Page 200 of Curse of Darkness
“Destroy him,” I whisper, conjuring sparks of magic on the wind.
It tears me into a pillar of flame.
“As you wish, Daughter of Light.” The Erlking turns. “Prepare the Hallow. And open the void.”
“No!” screams the Horned One as their combined magic grabs him.
Thiago drives his sword right through his heart, and the Horned One gasps as the wound turns black. It spreads out from where that sword is buried in him, consuming him by inches.
Setting my hands to his temples, I let my flames burn.
He can’t fight us both.
“I will take you with me,” he snarls, grabbing my wrists.
But I’m no longer whole. Merely flame.
He screams as his hands burn.
Screams until Thiago twists the blade.
And then he’s finally silent.
My flames flicker out, leaving me back in my mortal body.
Every inch of me feels wrung out and empty, my bones like lead. “Oh gods,” I groan.
We’re not finished yet, whispers the crown.We can crush Unseelie.Claim the crowns of all those queens.
I can feel it on my head, and pluck it from my temples, surprised to find a wreath of golden flames. Tiny diamond shards glitter among those flames so that it catches the light and gleams. It’s morphed shapes.
But not desires.
“Thanks,” I tell it, summoning one last thread of the Hallow’s power. “But I’m quite content to go crownless. I have everything I want, right here. Back into the box with you.”
No!it screams as I use the Hallow to send it back to its lead-lined box, locked high in Ceres tower.
I’ll deal with it later.
The light starts to dim, all of it centering in upon me. It should feel like there’s nothing left, but I can feel it within me, shivering beneath my skin. In the wake of its loss, I finally notice the slate floors beneath me, sealed shut with a thin line of gold as if my reemergence healed the Hallow.
It’s song rages through the world in perfect counterpoint to those Hallows around it.
It’s beautiful.
Clean. Pure. Reenergized.
In perfect balance.
And as the Old Ones lay the Horned One’s body on the slate floors of the Hallow with a quiet, sad reverence, my knees go out from under me.
44
“Vi!” Thiago slides to his knees beside me, drawing me into his arms. His enormous hug envelops me, drowning out the world. This is my refuge, my safe haven in any storm.
“You’re alive,” I whisper, splaying my palm over his heart. The beat of it is strong and firm. There’s no sign of the blackness in his eyes, no hint of the chill in his skin.
“He’s gone,” he whispers, as if he knows what I’m searching for. “For the moment.”
