26. Vale

Chapter 26

Vale

D eath was a lot more painful than I thought it would be.

I’d always assumed that once I left this world it wouldn’t hurt anymore, but I couldn’t be more wrong. The air around me felt like a dark blanket filled with stone, as though the magic that had just been unleashed still lingered, thick and oppressive. My body throbbed with echoes of my agony, my limbs leaden as the frigid ground of the cavern seeped into my bones. Each breath sawed through my lungs, every inhale scraping against my ribs like sandpaper.

But I shouldn’t be breathing. I shouldn’t be in pain. I ? —

And the pain wasn’t just mine. Rune’s presence still lingered, even though I knew he was gone. His essence—his very soul—had surged through me, fracturing every part of who I was before it merged with Idris. I could still taste the metallic tang of his blood, feel the weight of his soul leaving mine, hear the agony of his roar as I… as I…

And now... now I was empty.

“Rune?” I whimpered into the void of my mind—into this dark, fractured place that should be death but wasn’t. “Are you there?”

But there was no answer.

There wouldn’t be.

Not anymore.

Because he was gone. He was gone, and I would never get him back.

I tried to think of what he would say to me if he were here now, but all I could do was curl into a ball as gut-wrenching sorrow tore me in half. I’d done it. I’d broken Idris’ curse, and now I was paying the price. Because there was always a price to pay, wasn’t there?

When my sobs subsided, I pressed my trembling hands to the stone and weakly tried to push myself upright. My body screamed in protest, my vision swimming as dark spots clawed at the edges of my sight.

A pulse of the bond with my mates thrummed faintly in my mind. It was distant, fractured.

And that was my fault.

I’d broken all of my promises, turned every vow I made them into a lie. And now with Rune gone, I ? —

The echo of a dragon’s roar had me shoving from the ground in earnest as a lance of white-hot agony ricocheted through my whole body. The world tilted as I managed to get vertical, my back pressed against a jagged wall.

My fingers brushed over the blood that still stained my skin, Rune’s sacrifice a visceral reminder of what I had done. My chest tightened, a sob clawing its way up my throat. I had killed him. I had killed Rune. And Idris... Idris had watched me do it.

I squeezed my eyes shut, tears slipping free despite my best efforts. How could I face him after this? How could I face any of them? I shattered everything—my bond with Idris, my trust with Kian and Xavier—all in the name of a choice I never wanted to make.

But I’d made it—I’d broken the curse.

Idris.

My heart fluttered in my chest, a spark of hope igniting. I’d watched him change, watched him accept Rune into himself. Maybe… maybe Rune was still alive inside him, and it was just me that…

Before the weight of my guilt could suffocate me entirely, a strange warmth began to spread through my chest. It wasn’t the bond, nor was it my own magic. This was something... else. Something brighter, purer. I gasped as the cavern around me blurred, the jagged walls and scattered debris melting into a haze of light so bright I had to shield my eyes from it.

When I could see again, I wasn’t in the caverns anymore, and then I knew.

This wasn’t death, and I wasn’t on my way to meet Orrus. This was the Dreaming, and it was different from anything I had ever seen. Unlike when I’d been in the Dreaming before, this wasn’t somewhere in Credour. It was twisted and bent, the whims of magic warping reality into this pocket of a place that didn’t make any sense.

Starlit pathways floated in midair, their edges dissolving into streams of glittering light. Trees with crystalline branches stretched toward a sky that didn’t exist, their roots anchored in nothingness. The air shimmered with an otherworldly hum, as if the realm itself were alive.

But something was wrong with this place. The edges of the Dreaming frayed, dark tendrils creeping in like ink spilled over water. That darkness coated everything, poisoning it. The crystal branches snapped and cracked, engulfed by the inky blackness, consumed by it. One by one, the stars died, the magic faded, until there was nothing but darkness.

