Page 125 of Courting War
Like last time, Havyn seconded the motion. The sisters, for the second time in a thousand years, were all in alignment.
The veins in Nefeli’s neck bulged and turned black like herdaughters’ shadow magic. “All in favor of removing the torture portion of the boy’s punishment, say, aye.”
Andromache, Aye.
Havyn, Aye.
Love, Aye.
Theo, a muffled Aye.
Then silence descended through the room, and this time the lesser gods were noticeably resigned to the sidelines. Nefeli must have threatened them to the degree that they dared not step forward.
Theo’s throat worked. She needed one of the other gods to join them. Losing Kellyn would be horrible enough; watching his torture for years was simply unbearable. Her 100-year torture would be watching him brutalized until the edge of death, to be healed, just to repeat it again and again. It was what Andromache was supposed to experience, but Theo had killed Devereaux before it could happen.
“Aye.” Theo’s eyes snapped up, and she met the gaze of the God of Fire. Silas had voted with them.Why?
In the murmured chaos of the crowd, Andromache whispered into Theo’s ear, “You’re welcome.”
Andromache had done it. Light had bribed, bargained, or cashed in a favor for her sister. Warmth welled in Theo’s chest from the support and love she’d received from both of her sisters.
“Aye,” Poison and then Trickery said in unison. All but Harvest and Nefeli had joined the vote.
What magic had her sisters wrought?
“Fine,” Nefeli gritted her teeth. “I’ll take matters into my own hands.” In a blink, Nefeli refracted to Kellyn and thrust the dagger into his chest, an inch from his heart. She clutched him tightly, her lips dancing over his ear. “You were never going to live, boy.” She twisted the knife. “Not when you’re her fated love.”
A guttural wail escaped Theo’s lips.
“It’s okay, Theo,” Kellyn croaked, “I will fight all the forces of death, and any god to get back to you. Ipromise.”
Kellyn knelt, his eyes fixed on his true love, his life force draining from him, dripping on the ground around him.
“Fight a god?” Nefeli kicked him over with a foot. “You’re a pathetic human. You were born to die for her, but be thankful she never saidI love you,or she would incur a hundred years of punishment. And you wouldn’t want that.” Nefeli slapped his cheek condescendingly.
“She doesn’t need to tell me she loves me, because I already know.”
Nefeli twisted the knife, piercing his heart, then she strolled away, devastation in her wake.
“No,noooooooooooo,” the scream enveloped the room, consuming it. Theo pulled against her chains, trying to break free and get to him.
In defiance, Havyn waved her hand and magically dissolved the chains so that Theo could scurry forward and cradle Kellyn’s dying body between her arms. Theo half crawled, half ran to his side, falling to her knees, and heaved his body—limp and as cold as the deepest parts of space—into her lap, cradling his face.
But she was too late.
Kellyn’s eyes stared at the volcanic ceiling, empty and glazed over. There was no light left. No life left.
A scream clawed from her throat, and it wasn’t until she felt the rawness—the pain in her throat that she knew it originated from her. It crawled out from the depths of her soul and assailed the shocked crowds.
Blood pooled like a heap of poinsettia blossoms littering the marble and seeped into her clothing like water dripping down a drain.
Kellyn was dead.
His lips were stained plum-red from blood, and his chest was as pale as swan feathers.
Theo had no chance of saving him.
If she didn’t already know for sure—if she didn’t already feel the ache pouring from her splintered spirit—she knew now.
