I could die without killing him. Cyrus had suspected there was a way to sever my bond with the librarian, and I believed he was right. Snuff out the flame, and boom. Problem solved. The loss of such a deep connection would destroy Domino and me in a thousand different ways, I was certain of it, but he was gonna live, and I was gonna die anyway, so I couldn’t regret it.

  Suspicions flashed in his eyes. “How will you do it?”

  “Better to show you rather than explain.”

  “But you will survive it?” he insisted.

  “Dom, I’m not going to endanger your life,” I assured him. “Watch me work my magic.”

  “Let me guess.” He arched a brow. “You plan to snuff out our flame and sacrifice yourself.”

  “Well, I meet the only qualification. I love myself,” I stated. “It’ll work. You won’t die with me.”

  “I don’t care about that,” he snapped.

  “There’s no other way.” Determination mounting, I leaned over, plucked the dagger from Winslet’s grip, and sheathed it at my waist. Her eyes opened and met mine. “Don’t die believing a lie,” I told her. I had one last chance to reach her. Might as well give it my all, nothing held back. “The Madness came from Astan. He tortures innocent people to hide the truth and trains us to do the same. His only goal is the destruction of Soal, who helps us.”

  The feeders applied enough pressure to crack the glass. Small lines appeared, but they grew longer and wider at a faster clip as the beatings continued.

  “I won’t let you sacrifice yourself,” Domino vowed.

  As if he could stop me. I’d made up my mind. “You should cheer me on. You’ll finally be free of our unwanted connection.”

  “It was never unwanted, Arden.” He said nothing else, throwing open the door and jumping out. Swing. The sword of fire appeared, and feeders closest to him fell, making room for me.

  I stuffed his words, and whatever they meant, to a hidden corner of my mind and followed him out, then shut the door behind me to seal Winslet inside alone and safe. Well, safer.

  Side by side, Domino and I made our way forward. Through the bond, I knew when to duck and when to swing my own sword.

  “Arden!” Cyrus’s voice cut through the grunts, groans, and thuds.

  My heart leaped, as usual, but I didn’t let myself become distracted. I continued pressing on with Domino, fighting, fighting. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, heating me up. A welcome development. My damp gown offered little protection against the biting wind and swiping nails.

  A massive number of glowers rushed past us, attacking the feeders before us head-on, creating a path. Domino yanked me forward. Together, we ran for the gate.

  “I won’t let you sacrifice yourself,” he repeated.

  Domino spun, ending a trio of feeders who slipped free of the fray.

  Nearby, Ember called out orders. “Bark, shield Talon. Murphy, boost Brenna.”

  Different glowers paired up, focusing on the force field, attempting different methods to get through it—and failing.

  Almost there . . .

  The ground. It shook so violently even glowers began to fall. What was happening? Feeders stumbled backward, losing their balance.

  Thick, thorny vines broke through the surface, snatching feeders and glowers within tightening coils that slithered around them. Fire-swords snuffed out and vanished as those sharp thorns stabbed anyone who wiggled for freedom.

  Inside me, dread mimicked the vines, winding and tightening. This was Briar Rose via Lolli, and these glowers were meant to be “fuel.”

  I spun, ready to grab Domino and run. Too late. He roared with pain as a vine grabbed him. The sword vanished. Like the others, he couldn’t get free. I was the only glower left standing.

  A path opened, and Cyrus appeared at the end of it, holding two bloody daggers. My heart lurched. He still wore the suit, but it was no longer pristine. Scarlet-stained rips littered the material.

  I readjusted my pose, putting my sword of flames at the ready.

  “I told you. You can’t win,” he said, as calm and smug as could be. “I’ve planned for every contingency.”

  Lolli stood at his side, her head thrown back and her arms outstretched, her fingers twitching.

  Lolli isn’t all powerful. Especially now. Her connection to Briar Rose is too new. Domino’s voice filled my head. His spirit might not be joined to my body, but our bond was stronger than ever. She can only funnel in what her body can tolerate. Soon, she’ll tire. All you must do is stall until we get free.

