Chapter 18

With a trembling hand, I reached for the hilt of a fallen sword drenched in blood and lying on the floor nearby. The weapon felt heavy in my grasp, but I refused to let doubt cloud my mind. I thought of everyone I had encountered on this journey, every life that had been ruined or cut short because of Cas and his tyranny of the last five hundred years. The fact that I had been driven to erase my memories, erase who I was completely because he wouldn"t stop chasing me. I thought of Evie, of all the Clover pack members we had already lost.

"I hope you never find peace," I said, my voice strong and steady as I prepared to do what I wished I could have done five hundred years ago.

Cas"s eyes widened in fear as he realized my intent, but by then it was too late. With a primal roar, I lunged forward, my sword slicing through the air with deadly precision as I plunged it into Cas"s chest. The sword sliced through flesh and bone with a sickening crunch, his cry of pain echoing off the walls before falling silent, his blood staining the stone beneath him. I surged power through the blade, electricity crackling as it attacked in tandem, until I watched the life fade from his eyes, his body finally going still.

His reign of terror was finally at an end, and the world would be a safer place because of it.

As the echoes of Cas"s final cry faded from our minds, a sharp, crackling surge of energy burst through the room, sending shivers down my spine. A writhing portal opened like a tear through reality, and before I could even register what was happening, two figures stepped out with startling speed.

There was barely any time to react as Roxy, the halfling witch, and Queen Tantaii both sprang into action. The portal had materialized only feet away from us, and they latched onto the closest people to them. Roxy"s arm shot out, her arm curling tightly around Lily"s neck as she pulled her flush against her, her free hand holding a writhing black orb, only inches from Lily"s face. Queen Tantaii did similarly, lightning coating her hand as she grabbed Finn, hovering her electricity-gloved hand directly above his throat.

"Let them go!" I demanded, my voice laced with urgency and desperation. I had the power of the ring, but I had no way to guarantee that I could get to my friends before they could kill them, and that was not a gamble I was willing to take.

Tantaii"s lips curled into a sinister smile as she regarded me with cold amusement. Being face-to-face with her was jarring. She was beautiful in the way that all fae were beautiful, but there was an edge to her, a maliciousness that lived just underneath the surface and could be called with the slightest thought.

"Not so fast, Olette." She let my name roll off her tongue like a caress, but it felt like a curse, dooming me to oblivion. "Hand over the ring, or your friends will pay the price for your defiance. Children shouldn"t play with toys they don"t understand."

My heart hammered in my chest as I weighed my options, the weight of the ultimatum pressing down on me like a leaden anchor. Surrendering the ring would mean risking everything we had fought for, but the idea of coming all this way just to let Lily and Finn die so the ring would stay safe was unbearable. Oliver could make a portal quickly, and I was even fairly confident we"d be able to make it through, but that would mean leaving my friends to die.

My head turned slightly, and I looked at Callan, his dark eyes urging me. I knew what he wanted, even without his feelings pouring through to me in our bond. Take the ring and run, I could almost hear him say. I looked to Oliver, whose fingers were twitching, already poised and ready to create a portal as soon as I gave the go-ahead.

But then I looked to Nia, the glow in her chest as bright as ever. Normally so regal and confident, her eyes pleaded with me, tears brimming as she urged me to do something. She was smart enough not to step out of line, but Lily"s life lay in my hands, and she knew it.

As the tension crackled in the air between us, I locked eyes with my mother, her gaze blazing with contempt as she watched my indecision. "I should have never had you," she spat, her voice dripping with disdain. "I thought that maybe you"d prove me wrong, that you"d be different from your father, but it quickly became clear to me that you"re no better than a dog. I should have killed you then."

"Tantaii," Engar protested from behind me, but the queen just tilted her head back and laughed, a cruel, sardonic sound.

"Shut up, Engar," she scoffed. "The only reason you"re still alive is because of me. If it wasn"t for this idiotic mate bond, I"d have killed you before Olette was even born." He shrank back from her words, almost cowering, and disappointment set its vicious claws into me. I"m not sure what I"d expected him to do, but it wasn"t that.

A cold smile tugged at her lips as she turned her attention back to me. "This defiance will be your undoing. Give me the ring now, and maybe I"ll let you live."

"You cling to your throne with fear and oppression, not power. You should be ashamed of what you"ve done. Are you so power-hungry that you don"t care what you"re doing to your own realm?"

Her eyes narrowed, baring her teeth as she spoke. "Do not lecture me, child. You're friends are only alive because I haven't decided to kill them yet. We wouldn't even be in this predicament if it wasn't for you. I give you life, and this is how you betray me?"

I felt the sting of her words like a slap to the face, the echoes of what I already thought about myself permeating my thoughts.

"I"ve made mistakes," I admitted, my voice tinged with regret. "But I"ve also learned from them. And I won"t let you hurt any more people."

Her eyes flashed with fury, her patience wearing thin. "Your arrogance will be your downfall," she seethed, her voice dripping with venom. "You are nothing more than a pawn in a game you couldn"t begin to understand." With a menacing crackle, Queen Tantaii"s lightning flared, an eerie glow casting across the room.

