Chapter Forty-Eight

AKIRA LANDED IN FRONT OF Rune in a flurry of black wings, and I watched in horror as he jerked backward as the arrow struck. Rune's eyes widened as he caught Akira, falling to his knees as they both collapsed.

Looking to my right, I screamed, "Dallas! Mom! Cover!"

My mother swept her water wide until I had a clear path to Rune and Akira, and I fell to my hands and knees beside them as Dallas encased us in a shield-like hollow globe of water.

"Oh my God," I croaked as I took in the arrow sticking out of Akira's chest.

Rune's face went ashen as he stared wide-eyed at his best friend. He held him in his arms as Akira twitched, and blood dripped from his lips.

"Akira, stay with me," Rune growled. "You're gonna be fine." Rune looked across Akira's body at me. "Heal him."

My hands shook, and my gaze zeroed in on the arrow. "I can't heal him with the arrow in there."

Rune's breath got choppy as he shook his head and turned his eyes to the arrow. Dallas grunted as a rock was thrown at the cover she'd made, and she nearly fell as she fought to keep the water from collapsing.

My mother hovered near Akria's head, and her voice broke when she said, "The arrow is too close to his heart. If you pull it out, he'll die because of the Nightbloom before she can heal him."

"Fuck!" Rune cursed, the first tears dripping from his eyes. He tried to gather Akira closer in his arms. "So, what do we do? How do—"

"S'okay," Akira whispered. His unfocused eyes somehow flicked to Rune's, and he managed to offer a small smile. "S'o … kay. Tell … Jesiah … I l-love—"

"You can tell him," Rune begged through gritted teeth. "You're—You're gonna be fine. We'll—" Rune's voice broke as Akira's quivering hand reached up to touch Rune's face.

"T-Tell him."

Rune's throat worked as he swallowed. "I'll tell him."

Akira's body shook and more blood spurted from his lips. "Love … you … Rune." His pale hand slipped back down to the ground, and his eyes glazed over. The soft smile slowly disappeared, and he went perfectly still, staring up into the sky he'd always loved.

Rune shook his head, and he stared disbelieving at Akira's still form. "Akira?"

Silence was his only answer.

I covered my mouth with my hands as everything inside of me broke.

Rune let out a guttural, soul-piercing cry, and he pulled Akira into him, pressing his face onto the top of his head.

Disbelieving tears streamed down my cheeks.

Akira.

Not Akira . Please .

"Shit!" Dallas cursed as she fumbled to hold up the wall, fighting Fae from the outside as well as her own tears.

My mother's gaze darted between Rune and me, and she angrily got to her feet, staring at the watery wall across from her. She pulled her fists inward, and at the same time, the water sucked a lone figure into our world.

Myra looked off kilter only for a moment before her golden eyes found where her son slumped over a lifeless Akira. She curled her lip and sneered, "Idiot Raven. He should've stayed out of the way."

"You tried to kill your son," I seethed, my cries coming hard and fast.

Myra tilted her chin up. "He's no son of mine."

Rune's broken gaze turned to his mother, but before he could move, my mother did. She stepped between Rune and Myra, squaring her shoulders and standing protectively over Rune. Myra's eyes widened a fraction at the sight of my mom, but that was the only indication that Mom's presence meant something to her.

Alesta narrowed her eyes and hissed, "You've hurt far too many people, Myra. People who didn't deserve it."

The Fox Fae held Alesta's eyes, and her voice came out eerily calm. "Khal was an easy kill."

My mother's face contorted with rage at the mention of my father's name. The next second happened so quickly that I didn't think anyone even had a chance to blink.

One minute Myra stood defiantly, glaring at us all, and the next, a flash of movement rained down toward her. Her eyes gaped, and her mouth hung open as dozens of ice shards pierced through her body. The towering blades impaled her and stuck deep into the ground so she couldn't move. Alesta stalked toward her, gripped Myra's head in her hands, and twisted with a sharp, precise movement. I quickly turned away, only hearing the sickening snapping and tearing, then dull thud as my mother pulled the Fox Fae's head from her body.

"Not as easy as you," my mother growled. Seconds later, she came back to where Rune and I knelt.

I wasn't sure if it was right, but knowing Mom took out Myra left me momentarily satisfied. The woman could no longer hurt Rune or the twins. Her cloud of terror could finally dissipate, and … she could finally find peace with Balgair. That was all Rune had wanted for her in these past months.

Rune trembled in front of me, not daring to look where his mother had just stood. He stared only at Akira's pale face, and his clawed hands reached to grip Akira's fingers once more. He pressed their joined hands to his chest and hung his head.

Everything inside me felt broken, empty, and numb.

Myra, the villainous mother, had tried to murder her own child without an ounce of remorse. But the love of a friend had saved him. The sacrifice of a friend.

Akira.

The boy who always had a smile for everyone.

The boy who just wanted what was best for everyone.

Gone.

Something inside me snapped as I stared at his bloody, unmoving body.

A body that would never flash his carefree smile again, would never leap into the air to take flight again, would never wrap me in his arms again.

Grief so potent, it made me physically tremble, knocked through me. Tears trailed down my cheeks with no sign of stopping, and as I listened to the wails of the man I loved most in this world—the man who'd nearly been in the exact same spot—anger quickly united with the sorrow. The two fierce emotions engulfed my insides like a wildfire, until my nails dug into the soil under my palms, and my throat burned with the scream ripping through me.

