Lyra's POV
I want to see him.
Kael looks at me like I've lost my mind. Absolutely not.
He's your brother
Not anymore. Not after what Isla did to him. He's something else now.
Outside, six armies wait in the darkness. Four hours until war.
Four hours until we all die.
You can barely stand, I argue, gripping his arm. You can't fight him like this.
I'll manage somehow.
You'll die. I grab his face, forcing him to look at me. Through the bond, I feel his weakness. The silver poisoning still in his system. Let me talk to him. Please.
Why?
Because I'm what he wants. I'm the murderer. The symbol of everything he hates about the bond. Let me give myself up.
No. Kael's eyes flash silver with fury. I'm not handing you over to my insane brother.
The bond flares between us. I feel everything. His fear. His rage. His love.
He loves me. Actually, genuinely loves me.
Not just the bond speaking. Him. His choice.
The realization steals my breath.
The door crashes open violently. Thomas runs in, face panicked.
Riordan's coming. Alone. Says he wants to talk before the bloodshed.
Kael struggles to his feet. Wobbles dangerously. I catch him, supporting his weight.
You can't go out there like this, I plead.
Watch me. Stubborn, impossible man.
Thomas and I support Kael on both sides. Through corridors. Past staring wolves who whisper.
The Alpha King can barely walk.
We're doomed.
Riordan will slaughter us all.
At the gates, Kael stands alone through sheer force of will. Pride won't let him show weakness.
The gates open with a creak.
Riordan Thornheart walks through.
He looks exactly like Kael. Same height. Same build. Same sharp features.
But his eyes glow red like dying embers. Wrong. Twisted.
Dead eyes in a living face.
Little brother, Riordan says, voice dripping with false affection. You look terrible. Dying already?
You look dead, Kael replies evenly. I went to your funeral. Mourned you.
Isla's talented at staging theatrical deaths. She saved me when Seraphina betrayed me. Showed me the truth I was too blind to see.
What truth? Kael asks, though I feel through the bond he already knows.
That the mate bond is poison. A curse. It makes us weak, pathetic, controllable. His red eyes lock on me with pure hatred. Just like you are now. Controlled by her.
I'm not controlled by anyone, Kael says firmly.
Prove it then. Execute the murderer. Right now. Right here.
Kael doesn't move. Doesn't even hesitate. No.
Then you admit it. The bond made you weak. Made you soft. Just like Father always feared would happen to you.
Father made me king because you were unstable long before Seraphina. The bond didn't break you, Riordan. You were already broken.
Riordan's smile vanishes like I've wiped it away. I loved Seraphina! Gave her everything! She destroyed me! The bond is a curse that turns love into weapons!
Lyra is nothing like Seraphina, Kael says quietly.
Isn't she? Riordan laughs bitterly. She murdered her mate. Stabbed Damon Blackwood through the heart at his own mating ceremony. And you defend her. Protect her. You're already lost, brother.
What do you want, Riordan? I ask suddenly, stepping forward. Really want?
Riordan's red eyes focus on me like a predator. Justice. For every wolf manipulated by the bond. Freedom from this curse. I want to free the packs from fate's chains.
By destroying the bond? I ask. How?
By destroying everyone bound by it. Making examples. Starting with you two. His smile returns, cold and terrible. When wolves see their precious Alpha King destroyed by his mate bond when they see you both die screaming they'll reject the bond themselves. Fear it. Refuse it.
Horror washes through me. You're going to kill all mated pairs?
Not all. Just those who refuse to reject their bonds. Those who let fate control them instead of making their own choices. When wolves stop trusting the bond when packs fracture without that false security chaos follows. Leadership fails. And I take control of it all.
He's completely insane. Isla broke him beyond repair.
The packs will never follow you, Kael says, but I hear the doubt.
Look around. Riordan gestures broadly. Six packs followed me here. They want strength, not weakness. When I take your throne after you fall protecting your mate they'll have the strong leader they deserve.
Kael moves forward. Stumbles badly. I catch him before he falls.
Riordan sees. Smiles wider, crueler. You can't even stand without her help. How will you fight me? How will you protect anyone?
I'll manage.
No. Riordan signals. Hundreds of wolves emerge from the forest. All with red glowing eyes. All rogues, somehow controlled.
An army of the damned.
These are my true pack now. Wolves who rejected the bond's poison. Who chose freedom. And in four hours, they're tearing through Shadow Vale. Every mated pair dies first.
Unless? Kael asks tightly.
Unless you give me what I want. The murderer dies. You abdicate. Give me the crown. Save these wolves from unnecessary war.
Never, Kael growls, and I feel his wolf rising despite his weakness.
Then you doom them all. Four hours, little brother. Choose wisely. Your mate or your people.
Riordan turns to leave.
His army follows like shadows.
Silence falls heavy as death.
Kael collapses. I catch him, barely keeping us both upright.
Medical room, Thomas orders, rushing forward. NOW.
As we carry Kael inside, Mira appears in the hallway. Face pale.
We're going to die, aren't we? she asks quietly.
I don't answer. Can't lie to her.
In the medical room, the healer works frantically over Kael.
He's deteriorating faster. The strain, the bond work, the silver still in his systemit's all accelerating the damage. He needs complete rest for at least a week.
He has four hours before war, I say flatly.
He won't survive four hours in his current state. His body is shutting down.
Kael is dying. Because of me. Because he won't abandon me.
I make my decision.
I need to speak to Marcus, I announce.
Why? Thomas frowns suspiciously.
Because I'm giving Riordan what he wants. My life for theirs.
No! Mira grabs me desperately. You can't
I can. I will. Kael is dying protecting me. Shadow Vale will be destroyed. Hundreds will die because I'm too selfish to do what's necessary.
Lyra, please!
But I'm already gone. Moving fast before I lose my nerve.
I find Marcus in the war room, studying maps. Planning for a battle we can't win.
I'll do it, I interrupt. I'll let Riordan execute me publicly. In exchange for leaving Shadow Vale alone. For not attacking.
Marcus's eyes narrow calculatingly. And the Alpha King?
He's too weak to stop me. By the time he wakes, it'll be done.
He'll never forgive you for this choice.
I know. My voice breaks. That's why I'm doing it. Because love means sacrifice. Real love means choosing their life over your own.
Marcus studies me for a long moment. Then reaches for a communication device. I'll arrange contact with Riordan
No.
Kael stands in the doorway. Barely standing, using the frame for support.
His eyes burn silver fire.
You're not doing this.
You're supposed to be unconscious! I exclaim.
The bond woke me. I felt your plan forming. He stumbles forward, pure determination keeping him upright. You're not sacrificing yourself, Lyra.
It's the only way
No. He grabs my arms, holding tight. I'd rather die fighting beside you than live without you. That's my choice.
Tears burn my eyes. You're being stupid.
Then we're both stupid together.
Marcus clears his throat. War in three hours and counting.
Kael doesn't look away from me. We'll find another way.
There is no other way! I shout, frustration and fear boiling over. You're dying! Riordan has six armies! This is basic math!
Then we make a new option. Create a third choice.
How? With what?
The building shakes violently.
Explosion.
Wolves scream outside in the pack grounds.
Thomas bursts in, wild-eyed with terror. We're under attack! Riordan didn't wait until dawn! He's attacking NOW!
The war has started early.
And we're about to lose everything we have left.
Including each other.