Page 103 of The Princess of Nothing
“NO!” Blaise screamed. Somewhere to my left, Cedric’s wail ached through my soul.
At first, I didn’t understand what was happening. All I knew is I was numb all over. I felt a dull ache in my stomach, like someone had punched me really hard. Looking down, I watched blood spray out from the center of my dress. Shock stole my next breaths, until the sword was wrenched back. One of Edgar’s men looked down at me, then dropped his sword to his side as if he were just as surprised at what he’d done as I was.
My hands were shaking. Pain seared through me, slightly at first, then stronger until I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. I gurgled and coughed blood. My vision blurred. I could see my ancestors still, swaying and surrounding me. It was over. I saw Blaise kill Edgar before stars filled my vision. I watched his crown fall onto the snow-covered ground. Empty.
The last thing I saw was Cedric’s panicked stare on mine, then Blaise dropping to my side and pressing his hands against the wound. Death came quickly. I felt peaceful in its grasp. The battle was over, and we were both dead.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
The curious thing aboutdeath was how beautiful and light it felt. It was the most feared thing, yet so serene. I was at peace when I was pulled back unwantedly into my broken body. Trapped in a silent suffering, I heard Licia’s and Morgana’s chants. Pain pinched through my stomach where the fatal wound was. I had lost too much blood for me to stay. Yet somehow, I was alive. For seconds at least.
I hovered between worlds. The veil. A place I never wanted to end up. I wanted to beg Morgana and Licia to stop trying to bring me back and let me go. They had taken me from the spirit realm, landing me in a sort of purgatory. I didn’t want my soul to become trapped, half here, half there for an eternity. It was a fate worse than death.
The dead, eyeless and unspeaking, watched me from a distance. They weren’t as kind as the ancestors in the spirit realm. They seemed angry, hurt, as they moved closer. Everything was misted in gray and white. I wanted to speak, but I couldn’t.
I could still feel the pinches of pain from the world, but the emptiness of the veil took most of it away. My soul shuddered as they grew closer again, impatient now. I could feel their energy. They wanted to attach to me. I didn’t know why.
Death.
Blackness.
Emptiness.
Darkness lured me in, away from my fear. I turned to walk but heard Blaise’s and Cedric’s pained tones, begging for Morgana and Licia to try harder.
They couldn’t. I knew it was impossible. I was already gone.
In the distance, I saw him before I felt him. My father’s spirit, restless and filled with fury. I wanted to scream, to run, but he could reach me now. He rushed closer, a resemblance to who he was in his life before I tore the ring from his finger, ripping his immortality from him.
Daughter.
The voice was inside my head. There was no need for words there.
You have killed two of your family now, a great betrayal for which you will pay.
I turned and saw Edgar.I didn’t kill him.
