She never finished, her life fleeing from me, and then I was alone in my bond.
The moment our bond fell, so did the barrier we’d erected during the ritual. I held desperately to consciousness, forcing myself to resist the slippery edges of the blackness which wanted to wash over me. The prison closed then, the ground sealing off. In my fuzziness I thought it odd that there was nothing there to mark the stone. It was as if we hadn’t just expelled a zillion gallons of very precious half-Walker blood on it. It had taken our offering and the Seventine were gone from the world. No longer able to sever tethers or destroy everyone.
But I had lost them. My girls. They were gone.
A sort of deliriousness swamped me. I was alert enough to hear the cries, to see the men as they gathered their mates to their chests. The sacred animals’ cries were ear-shattering as they curled around their girls.
Dune was in my direct line of sight. He held Fury, who looked small and slender, white hair flashing all over the place. He didn’t cry at first, but as he tenderly touched her face, brushing back her hair, I saw that the tears were silently tracking along his red cheeks. The stoic Crais nomad looked more lost than ever before. He looked destroyed.
My lashes fluttered closed as warmth surrounded me.
“Baby … no, don’t you leave me.”
My lashes flickered again and Brace’s beautiful face came back into view. He had been with me from the moment the barrier fell, and I never even realized. His eyes were black, but shiny. Like he was trying hard to keep it together.
I felt warmth on my throat and knew he was healing the wound; it wouldn’t be enough. Using his face as an anchor, I tried to stay with him. I would never willingly leave him. But as my lashes stopped fluttering, I couldn’t seem to find the will to reopen my eyes. I pressed back against the darkness that engulfed me, but it was too big. It was everywhere.
Brac …
I had to tell him I loved him. I had to put in the few words I had left how he was my everything. That with him in my life the last year had been the best I could ever imagine. But I failed at that also.
I know, baby. You’re my everything too. I will not let you leave me.
I took comfort in the fact that he sensed my final emotions through our bond. It was enough. I could hold on no longer. His angry howls were the last thing I heard before my heart stuttered and stopped for the last time.
Chapter 19
Children of Gods, born unknown and alone,
the seven are needed to eliminate. Take heed,
for baby will not live till four and one year
unless removed from the world here.
The youngest and strongest to collect.
Lost and alone, a god-man is the key.
Gather the Halflings, stone and fear.
The end of days is written in mineral.
I registered the hum of prophecy. It was everywhere, in, over and through me. I was awake, but it took me moments to register that. Then with a snap I remembered everything with bright and instant clarity.
We had defeated the Seventine. We had all died. And I had left Brace and my soul in the mortal realm.
I wanted to fall in on myself. I wanted to howl and scream out the utter well of pain and agony festering inside. I had lost everyone. My girls. As their faces filtered across my mind, familiar sensations shot through me, giving me pause – I could feel my girls still. How could that be so? I knew they were gone – I’d watched as their life drained away. Were they here too, in this weird afterlife I was rocking?
Speaking of – where the hell was I?
For the first time I took a second to pay attention to my surroundings. In my head I habitually reached for that section of my mind which Brace occupied. But there was nothing there. My soul screamed for him, the pain so raw and fresh that I wondered how I could survive even one second of this afterlife, let alone an eternity.
I was broken, trapped in a misty place – white – clouded in an iciness that would be breath-stealing. Except I wasn’t cold. I knew it was cold, but it didn’t affect me.
The words of the prophecy started again. Echoing around, filling my body.
Was this my afterlife? Stuck in the land of icy mists with the damn prophecy which had altered my entire life playing on repeat.
Great! Thanks, Abby, for saving the worlds. Here, have a hellhole to live in. No Brace. No Lucy. No half-Walkers. No food.
Was I actually hungry? I was dead, for freak’s sake.
I was feeling pissed off and a whole lot underappreciated. Didn’t seem like the afterlife had made me all saint-like and accepting of shitty things.
I lifted my arm and examined the marks which still littered my skin. I looked the same. I had expected my shell would be gone, but it wasn’t. I started to move, wanting to explore this world and figure out what had happened.
Of course, as I moved so did the mist, so no matter where I stepped, I could see nothing more.
“Hello!” My shout was loud, but didn’t echo. There were no acoustics in my hellhole.
“Hello.”