The ground beneath my feet pulsed faintly, the cracks spidering outward as the oppressive energy I had felt earlier grew stronger. I… I’d been here before. I knew this place. It had been where I’d seen Nyrah, but ? —

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

The voice was cold and sharp, slicing through the dim like a blade. A cold light bloomed in the darkness, harsh and cutting. I had to shield my eyes from it until it dimmed ever so slightly. And just like when I’d been here with Idris, rocks cut into my palms as the tunnel finally came into view.

The blonde who had once been cowering at the end of the tunnel stood. I’d thought she was my sister, cold and alone, trapped in the darkness, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. As soon as her cold gaze met mine, I knew.

Zamarra.

She stepped from the shadows, her smile just as cruel as the woman herself. Gone were the rags hanging from her skin, replaced with a gown of crystalline black, swirling around her legs like a living thing. Her eyes burned with an intensity that made my knees weak, her presence as commanding as it was terrifying. She wasn’t just formidable—she was raw power, an ancient force that had been bound for far too long.

“Do you like my prison, cousin?” Zamarra hissed, her voice dripping with contempt. “Funny how life works out, right? All your toils, all your struggles, and look where it got you.”

I stumbled back, my hands trembling as I reached for my daggers—daggers I no longer had. I called for my magic, but that, too, was long gone. I had nothing to fight her with. Nothing at all.

“I... I don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t,” she spat, her lips curling into a cruel smile. “You’re nothing more than a pawn in a game that’s been going on long before you were born. But you’ve played your part well. And now, the Dreaming will pay the price for your interference.”

My gaze fell to the jagged rocks at my feet, their iridescent sheen telling me exactly where I was.

Direveil. We were in Direveil and Zamarra had been bound in Lumentium. My heart stuttered as the truth slammed into me. Arden hadn’t cared one bit about the mine. The rising quotas, the deaths, the tight fist of control.

We’d never been mining for Lumentium.

We’d been digging her out.

The ground beneath me trembled, cracks snapping through the ground, widening as the dark tendrils spread farther. She stepped closer, her blue gaze melting into pure flame as it locked onto mine.

“Do you feel it? The fracture you’ve helped me create? You’ve freed me, little queen. And now, there’s no going back.” She tilted her head to the side, her blonde hair flowing about her head as if she were underwater. “I really should be thanking you. And I will. Once you give me what I need.”

Soon those tendrils of darkness latched onto my wrists and ankles, tethering me in place as she drifted toward me, her smile widening into a maw of sharp jagged teeth the closer she got.

“I don’t have anything,” I growled, fighting against the bonds. “And even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you.”

“Oh, but you do. You always have. And make no mistake, you will give me what I want. Did you think I set this all up so he would get his freedom?” She clucked her tongue, shaking her head. “That there would be no consequences for denying me? Oh, no. If he thought that curse was bad, he really should have been paying more attention.”

Zamarra lunged for me, her blackened fingers curled like claws aiming for my face. But before she could make contact, a blinding light erupted from behind me, forcing her to shield her eyes. My heart leapt, thinking it was Idris, but this felt so much different.

Hissing, Zamarra retreated, and I was hooked around my middle, the world swirling around me as I was pulled away from the poison of her magic. The light continued to bloom around me, swallowing the darkness, until my feet touched a soft tuft of grass so green it couldn’t be real—none of it could.

I turned, shielding my eyes as the light grew even brighter, warmer, until it consumed everything. When the light dimmed, I found myself standing before a figure unlike any I had ever seen. She was made of pure light, her form shifting and shimmering like sunlight on water. Her presence was overwhelming, but not in the way Zamarra’s had been.

This was... soothing.

Reassuring.

It was as if I’d been called home. Oh… Oh, no.

This was exactly what Idris had warned me about when he’d told me the story of how the Luxa was created. I’d drifted too far into the Dreaming, and it was calling me home.

“You’re Lirael, aren’t you?” I breathed, in awe of just how beautiful she was and just how terrible. “From the story.”

I wouldn’t be going home. I… I’d never see any of them again. I… I’d drifted too far, done too much, and now I was lost.

