Their return from the human town to Ayathian was uneventful. The Wild Hunt had failed and needed time to recover. That fact, coupled with the dryads being still offended, allowed them to pass freely. She knew Epharis wanted to linger in Faerie, but it wasn't safe for him and she wasn't about to let him go running off to explore, no matter how badly he seemed to want to.
It wasn't safe for him there, and it wasn't safe for her either. She continued to forget what her station was, and the idea of her being captured was nagging at her. It was another thing she had failed to tell her sisters, the knowledge of her failings gnawing at her until her stomach began to hurt.
Keeping a firm grip on the lich's arm, she all but dragged him along behind her, refusing to let him linger regardless of how hard he tried to make her stop so he could look around.
They paused only once to allow him to see the spiral city again, but she gave him only two minutes to stare around in wonder, his expression hard and searching as he tried to take in everything he possibly could in those two minutes before she was yanking on his arm again.
She was at least glad for the fact that he wasn't being difficult. She didn't want to have to force him along with her or risk his getting angry. It would be impossible to get him to move if he dug in his heels. They would end up captured if they weren't careful.
They finally reached the location in which they had arrived hours before, the grass still scuffed from their frantic pace. Letting out a slow breath, she bit into the tip of her finger and drew a shaky line in the air, carefully pushing the doorway open. When he hesitated, she grabbed his hand and yanked him through, his expression one of longing, but he had no choice.
When they stepped through into her room, the room had been cleaned and they looked around, finding Alaric sitting in one of her chairs. His eyes latched onto their clenched hands and Epharis was quick to drop hers.
Turning away from the men without a word, she walked out onto the balcony, not caring that Alaric had seen them step through realities, or that Epharis was struggling with the disconnection with Faerie.
Even the lich had to tap into the magic of Faerie to exist. Their concept of arcane magic was only a delusion, all magic came from Faerie and he had been dosed heavily with it when he had been in that world. He was now denied that huge strength and dose of power, plus the hint of what a lich could be if they were permitted to live in Faerie. Their power was boundless, their strength and energy unmatched by most, and the worst part, for him, they were more alive than dead in Faerie.
Settling herself on one of the lounges on the balcony, she ignored the two men as they spoke, but Alaric wasn't having any of his brother's nonsense.
He stomped his way onto the balcony and glared at her.
"You cannot avoid me," he barked. She ignored him.
"Alaric, this is not the time."
"Shut up, Epharis."
Turning her empty eyes from the sunset to the two men, she simply looked at them, her fingers still tight around the cat necklace and hair pin.
"You never answered my proposal," he said, staring down at her.
"What proposal?" Epharis asked, his face going wary.
"We're getting married," Alaric said.
Epharis lunged for the man and punched him in the face.
She watched the fight dispassionately, not caring that they tore apart the newly repaired furniture, not caring that blood was shed and her walls were destroyed. Not even when Epharis threw a chair out the balcony doors, aiming for his brother who had ducked, and spreading glass shards all over the stone and into the garden below.
Had she been in the right state, she might even have cheered the fight on, but she couldn't find humour in them, she couldn't find anger or anything.
Three people she had lost in a matter of a week. The sisters that had been her only reason for living, and Nayishma, her first and only friend.
Realising that she hadn't even had the chance to tell Letari and Avadari about Nayishma, she placed her head down on her arms on the balcony railing and cried quietly, ignored by the men and ignoring them.
At some point their fight had taken them somewhere else in the castle and she felt a touch on her shoulder, but she ignored it. Her body still trembled, breath catching in her throat as she tried to think through everything that had happened. It was impossible for her to process with her mind feeling as though it had been stuffed with cotton.
"Etani?" a low, soft voice spoke in her ear and she briefly registered that it was one of the vampire twins.
She could only shake her head. After a moment she felt the lounge on either side of her shift as they sat down with her, remaining silent with one hand on either side of her back, gently patting and soothing her.
It had long gone dark by the time she was able to lift her head, both men staring out at the city as she did her best to compose herself.
"Are you okay?" Jaia asked gently, brushing her hair back from where it stuck to her face.
She shook her head again, unable to speak right away.
Kai on her other side wrapped his arms tightly around her, hugging her while a fresh wave of pain ripped through her.
Fresh tears began to slide down her cheeks as she stared into the black eyes of the vampire, his twin holding her almost hard enough to hurt. It stung to remember that they were twins.
"My twin and little sister are dead," she whimpered, barely able to speak the words.
Jaia's face went pale and Kai's arms slipped slightly.
"Oh Etani, I'm so sorry," Kai whispered against her shoulder, resting his forehead there.
Unable to look away from Jaia, he grabbed her hands and held them tightly in his own.
He knew what it was to lose a sibling, having seen what had happened to Kai before he too had been turned.
Leaning against Jaia's side, she rested her head on his shoulder while Kai moved to sit behind her, holding her tight as the night passed.
By the time it was nearly dawn, the two vampires were forced to retreat. She watched them go, Kai making an effort to hide the fact that he had been crying for her, before she turned back to the city and watched as the sun rose, lighting up the world.
She stayed there until well past midday when someone approached her from behind, she ignored them and continued to stare blankly into the distance, her mind repeating the events of that night over and over. Something was itching at the back of her mind and she was doing her very best to ignore it even as it nagged at her.
Someone had come to sit on the lounge on the other side of the balcony, silent and leaving her to her peace, but close by if she needed them. She didn't even know who it was.
That nagging thought itched at her, scratching painfully and shoving to try and be noticed.
Finally, in order to better ignore the thought, her attention turned and found the elf assassin Aelen sitting across from her. He had been watching her, calm and relaxed.
Meeting his blue eyes with her own, she began to chew on the inside of her cheek while that thought burst into her mind.
Letari wasn't coming back. It had been too long. It should only have taken a few hours to a day at most.
Letari wasn't blessed with immortality and as that realisation dawned on her, she began to think once more. If her twin wasn't coming back, then she didn't want to be there either.
"If I asked you to kill me, would you?" she asked finally.
He didn't so much as stir, his eyes boring into hers. "Why would I?"
"Because I asked," she replied.
His brows drew down into a slight frown as he considered her words. "Are you asking?"
"Yes," she whispered.
He watched her for a long moment, taking in her request.
"How?" he said finally.
"Heart or brain."
He nodded once and stood.
He didn't ask questions; he only knew that she was suffering and had asked him for one simple favour. She had suffered at his hands, at the hands of the king and the hands of the prince, now all she wanted was peace. He would give that to her.
Moving behind her, his hand was light on her shoulder as she looked out at the city.
She didn't really feel it, the blade piercing her back and sliding smoothly through muscles and tendons.
She didn't feel as it pierced her heart and her blood spilled. She didn't feel it when he lowered her onto the lounge and slowly pressed down on the knife, driving it up to rip and tear at the organ, or when he withdrew the blade. Nor did she really feel it when he brushed the hair back from her face, wiping away the tears from her cheeks.
She only felt an incredible relief as the world began to fade into nothing, the sky above her the last thing she saw before her life was snuffed out.