Page 144 of Soulgazer

Tears leap into my eyes, and for a split second, I hate her. Hate all of them for their games and lies, their schemes. Hate her for offering a trickster’s bargain, determined to harness my magic before anyone else can.

I hate her, because I cannot survive outside her cage.

“I accept your offer. I’ll do it. My magic for Faolan’s life—just stop this. Save him. Please!”

Kiara narrows her eyes, and for just a moment, all I see is death. Then she flings her hand out and releases a blade over my head into the soldier’s eye. There is no time to balk or second-guess. I have all of three seconds to snatch up a rock and fit my fingers through the loops of my sling, swinging it over my head again and again just like Aidan taught me.

You don’t have to be clever. You don’t have to be strong. Just know when it’s time to let go.

As Maccus raises his arm for the killing blow, I release the stone from my sling.

It strikes Maccus’s hand with a sickening crack, knocking the sword from his hand as blood pours from his knuckles to the ground. His enraged gaze snaps to mine.

“Rí Maccus!” Kiara’s shout surpasses all the groans and clashes of metal, drawing the king’s focus at once. I fumble for another rock, then see she’s armed herself with a bow that is trained on his chest. The Stone King’s lips twist into a scowl just before he releases a high, piercing whistle, and his men fall away.

I search for Faolan at once—kneeling on black pebbles, his shirt hanging in bloody tatters, hair matted to his face. He’salive.

But my relief lasts only a second.

Because the light shifts from pale to a pure silver frost, and all eyes turn to the heavens as Muireal finally cradles the moon between her palms.

Fifty-Four

I collapse into the shallow, dried-up pit behind me where a stream once flowed from the top of the mountain to the sea. Scored into the earth as though by claws, the pathways are cracked and spent, a mirror to the dying woods from which they come. Beneath the cracks, though, a touch of silver frost peeks through. I turn my hand until the bone ring’s brilliant opalesque stone catches the light once more, unable to decide if the gleam is cruel or kind.

There’s no more time to reconsider. To wait.

Five generations of my ancestors bound their magic so tightly within themselves their minds frayed at the edges. They never knew the legend they could claim—the power of a goddess planted deep in their souls. Were they taught to fear it? Did they believe themselves monsters in need of cages, harbingers of curses and death?

Did they hate themselves too?

My teeth sink into my bottom lip as I touch the ring to my forehead and wait for fear to return. For loathing to settle deep. But there is only me and the magic now.

Tears stream down my cheeks, hot and human, as I raise thedagger to my right wrist and let the words pour from my lips even as they tremble.

“I call upon the knowing sea. The whispering stars. The great mother’s depths.”

The blade is cold against my skin, laid over a net of deep blue veins. Somewhere behind me, I hear my name. It’s a question, then a shout, feet pounding earth until they slide through rocks and stop at the barren stream’s edge.

“Saoirse!”

Faolan’s voice breaks through the sweet mist of my mind. He’s draped in shadow, huddled beneath the weight of his injuries as the others draw near. Whatever he sees makes his face pale, as though his soul’s already abandoned its vessel. “What the feck are you doing?”

I look to the knife again, and for a moment caution flickers through my certainty. Maybe there was a reason my ancestors rejected this path. Perhaps it required too much. But if I can save Faolan—saveeveryone—from a fate of wandering the earth, trapped in eternal torment…is that not worth my life?

“Only the goddess Muireal can awaken the island. And her magic is in my blood.”

Realization dawns, and Faolan darts forward to try to grab my arm—but he can’t. Something keeps him from me, even as it causes his bargainer’s mark to glow beneath the glove. I press the blade’s edge down until my skin bends but does not break.

“No!Wait, love—please. Whatever those voices are telling you, they’re asking too much. Opening a stone door, fixing the ring, those feats only took a few drops. But the whole feckin’ island?!”

Death awaits, my star-touched child.

“It’s the only way.”

Kiara steps beside him, her face unreadable, arrow still trained on Maccus, who paces like a bear. “Faolan, back down. Think of the reward, never the—”

Faolan whirls on Kiara, anger vibrating through him. “She is not a risk I’m willing to take!” I watch as the legend crumbles into dust, the man falling to his knees and throwing himself at a barrier he cannot possibly break. “Saoirse,please!” His voice cracks, and with it, my heart. “I’m begging you, put down the dagger.”

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