  That, I could do. “Why not kill me while you’ve got the chance, hmm?” I demanded of Cyrus. “Or snatch me up with vines like all the others?”

  He merely rocked back on his heels, silent. But then, he didn’t need to say anything. We both knew the answer. Cyrus was still in there, and he loved me.

  Right now, Lolli was the bigger threat. I didn’t bother tossing a dagger at her. He’d only catch it. I was dealing with the host for a god, after all.

  I looked at her. The vines. Lolli, the root. I followed the bark-heavy protrusions to the trapped glowers and swung. The tip of my sword sliced through dirt, severing a thick green coil. The high princess whimpered.

  Exactly as I’d suspected. Take her out, and all the glowers would be freed. But I’d have to go through Cyrus to reach her.

  “Don’t even try,” he snapped.

  Two buses reached us, soldiers pouring from them, my former instructors at the helm.

  Cyrus grinned. “Looks like you’ve run out of time, sweetness.”

  “Wrong.” I jutted my chin. “I’m still breathing.”

  We stood in a stalemate, the battlefield between us a nightmare of lifeless bodies and scattered limbs bathed in the unflinching light of Theirland’s twin suns. Lavender and gold streaked the sky, casting an eerie glow over the blood-soaked earth, where rivers of crimson carved fresh paths through the flatland. Overhead, a restless flock of scavenger birds circled, their shrill cries piercing the thick, heavy silence as they awaited their feast.

  The fresh wave of CURED soldiers flooded the scene, surging from behind the former high prince and hurrying to kill the array of glowers trapped around me. Men and women I admired. Many more would die today if I didn’t stop Cyrus. But how could I strike down the man I loved?

  Was he still the man I loved, though?

  In the morning’s brightness, I noticed his missing facial brand. No sign of it remained, and my guts twisted. More evidence of the monster he’d become.

  What other changes had Astan made to his body? To his mind? His heart?

  “It doesn’t have to end this way, Arden,” he called, grin widening.

  “You’re right.” I huffed and puffed my breaths. “Walk away, and I’ll spare you.”

  His grin turned wry. Thin, snakelike shadows coiled up his arms and banded around his neck before absorbing into his skin. “I admit, your new confidence is adorable.”

  “Isn’t it?” I rocked on my heels and gripped my sword with more force. Cyrus was a god of a man in more ways than one. Beautiful, tall, and powerfully built, with features somehow both surprisingly soft and far too harsh. The contradictions fit. He’d always been a paradox. Demanding yet indulgent. Mysterious but open. Perfect in his imperfections. An opponent feared by the world and yet my greatest ally. From the moment I’d first laid eyes on him, he’d fascinated me. And now, here we were, soldiers on opposite sides of a war I’d only just learned I’d been fighting my entire life.

  A chorus of grunts and groans and clinking metal accompanied pops of gunfire.

  “You won’t kill me.” Urgency whipped at my back, propelling me on. Soal claimed I would stab the new emperor and live a romance. The comeback story of all comeback stories. Very well. I would do what I didn’t do before and trust him. “But I will hurt you if you continue on this path.”

  He tsked. “You give me too little credit and yourself too much. I will do whatever proves necessary to secure my rule.” A promise he’d made at the start of this journey. “Join my team. Merciful leader that I am, I’ll give you one more chance. Refuse, and my desire for you will no longer factor into my decisions.”

  There was no reason to ponder my response. I lifted my sword. “I will never help you destroy Soal.”

  Cyrus hiked his broad shoulders. “That’s disappointing but not shocking. Just know you chose this, sweetness.”

  Lie! “No, sweetie. You chose it.”

  He drew in a deep breath, then released a short, sharp exhalation. “Let’s get to it, then.”

  “Yes. Let’s.” Heart a war drum, I ran at him.

  He ran at me.

  We met in the middle . . .

  I swung my sword of fire. He blocked with ease, as I expected—and hoped.

  “Come now, Lady Pink,” he said, grinning as he deflected my next strikes. “Your jealousy is cute but tardy. You had your chance.”

