturally, my fingers twitching with power that wasn’t mine.

No,I snarled back.This is my body. My mind. You do not belong here.

Eris laughed, the sound slithering into my ears.You’re the one who invited me, foolish creature.Her voice coiled aroundmy mind like smoke, suffocating.You’re dead, Evelyn. You cannot stop me.

A violent shudder wracked my body as she dug deeper, trying to root herself inside me.

I will find another way. Another body.Her voice dropped into something cold and insidious.And when I do, I will burn everything you love to the ground. Your mates. Your friends. I will make them suffer. And you? You will watch, powerless.

My heart pounded in my chest.

Then, a cold wind cut through the darkness.

A forcerippedinto me, latching onto the part that wasn’t me.

I screamed, my body arching in agony as something sharp and unrelenting pried Eris away, piece by piece. Her voice shrieked in my mind, no longer taunting—nowfurious.

NO. YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO ME! I AM A GODDESS!

I gasped, collapsing onto solid ground, my vision a blur of starlight and shifting shadows.

When I looked up, Goddess Hecate stood before me—tall, regal, eyes glowing like stars.

“Evelyn,” Hecate intoned. “Thank you for your sacrifice. The gods have secured Eris. Earth is safe from Chaos.”

I struggled to my feet, still dizzy.

“Great. Glad that worked out,” I muttered sarcastically.

Something caught my eye—a crumpled form on the ground beside me. Blonde hair splayed out.

My blood ran cold. “Lia?”

I whirled on Hecate, rage bubbling up inside me. “What is she doing here? I sacrificed myself to save her!The balance must be restored. What was split in two must become whole again.That’s what you said! It’s no longer split into two—I died so that Lia could be whole!”

Hecate’s expression remained impassive. “Both halves had to be undone to break the curse and blessing and restore the balance. Both of you had to die.”

“Both?” I sputtered. “That wasn’t the deal! I was supposed to die, not her!”

Hecate’s starry eyes narrowed. “No deal was made, child. This was always the price.”

I clenched my fists, fighting back tears of frustration. I had tried to save my best friend. Instead, I had killed her.

“There has to be another way,” I insisted. “Please. I’ll do anything.”

But Hecate’s face remained unreadable.

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