Page 138 of A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash

They had been sixteen when she had entered his world. A nobleman's daughter, radiant, untouchable—and he, the Fire Prince, had fallen for her like a fool reaching for the sun, only to be burnt to the bone.

She had beeneverything. He would have left his kingdom for her.

And then, with trembling hands, she had pulled the glamour away.

She was not drakonian.

She was witch-born.

The truth had shattered him, leaving nothing but splinters in his chest. He had cursed those purple eyes, had hated the sight of the black inked tattoos curling up her hands, had begged himself to forget the feel of her white hair between his fingers.

And yet, here she stood. A phantom from another lifetime.

Their gazes collided—a single moment suspended in time, a silent war waged between them.

But Adara’s eyes flicked past him, her attention shifting from the boy she had broken to something far more important.

Mal.

Mal, who was falling.

The world tilted as Ash turned, a sickening lurch in his stomach. His wife tumbled from the heavens, her body weightless, her scream swallowed by the rushing wind.

No.

No. No. No.

Ash tore himself free from the past, a furious command leaving his lips as he spurred his dragon into the sky, propelling forward with all the speed the beast could muster. He could still catch her—he could still save her.

And then, the witches below lifted their hands.

A single, deadly purpose.

Their magic gathered into a singular force, a colossal wave of green fire meant for one final, unforgivable blow.

Nyx.

Ash’s eyes widened in silent, frozen horror as a hundred bolts of power collided with the wyvern all at once.

A moment of paralysing silence.

The world detonated.

A shockwave tore through the sky, and Nyx’s final roar was a sound that should never have existed, a sound of agony so raw, so unnatural, it made the heavens themselves tremble.

The wyvern—her mighty heart, her indomitable wings—was torn apart.

Blood, fire, and flesh rained from the heavens.

And Mal…

Mal did not fall.

Mal became somethingelse.

…

Something awoke in Mal.

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