  I knew I couldn’t get past him in a physical fight. He’d trained me, and this student hadn’t yet surpassed her teacher. But overcoming him with my skill wasn’t Plan A. As I thrust and parried, I confessed, “I love you, Cyrus.”

  He lost the grin. “Not as before. I can tell.”

  “I need your help one last time.”

  “I don’t care. My desire for you has already faded.” He snapped the words at me. “You are alive only as a backup host for Briar Rose. Soon, someone else will be found.”

  Astan was a liar, incapable of speaking the truth. I could no longer trust anything Cyrus said, even this. Not desire me? Ha!

  I took my next strike a little slower, hoping he’d take the bait.

  He caught my wrist. I almost grinned as I opened my fingers, ensuring the sword of fire vanished. Rather than launch another strike, I heaved my body against him, flung my arms around his shoulders, and pressed my mouth into his, kissing him with all the love and passion I contained.

  He wrenched his face from mine, pressed the tip of the dagger to my throat, and glared down at me, panting.

  I licked my lips, imploring him with my gaze. “Don’t let me die without a goodbye kiss, Cyrus. Please.”

  He huffed his next breath. Growled. Scowled. And . . .

  With another curse, he dropped the dagger, swooped down, and kissed me. Kissed me hard and fast and thoroughly, until I knew I’d reached the heart of him. I kissed him back while combing my fingers through his hair.

  Tears seared my eyes when I encountered horn buds. But I didn’t stop feeding him the passion I’d harbored for so long . . . didn’t stop pouring my love into him as I snapped off the last bracelet I’d taken from him, flicked it into a blade, and thrust it through his abdomen.

  Grunting, he shoved me away and peered down at his gushing wound. Blood leaked from the corners of his mouth.

  I wasted no time, sprinting to Lolli, exchanging the bloody blade for my sword of fire. Her eyes popped open upon my approach; she twisted to hit me with a vine, but I swung, removing her head. Her knees buckled. Down she fell, her vines falling with her, freeing the captives. Glowers sprang from the tangle while fending off their opponents. Thousands of shadows shot from her body, screaming as they filled the sky.

  Without hesitation, I ran for the force field. At the same time, I dove inward, centering on the flame that empowered my bond to Domino. The brightest and strongest of them. I reached for it, preparing to snuff it out.

  A terrible roar drew my gaze to the shadow-filled sky, and my jaw nearly unhinged. Vyle flew toward us, flapping wings of smoke. Wisps of fire sparked from the corners of his mouth, as if he was attempting to spew flames.

  Bala had come to aid her master.

  Heart thudding, I quickened my velocity. Problem: Winslet stood in front of the force field, hunched over and gasping for breath, even as she stretched out her arms with a dagger in hand, as if she intended to stop me.

  If I had to fight her . . .

  Her gaze found mine. “Don’t let CURED win,” she rasped—and stabbed herself, slicing into her own carotid.

  I skidded to a halt and gasped. Like Lolli, she toppled. Crimson spurted from her wound, coating the force field. The glittery air shimmered, and a doorway appeared. I stood there, floundering in disbelief.

  She was dead. Had sacrificed herself, letting me live. Tears sprang free, streaking hotly over my cheeks.

  “Arden!” Domino’s voice yanked me out of my shell shock.

  The mission. Right. I kicked into motion, slipping through the new door. He ran at my side. I wanted to stop and thank Winslet, but that would have to come later.

  Cyrus must have sent in an army as soon as he welcomed Astan, because soldiers waited near the growing Rock, their harbingers trained on us. Boom, boom, boom.

  Domino twirled his sword, using it as a shield. Forget the army. The difference a single night had made in the structure boggled my mind. The Rock now reached my midsection. And it was still growing, right before my eyes.

  A contingent of glowers followed us in, some hanging back to keep out feeders.

  The guards continued to hammer at the triggers of their guns. I mimicked Domino, swirling my sword faster and faster until I, too, produced a shield. A conversation we’d once had echoed.

  How did you become a librarian?

  I bonded to the Rock on a deeper level, becoming part of the doorway itself.

  The process required a sole individual. Domino couldn’t do it, I’d bet. He was already a doorway.

  But I wasn’t, despite our bond.

