Chapter 111

The flames which had consumed me and everything in the tunnel finally fell away, and I sank to my knees before the bones of Lionel Acrux, a weight loosening from my chest and a sob of pure relief escaping me.

Smoke clung to the walls, every piece of the surrounding tunnels blackened with the ferocity of the fire which Lionel had unleashed within his final moments. A breathy laugh fell from me as I pressed my fingers to the soot-stained ground beside the charred bones which were the only remains of the tyrant who had plagued us for so long.

The light of the Phoenix fire bird which had shot from me a moment before Lionel's attack lit the far end of the passage, still circling my most prized possession and keeping him safe from the flames which had destroyed his father.

I looked to it, calling the magic away and the bird of red and blue fire soared towards me, flames falling from its body until it fell to nothing, revealing the man I loved to the roots of my soul standing beyond it.

Darius's smile pierced my heart and I knew the weight of the freedom I was feeling couldn't even come close to how it felt for him to finally see the tyrant who had haunted every moment of his life fall to nothing.

He was at my side in moments, dropping to his knees and kissing my bloodstained lips, gripping my face between his hands and crushing his mouth to mine.

My tears finally broke free in that moment, spilling down my cheeks as the cost of this moment stacked up around me, the lives lost and sacrifices made all leading us here.

"Your debt is paid," a shadow spoke from above us and we pulled apart, looking up into the face of death as The Ferryman peered down at us and it was as if shackles fell from our souls, the need for death and carnage slipping away like it had never been. "Today was a good day for death but I do not wish to see either of you again until it is your time to pass me by."

I arched a brow at him but he was already gone, his form seeming to fade away as he slipped back through the folds of The Veil and we were left in the cold and the dark of the caves beneath the mountain.

My gaze caught on a glimmer of gold beneath Lionel's bones and I reached out to take it, finding a coin, the form of the Dragon which sat on its side scorched and melted so it was almost impossible to decipher.

I smiled as I offered it up to Darius whose hand closed around it in an instant.

"Long may the True Queens reign," he murmured in my ear, "I can't wait to see what you do next."

"Tory?" Darcy's call drew me away from the temptation of my husband's lips and I called back to her as I forced myself to my feet and turned in the direction of her voice.

She came running around the corner, her sword lit with Phoenix fire and illuminating the stone walls, making the bones on the dark ground stand out starkly against the rock.

"Is that him?" she began, hope shining in her expression and I nodded, opening my arms to her and drawing her into my embrace.

"We did it, Darcy. We killed them all – the war is over."

One by one, the others all found us, their whoops and cheers of celebration over the death of the False King only tempered by the heavy weight of grief which clung to us.

Among it all, I held onto my sister, the truth of what this meant and what we were now changing everything. And as we emerged into the bright light of day beyond the caves and our army broke into raucous cheers of celebration, I couldn't help but wonder what the world still had left to throw at us.