Her smile was gentle, kind. “Indeed, my child. But why do you cry?”

She lifted a lone finger to my cheek, a drop of a tear balanced on the tip as she drew it away. She blew on it, and it burst apart into a cluster of shimmering stars that floated away on the wind.

“Because I don’t know how to get back to them—my mates. I-I think I broke something in this realm, did something, and I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know if I can fix it. I… I’m not enough. I can’t ? —”

“You are more than you realize,” Lirael said, her voice echoing like a melody in my mind. “But your light has awakened what should have remained asleep.”

“Zamarra,” I managed to whisper, my voice trembling as I rubbed at the raw skin of my wrists.

Lirael didn’t answer. Instead, she stepped closer, her radiant hand reaching out to touch my chest. A warmth spread through me, soothing the aches and pains that had lingered since Rune’s sacrifice. My breaths came easier, the weight on my chest lifting as her light seeped into me.

“You are so much stronger than you realize,” she said, her voice soft but resolute. “But strength alone will not be enough for what lies ahead. The balance has been disrupted, and you must find a way to restore it.”

“Restore it? How?” I asked, my voice cracking. “I don’t even know what I’ve done.”

Her gaze was both kind and sorrowful. “You’ve awakened more than just Zamarra, Vale. You’ve set events into motion that cannot be undone. But you are never alone. Remember that. And when you need me, call on me. I have never answered my daughters, but I will answer you.”

“But why?”

“The book, my daughter. You must go back to the book.”

Her smile stretched wide. Before I could ask her anything else, the light began to fade, the Dreaming dissolving around me.

A faint, rhythmic pounding echoed in my ears, dragging me from the weightlessness of the Dreaming. My chest no longer ached, my limbs no longer weak, and for a moment, I thought I was still cradled in the warm light of Lirael’s embrace. But no—the cold stone beneath me, the copper tang of blood in the air, and the sounds of chaos shattered that illusion.

I gasped, the world roaring to life around me.

The cavern walls shook violently, dust and debris cascading from the ceiling. Magic crackled in the air, the searing clash of fire and ice filling my ears. My vision swam as I opened my eyes, the dim light of the cavern punctuated by bursts of violent spells. It was chaos—pure, unrelenting chaos.

And then I felt him.

Kian’s body was draped over mine, his broad shoulders blocking my view of the battle. His black dragon scales rippled along his exposed arms and back, deflecting a barrage of magic that should have torn us both apart. His claws dug into the stone at either side of me, his snarl a low, menacing rumble as another blast struck him squarely in the side.

“Kian,” I whispered, my voice steadier than I’d expected. He didn’t respond, too focused on shielding me from the Girovian mages pressing closer. His molten amber eyes flicked down to me briefly, relief flashing through them, but he didn’t dare take his attention away for long.

“Vale?” His voice cracked on my name, a mixture of disbelief and desperation. “Gods, you’re awake.”

Another explosion rocked the cavern, and Kian’s body tensed, his wings—now partially formed, his body mid-shift—flaring out to shield me further. Freya’s fierce battle cry rang out, and I turned my head to see her slicing through the tendrils of magic aimed at us. Her twin blades moved with deadly precision, their silver edges catching the flickering light as she spun to take down another mage.

“Stay down, little Luxa,” Freya barked over her shoulder, her voice sharp but tinged with relief. “We’ve got this. Just don’t move.”

But I wasn’t weak anymore.

The warm hum of Lirael’s magic still lingered beneath my skin, her light thrumming faintly in my chest. My muscles, which should have ached after everything I’d endured, felt whole, steady. I flexed my fingers, expecting pain, but there was none. Even the bond with my mates pulsed stronger, clearer than before.

“Kian,” I murmured again, trying to sit up. He pressed a hand to my shoulder, keeping me down as his eyes raked over me.

“I felt you go,” Kian rasped, his voice breaking as his claws flexed against the stone. For a moment, he looked lost, his molten eyes flickering with disbelief before the roar of an approaching mage pulled him back to himself.

