21. Chapter 21

Ithrew my bow aside and dropped to my knees in front of Cyn and Eli, carefully setting the syringe on the floor. Their skin had taken on a blue tint, their chests unmoving.

I took the gem from my pocket to hold it against Eli's collar. The runes on the dull metal lit up like they did during their activation, and the collar broke into two pieces, clattering to the floor. My breath caught as I noticed the rows of needles studding the inside, and the holes they'd left in my brother's neck.

My hand shook as I grabbed the syringe and took off the cap. I reared my arm back and slammed the needle into Eli's chest. I pressed down on the plunger, emptying exactly half of the serum into him.

"Please … please …" I whimpered as I crawled to Cyn. "Please work."

I gave Cyn the same treatment.

Stone to collar. Collar off. Injection.

I tossed the empty syringe into the corner, letting it shatter, and wrapped my arms around my brothers. The tears I'd held back so long finally broke the dam of my stubborn composure. I sobbed against their cold, still bodies, my chest constricting.

"You can't die. Not now," I blubbered. "I just found you. You can't leave me again, please!"

Frost gripped my heart.

"What about our kingdom? What about the happiness you promised for us?"

No response, not even a twitch. No pulse.

I was too late.

I couldn't save them.

I'd endured the years of our separation, keeping my head above the rapids of despair by telling myself we would be reunited one day. But their deaths left only one way to meet them again.

I pressed a palm to my lips as I took the dagger from my boot, a fresh coat of iridescent poison from inside its sheath shimmering on the blade.

This life was worthless without them.

"It's been a while since I've properly prayed," I said, my voice wavering. "But if you exist, if you can hear me … I beseech you, Creators, please reunite us in the afterlife."

I raised the tip of the dagger to my chest, right where my heart fluttered. My breath came in shuddering sobs as I pulled my shoulders back, steadying my hand.

"Cynthian. Elias. You were—you still are—my everything. I loved you from the day we met. My soul came into this world only to find yours, to be bonded with yours. Ours was a love greater than even Zerian and Dianya's."

I closed my eyes, counting to three. On three, it would all be over. It wouldn't hurt for long. And all the anguish tearing me apart, the grief blighting me, would be gone.

One.

Two

Thr—

A hand snapped around my wrist, yanking it from my chest, and I yelped as my eyes flew open.

"Shit! Can't say something so fucking romantic and then stab yourself without waiting for a response," Cyn said, a slow smirk turning his lips as he released my arm. "We love you, too, you know?"

My mouth fell open, spots dancing in my vision. Was I already dead, hallucinating?

"Are you gonna kiss me now or not?" Cyn teased.

I tossed the dagger to the ground and threw my arms around him, my lips crashing into his. Cyn laughed, a groan of pain beneath the mirth.

"Take it easy, Hellspark. I'm hurting everywhere."

I kissed his face, every spot I could reach. Cheeks. Nose. Forehead. Brows.

This was no hallucination.

"You're alive! By the Creators, you're alive!" I blurted out.

"Yes, he's alive," a voice said from my right. "And so am I. Any kisses left for me, little one?"

"Elias!" I squeaked, my tone embarrassingly high.

Eli laughed as I turned, thirteen dimly glowing, demonic eyes greeting me. I took his face into my hands, trailing my tongue along his lips before setting tiny kisses onto the corners of his mouth and the tip of his nose, his ears, his head. He placed a weak hand on my back, rubbing slowly as he let out a low chuckle.

"If that's the treatment we get, it might be worth almost dying again sometime. Right, brother?" Cyn said, snickering.

I huffed. "Don't fucking say that! I was ready to throw myself onto my dagger!"

"We would never leave you behind, Myna," Elias said, his tone gentle. "You belong to us, in life and in death. And we will always belong to you."

"No one will ever take you from us again, Hellspark," Cyn cut in, shuffling closer to embrace us. "We'll always come back to you. That's a promise. And when our time is up, we'll go together."

"I'll take your word for it," I said, chuckling.

Cyn and Eli turned to each other. Their faces inched closer, closer, strain in the slight tilt of their heads and shifting of their shoulders, until their lips met in a slow, ardent kiss.

"I love you, brother," Cyn mumbled, nose to nose with Eli, one heavy hand on the back of his head.

"I love you more," Eli responded, eliciting a scoff from Cyn.

"Horseshit. No way that's possible."

The ice encasing my heart melted while they kissed me, too, their hands resting on my thighs.

"I love you, Myna," my brothers said at once, their voices merging before they laughed.

My heart felt so light, I thought I could drift among the stars. "And I love you both," I giggled, leaning against them.

The reverent glow of our love seeped into my pores. It slipped beneath my flesh, and crawled into my marrow. It swelled inside my lungs and thrummed in my chest, filling me with radiant joy.

Despite everything, we survived.

We emerged victorious.

Battered and bruised, but victorious.

My gaze wandered to the crumpled corpse of Malachar by the desk, and I smiled. We would succeed where he failed.

With Sylva's help and Malachar's wealth, we could rebuild our band of miscreants better than ever. All of Zeridia would tremble at the sound of our names.

In this House of Grief, we tore every scrap of happiness and each spark of hope from the brutal claws of a cruel, bleak destiny.

In this House of Grief, we anointed our savage love in rivers of blood and oceans of tears. In the tempestuous blaze of lust and battle, we reforged our bond.

And now, together, we were unbreakable.