"Last chance," she warned, her voice a low, ominous rumble. "What will it be?"

Her words hung heavy in the air, the ultimatum suffocating me like a shroud. A surge of defiance rose within me, but beneath that lay a deeper, more primal instinct – the need to protect those I cared about, at any cost. There had to be a way I could save my friends and keep her from destroying the mortal realm.

I looked at Lily, who stood incredibly still, tears flowing down her cheeks, her eyes boring holes into Nia"s who had matching streaks on her face. Then I looked to Finn, who had already been looking at me, a sad smile on his face. Seeing my attention on him, he nodded as slight as he could without alerting the Queen, whose arm remained wrapped around him, holding him tightly in place. I knew what he was trying to tell me. Let me die, get out of here.

With a heavy heart, I made my decision, knowing it was something I'd never be able to take back. Slowly, deliberately, I reached for the ring that adorned my finger, its pulsating energy thrumming happily against my skin.

I met Tantaii"s gaze head-on, my expression blank against the turmoil that was waging a war inside of me.

"Fine," I conceded, my voice a mere whisper against the tension in the room. "Take it." Shock rippled through the room, over the faces of my friends. Lily"s eyes closed with a shudder as she let out a weak whimper. I refused to look at anyone but Tantaii, not wanting to see the judgement on their faces.

A triumphant smile curved Tantaii"s lips as she extended her hand, the crackling lightning still dancing ominously around her fingertips as she held Finn tightly with the other, making sure he couldn"t break out even if he tried. With a sense of resignation, I removed the ring from my finger, feeling suddenly empty as I held it out to her, my hand trembling ever so slightly.

She wasted no time moving closer to snatch the ring from my grasp, a look of triumph gleaming in her eyes as she held her prize up to her eyes.

"At last," she murmured, her voice filled with saccharine satisfaction. The Queen nodded to Roxy, and she released Lily without any hesitation. "Start the portal," Queen Tantaii ordered Roxy, who immediately turned, channeling her magic as a portal started to rip into existence, a few feet behind where the Queen stood. Lily stumbled forward, her eyes wide with relief as tears poured down her face, rushing into Nia"s waiting arms.

"Finn too," I ordered the Queen, who still held my friend tightly with one hand. He stood awkwardly frozen, very aware of the lightning-laced hand that threatened his life. His eyes fixed on mine, and I gave him the most reassuring smile I could muster, given the situation. The Queen reached down, shoving the ring into her pocket for safekeeping. It seemed even she was smart enough to know the ring couldn"t be worn all the time. That much power, that much ability, would be too much to bear in long bursts.

"I remember you, Finneas," she sneered, her tone laced with malice. She reached up with her lightning hand, running it through his silver hair until he cried out in pain as it stung his scalp. "I had such high hopes for you. Your parents were always very loyal to me, even going so far as to offer your hand in marriage to Olette. Where in the world did they go wrong with you? I imagine Casimir would have enjoyed this," she said dully, her soulless eyes appraising the body of her son and heir, dead.

In an instant, Queen Tantaii"s electrified hand tightened around Finn"s throat, lifting him effortlessly into the air with a strength I hadn"t thought she could possess. He gasped, his face contorting in agony as he struggled against her iron grip, but it was futile.

"No!" I shouted, the scream tearing from my throat at the same time someone grabbed me, holding me back from charging forward and raining hellfire upon her. My captor began to drag me backward, the sound of another portal ripping through the air behind me as I watched with horrified eyes.

"It"s too late," Callan said into my ear as his strong arms continued pulling me back, no matter how much I strained against him. "We can"t help him. We have to go." The anguish in his voice broke me apart, splintering me into a thousand pieces.

With a final, chilling laugh, Queen Tantaii unleashed a torrent of lightning from her fingertips that spread around his entire body in a blinding flash of light. The crackling energy tore through Finn"s body with vicious intensity, his screams echoing off the walls, embedding themselves into my very soul.

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the lightning faded, leaving behind only silence and devastation as she tossed him aside, dropping him to the floor as if he were nothing. Finn"s lifeless form hit the ground hard with a sickening thud, a charred husk of who he had once been, his eyes eternally open wide in terror.

The Queen looked at me one last time, a maniacal grin on her face before she turned away.

"Bring him," she hissed at Roxy, gesturing to Cas"s body before she turned, darting through the portal. Roxy waved her free hand, Cas lifting into the air and surging through the portal, their escape snapping shut behind them.

Thick, salty tears streamed down my face as I was turned around, seeing Callan for a brief second before he pushed me headfirst through the portal, and I landed with a hard thud, barely able to see through my tears.

"Hurry!" Oliver shouted, and I wiped my eyes to see Callan still on the other side, his arms sliding under Finn"s lifeless body, hoisting him up with a grunt before he dashed through the portal. The second he was through, Oliver dropped his hands, letting the portal close with a silent, final snap.