“I’m not,” I said, my voice firmer this time. “I’m here, Kian. I’m fine.”

His amber eyes narrowed, his gaze roving over my face, searching for some hint of weakness. “I held you,” he said, his voice raw. “You weren’t breathing. You were cold. I—” He broke off, his jaw tightening as his amber eyes flicked away. “You were gone.”

“I was healed,” I said softly, though my voice trembled. “In the Dreaming. I—I can’t explain. It was Lirael. She sent me back.”

Kian’s eyes widened, his claws flexing involuntarily, crumbling the stone in his large hands. “The goddess? She?—”

“Can we save the reunion for later?” Freya snapped, her blade deflecting a surge of green magic. “I love a good miracle and all, but we’re still in the middle of a godsdamned battle.”

Kian snarled, his wings flexing as he rose to his full height. “I’m not leaving her.”

“You don’t have to,” Freya shot back, slicing through another wave of attackers. “But we need to get out of here. Now.”

I pushed myself up on trembling arms, brushing past Kian’s attempts to hold me down. “I told you, I’m fine.” To prove my point, I rose to my feet, the lingering hum of Lirael’s magic steadying me as the cavern spun. “And I’m not leaving. Not while we’re under attack. A Queen does not run.”

Kian growled, his hand darting out to steady me as another explosion rocked the cavern. “I don’t give a fuck what goddess patched you up—you’re not fine. You fucking died. I watched you.” He slammed his fist against his chest. “I felt you go. You were gone.”

“For the love of fuck, let her prove it,” Freya snapped, slicing through a mage’s spell with an almost reckless ferocity. “If she’s up for it, great. If not, I’ll drag her out myself. Either way, we’re not losing her again. Not today.”

Kian shot her a glare, but I didn’t give him a chance to argue further. Reaching deep inside myself, I called on my magic—and it readily answered. I raised my hands instinctively, and golden light flared bright and sharp, erupting from my hands brighter than ever before, forming a barrier so solid it felt almost alive. The mages’ spells shattered against it, fragments of magic dissolving into sparks. My power surged, foreign and familiar all at once, as if Lirael’s light had fused with my own.

The warmth Lirael had left in my chest pulsed faintly, like a second heartbeat, steadying me even as the cavern trembled around us. My body should have been weak, aching from the toll of Rune’s sacrifice and the Dreaming’s pull, but instead, I felt... whole.

Golden light surged through me, sharper, clearer than ever before. It wasn’t just my power—it felt layered, ancient. Like Lirael had left a piece of herself behind, a steady flame to guide me through the dark.

“I told you,” I snarled, the molten fury of battle thrumming through my veins as my magic surged through my limbs. It was bigger now, somehow more than it had ever been. “I’m not broken.”

Kian let out a low growl, his heated gaze locking onto mine. “You’re infuriating, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told,” I shot back, stepping closer to him as Freya carved a path through the mages. “Now, are we getting out of here, or are you going to keep arguing with me?”

His lips twitched, the ghost of a smile breaking through his frustration. “Fine. But if I see even a hint of blood, I’m throwing you over my shoulder.”

“Deal,” I said, the hum of Lirael’s magic surging in agreement.

Kian rushed forward, his claws tearing through the tendrils of magic that reached for us as Freya covered our flank. The bond with my mates pulsed in the back of my mind, and I could feel Idris’ fury blazing like wildfire above us. Xavier’s icy determination was closer, his magic carving through the enemy as he cleared the upper tunnels.

But even as they pushed the Girovian forces back, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Lirael’s words echoed in my mind, her warning a constant hum in the back of my thoughts. This wasn’t just an attack—it was a distraction. A prelude to something far worse.

Zamarra’s venomous gaze lingered in my memory, her voice like a shadowed whisper, taunting me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was watching, waiting—her tendrils already sinking into the cracks we’d left behind.

As the battle raged on, I knew the real danger had yet to reveal itself.

And when it did, I would need to be ready.