This didn't have to happen.

Akira didn't have to die.

This was because one hell-bent King demanded blood.

And the world had lost a precious light because of it.

I screamed as sharp pain seemed to slice wide open inside of me. A flurry of something else began to unfurl within my chest—something powerful, ancient, and vaguely familiar.

Something all-consuming.

My mother's eyes widened, and she started to rush to my side. "Bria, no! Don't! Fight it! Don't let it take you!"

Ignoring the angry tears coating my face and the pleas from my mom, I leapt to my feet and rushed the watery wall around us to leave its cover. Fae were on me as soon as I appeared on the other side, but the fire that had lit inside of me wouldn't be stopped. With a furious wail, I summoned more water than I'd ever conjured alone before. The liquid gathered overhead, stretching far across the field like a looming thundercloud. It made everyone pause, looking up at the expanding water. With a twirl of my arms, I sent it flying all around me with one clear instruction.

Bring me Elias.

The water crashed down to the earth from above. As soon as it reached the ground, it pushed every Fae back with a force that sent some hurtling. It cleared the field, leaving me to glare at the only other figure who remained.

"You want a fight, Elias?" I screamed as he looked around the cage I'd put us in.

The water stood tall, and it boxed Elias and I in for all to see from the other side of the watery walls, like zoo animals on display. My emotions were volatile, strengthening the watery fortress so that no one could enter the arena I'd created. It was just Elias and me with thousands of spectators locked onto the spectacle. For the first time today, the field was quiet, save for the sound of rushing water and my rapid, angry breathing.

Another flare of something turbulent and powerful rushed through my limbs, but I ignored it as I yelled, "Here I am! So, let's end this before anymore Fae have to die!"'

"Bria, stop!" Rune yelled, slamming his fiery fists into the impenetrable wall. My mother and Dallas were beside him, trying to manipulate the water to let them in, but not even they could get past the cage I'd built.

This was my fight.

It should've always been just Elias and me.

Then no one else would've died.

Blake. Angus. Myra.

Akira.

Fresh, angry tears poured down my cheeks, and I clenched my fists.

Akira didn't fucking deserve to die.

Elias chuckled as he stood roughly two feet away from me. "Lose someone?"

Scrunching my nose as fury burned through me, I yelled, "No one had to die today. We didn't have to do this, you bastard. So, let's end it!"

I swiped my arms down in an X, and water from the walls around us shot forward, aimed right at Elias. It was a pitiful attack, but it wasn't meant to hurt. It was meant to distract. His attention turned to the watery arrows, and I rushed him, calling up a water dagger in my hand. I gritted my teeth, swinging on Elias. He leaned back, avoiding a slice to the face. I kicked my leg out, which he batted away. I kept moving in, forcing him to take steps back, and he was on complete defense, too caught up in avoiding and deflecting my hits, jabs, and kicks to deliver his own. Just like I'd practiced with Alvaro—keep moving forward and moving your opponent back.

Snarling, he avoided another blow and said, "Such a nuisance."

He stomped hard on the ground, and as I swung my fist for another hit, a rock wall burst up from the earth. My knuckles smashed into the stone, and I let out a yelp as the skin on my knuckles immediately split open and bones shattered. I drew my hand back, barely registering the sound of movement behind me over the pain firing up my arm. I sensed Elias appearing behind me and leaned sideways, spinning out of the way as he tried to deliver a blow of his own to the back of my head.

Now I was on the defensive, trying to avoid every hit he sent my way. I wasn't as lucky in avoiding all of them. One caught me in the mouth, making blood drip from my lips, and another kick to my stomach sent me rolling across the ground, landing in a breathless heap.

"It truly was a valiant effort, Bria," Elias mocked with a smile as he watched me sway back to my feet.

The earth cracked right by his foot, and a jagged, slender stone rose in the shape of a sword, finding its way into Elias's grip. He held the land-made weapon up to study it, and he plucked a vial from beneath his armor, pouring the black substance—Nightbloom—over the sword.

His green eyes flicked back up to meet mine. "It's time to rid the world of you and those who follow you."

I didn't understand. I'd never understand how someone could be so swept up with hatred that they'd subject so many people to this .

Death.

Grief.

Agony.

A world stained with red.

Akira didn't deserve what happened.

I was sure most of the fallen Fae didn't.

And all of the fighting I'd been made to do today? I hated it. Even now, I loathed what was happening between Elias and me. Death wasn't the solution to our problems.

But for him it was, and he was determined to get it.

The anger, sorrow, and bitterness swirling deep inside me made my chest ache. It spiraled in an ugly tangle of emotions as Elias rushed toward me. Tears, blood, and dirt marred my cheeks as my watery dagger fended off his stone sword. My breath came faster as my mind went back to Akira lying motionless in Rune's arms, my Fox sobbing over a precious soul lost.

Join.

This didn't need to happen.

Become.

He didn't need to die.

Water.

I roared an ugly, choked cry as I knocked Elias's sword away. It slipped from his grasp, and I angled my blade for a kill, my hands shaking and heart pounding. Elias quickly dove toward his fallen sword, and I launched myself after him. He whipped around, still knelt on the ground, and that's when the very air changed.

There was a sound like rock crushing metal and a wet snap as pressure hit me in the abdomen. I blinked, unsure what I was feeling, and looked down to see Elias's Nightbloom coated sword buried in my stomach. He grinned up at me and shoved it in further.