Page 195 of A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash

Not truly.

Mal had spent countless nights with the stolen book Wren and Kage had smuggled out of the library, its pages whispering secrets into the flickering candlelight. Phoenixians did not die the same way others did.

Ash had phoenixian blood.

And phoenixians had rituals.

If one was worthy, they could be reborn.

If she was right— if her theory was true— then she could bring him back.

But onlyonce.

Mal stepped forward, her voice barely above a whisper.

‘I cannot live without you, Ash.’

His brow furrowed. Uncertainty stirred in those golden depths.

‘Do you trust me?’

The question made his lips part slightly in surprise, but there was no hesitation. Not even for a moment.

Of course he trusted her. He always had.

Mal extended her hand.

‘Trust me, Ash.’

For a fleeting second, something warm passed through his eyes. Love. Forgiveness.

And Mal took it. Inhaled it. Let it burn her from theinside out.

Then she ripped the dagger from her belt and drove it into his heart.

A sharp gasp left his lips, his eyes going wide—a thousand emotions flashing through them at once.

Above them, the sky screamed.

Thunder roared, lightning cracking open the heavens as if the gods themselves had woken, demanding to know what she had done.

Mal yanked the dagger free, and let him go.

His body stumbled backward.

The air between them collapsed.

And then, with a final wave of her power, she sent him into the fire.

Ash Acheron fell.

His body plunged into the molten abyss, vanishing into the heat.

Mal did not watch him burn. She simply closed her eyes.

And prayed.

Everything I have done has been to protect everyone from the real threat.

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