Page 67 of Curse of Darkness
“Come on.” Eris grabs my arm, shoving me back toward the Hallow.
“No! No.” I wrestle with her. “Eris,no!”
Not this. Not Finn.
“Someone has to look after Amaya. He’ll come for her, Vi. He’ll come for her next. We always knew….” Her voice breaks. “Finn’s going to give us time.”
There’s a crushing weight in my chest.
I am powerless. Without a sword. No match for a creature like this.
And I want to scream with rage at the thought.
I can’t protect them. I can’thelpthem.
Because a queen’s purpose is not merely to rule; it’s to protect those who are loyal to her.
Nothing can stop Malakhai. Finn can’t. Eris can’t. I can’t.
Nothing on this earth can stop Death itself….
Nothingofthis earth.
My breath catches.
Grimm.That furry little prick. He was warning me. He saw this.
“I’ve got a better idea. Slow Malakhai down,” I whisper to her.
I just need to reach the center of the Hallow.
Bolting through the stones, I scramble for the heart of the polished slate.
Malakhai laughs as steel clashes again and again. “Such a queen. Fleeing on her knees. Is this what you give your worthless life for?”
Skidding across the slate on my knees until I reach the heart of the Hallow, I whip my knife across the palm of my hand and look up.
Hesitation strikes like an arrow.
Finn’s down. On his knees as Eris guards the entrance to the Hallow.
Malakhai grabs a fistful of his hair and wrenches his head back so that I can see my most faithful warrior. Our eyes meet. His flare wide with desperation. It’s like Finn’s trying to tell me something.
“Look at her, little wyrm. Look at her trying to escape me.” Malakhai throws back his head and laughs as he sets the knife to Finn’s throat. He raises his voice. “Flee, little queen. Scuttle back to Ceres like the maggot you are. Nothing can stop me from coming for you. Nothing.”
Finn gasps as the knife rips across his throat.
Arterial blood sprays.
My heart breaks.
“No!”
But even as my tears obliterate the sight of his face, my resolve firms.You bastard. You prick.
“I summon thee.” I slam my bloody palm flat on the Hallow’s stone heart. “I summon thee forth, my lord. A second deed offered freely and thus I claim it. Come forth, my lord. Come forth and fight our foes.”
Malakhai’s laughter chokes off as he realizes I’m not going anywhere.
