I tried to use my powers to stop him. I held out my hand, pushing out what energy I had left. Some of the lighter things in the room stirred, like papers and a curtain, and Kyra winced. But Oren was unruffled.
“Loki’s met with this blade before,” Oren said, admiring the sword. “It seems fitting that it will be the one to finish him.”
“Please.” I let my hand fall to the side. “I will do your bidding. I will do anything.”
“I’ve already told you.” Oren walked back, stopping in front of Loki. “It’s too late.”
Kyra and the other Vittra held Loki higher, and Loki grunted. Tears streamed down my face, and I could think of nothing to do. My powers weren’t working on him. I wasn’t strong enough to fight him. I had nothing to barter.
Still staring at me, Oren lifted up his sword, and with one quick move, he stabbed Loki straight through the heart.
25. Destiny
Kyra and the other Vittra instantly let go of Loki, and he collapsed on the ground. They both held their heads, clutching at them, and at first, I didn’t understand.
I couldn’t really think or feel anything, except that I had been ripped in two. It felt as if Oren had torn my heart from my chest, and I had never felt such consuming pain or anger as I did then.
Blackness surged through me with an intense heat. I didn’t even really know what was happening around me. Everything felt like a hazy blur.
Then I saw Oren, squinting and touching his own head, and I remembered.
I could do something with my mind when I was frightened or angry. I’d done it to Tove when he tried to wake me, and I’d even done it on a smaller scale when Elora had been torturing Loki.
That act – that intense fear or anger – unlocked a power inside me. I did something to people inside their heads, causing great agony. It usually only lasted a few seconds, but I had never been as pissed off before.
As soon as I realized what I was doing, I harnessed it and directed it toward Oren. At first, he looked confused and simply started backing up. He kept squinting and tilting his head, as if he were staring at a very bright light.
In the back of my mind, I knew my body should hurt, but I felt nothing. I walked toward Oren, and he began to hold his head. He fell to his knees. He was moaning and begging but I couldn’t understand anything he was saying.
Both Kyra and the other Vittra were curled up on the ground, and Kyra was actually sobbing. I went over to Loki, refusing to let myself actually see him, to really believe he was dead, and I pulled the sword from his chest.
I walked over to where my father was slumped on his knees, bent forward. His hands were clamped to his ears. He was muttering at first, but when I raised the sword over my head, I heard him begin to shout.
“Make it stop!” Oren yelled. “Please! Make the pain stop!”
“I’ll put you out of your misery,” I said, and I swung the sword down, slicing through his neck.
I turned away so I didn’t have to see it, but I heard his head fall to the ground.
I stood there, still holding the sword, and looked around the room. The haze had faded away, and pain returned to my body. My body screamed in agony, and my legs threatened to give out underneath me. Kyra and the other Vittra had stopped writhing and they both sat up.
“Go,” I said, struggling to catch my breath. “Tell them the King is dead.”
Kyra looked at Oren’s corpse with widened eyes, and she didn’t question my orders. She and the other Vittra scrambled to their feet and ran out of the room, leaving me alone with Loki.
I dropped the sword and rushed to his side as quickly as my body would let me. I knelt next to him, and pulled his head onto my lap, but it lolled to the side. Blood stained the front of his chest, and I put my hand over the wound, trying to press the life back into him.
“No, Loki, please,” I said as tears streamed down my face. “Loki, stay with me. Please. I love you. You can’t leave me like this.”
But he didn’t move. He didn’t breathe. I bent down, kissing his forehead as I sobbed, and I didn’t even have words for the pain I felt. With nothing else to do, I began to wail.
“My god, I’m too late,” someone said, and I turned to see Sara standing in the doorway. She looked at the dead King, her husband.
Loki had saved her life once, and she was a healer. She would be the only chance I would have at saving him.
“Help me,” I begged her and tried to hold Loki up to her. “Please. You have to help him.”
“I…” Sara didn’t answer for a second, and then she ran over to us, kneeling on the other side of Loki. “I don’t know that I can. He might already be gone.”
“Please,” I cried. “You have to try.” She took a deep breath and nodded.
“Do you have any energy left?” Sara asked.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. I felt weak and drained. Hurting Oren had taken most everything out of me.