  As more roars pierced the air, smoke and flames billowed on the breeze. Vyle must be gaining strength.

  “Get me to the Rock,” I told Domino. “I’ll do the rest.”

  He cast me a glance teeming with admiration. “See you on the other side, Arden.” With the speed of a bullet, he launched at the guards and called, “Ember! Kenneth!”

  Both glowers fought their way over, and together we fought our way forward. The countdown in my head morphed into chimes, signaling the last seconds on the clock.

  Ding. Cyrus recovered from his injuries and joined the fray.

  Ding. Vyle spewed a stream of fire into the throng as he flew through the door.

  Ding. War sounds crowded in my ears. More clanging metal. Sharper grunts and groans. Piercing screams. Thuds as soldiers fell.

  Ding. The Rock grew another inch.

  Ding. The Rock widened.

  Ding. An opening between the guards appeared, thanks to Domino. I dove through it. The soldiers noticed. One lunged for me, dragging his blade through my middle and over my thigh.

  Searing agony consumed me as I collided into the Rock.

  Ding.

  The stony fragments grew another inch, their pointy spindles digging into my wounds—growing through them. I screamed as my world went dark.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Not every story has a happy ending.

  —The Book of Soal 2.1.25.46

  I floated in a space without time, where the past, present, and future all transpired at once, everything I’d ever done or would do happening simultaneously, always, and forever. As I slipped in and out of consciousness, I knew everything and nothing.

  Awareness came with pinpricks of strength. A prick here, a prick there. Heat spread from the punctures, infiltrating muscles and bones, activating my mind.

  I blinked open my eyes and gasped. I stood rooted in place, but I also somehow remained in motion, drifting through the skies of Theirland, peering over the entire expanse all at once. It was bigger than I’d ever realized, with four castles hidden in the far corners of the realm. They each topped a mountain.

  The dual sensations I experienced mystified me as much as the worldview.

  “Am I dead?” I asked, my voice echoing in the void.

  “Far from it. You’re more alive than you’ve ever been.” Domino approached me and suddenly I—we—occupied a private room in the library. And yet, I maintained my awareness of the Rock. “You are officially a librarian.”

  Me, one of the elites. Just imagine!

  I scanned the unfamiliar areas and frowned. A lovely room with glass displays of weapons, a mystery tree growing in a corner, and a hologram projecting snippets from my life at Fort Bala.

  “I don’t understand,” I said, spotting the sign that hung over the door. It read Arden Dawn Roosa. “What is this place?” Why was this place? Stretching out my arms to graze the flowers carved into the wood doorframe, I realized I wore a buttery-soft red cloak. I looked myself over and marveled. A robe like Domino’s.

  “This,” he said, “is your memorial.”

  “But you just said I wasn’t dead.”

  He held up his hand, requesting quiet, which I happily gave. “When we do special things for Soal, memorials like these are erected. Members of the Tome Society can come, read about our exploits, and learn from our mistakes and successes.” As he spoke, he walked around, motioning to symbols carved into the wall. Just like the symbols on the Rock.

  Oh, wow. “You have a memorial?”

  He nodded. “I do.”

  So badly I wanted to see it. Read it. But first, I would read my own. Easy to do. The symbols became text, the story of my life there for the taking.

  Heart fluttering, I walked about, drinking in my tale. How I didn’t trust what I read and traveled down a wrong road. How I’d ultimately corrected my path. How I sacrificed my life for the Rock. How, in return, I gained a new life with a bright future ahead . . . after a series of turbulent times. The symbols that told of those turbulent times, I couldn’t yet decode. But I didn’t grow nervous by what was to come. I knew what I was fighting for now. Not just Cyrus and me but others. As many people as possible. The world!

  My world.

  “How much time has passed since I bonded to the Rock?” I asked.

  “A few hours.”

  Goodness. I would have guessed days or weeks or years had come and gone.

  “You have much more to learn, and now your true training can begin.” Domino took the spot at my side, standing shoulder to shoulder with me. “You’re soon to see things you never dreamed possible. Do things that will baffle you even years later and discover a truth you will need eons to comprehend.”