Into Shadows and Escaping Ash ✔️

| Epilogue |

It was the fifth night that bothered me the most. Perhaps even more than tonight.

The sixth in a row of staring at the pale white ceiling while my fated counterpart snored softly beside me. Restful, coiled up in the pile of blankets he'd stolen even as the summer heat washed in around us.

Of course, they weren't properly covering him either, mostly draped on the floor or rolled up beneath him.

Lindon wouldn't hear a bus if it hit him in the face.

I smile, sitting and tucking my legs up close enough to push upwards. Towering over him in the darkness with only the light of the stars and the glowing of an old lit fire, I hop out of bed.

Every time I close my eyes, the fire in my heart burns a little brighter. Sears a bit deeper. Steels my very bones as I contemplate breaking his.

Kiel's.

He haunts my dreams now, the emerald eyes breaking through even the thoughtless, blackest hours of sleep.

And I can't help but feel the urges and impulses I've always been quick to ignore for everyone else's sake.

But tonight...

Tonight the fever is wrapping itself up inside of me and making me jittery, making me stir crazy.

I take a deep breath and look towards the ocean beyond and find myself leaping out of the window. I land silently, continuing out towards the beach, jumping over terraces and fencing to find myself below.

The water simply makes my flesh ache and the intensity increases, begging me to lash out.

I feel the flickering of flames whirl in my chest, pooling up and glowing out to cover my entire body.

He'll burn.

He'll burn for everything he's done and I will be the one.

I will be the one to crush his heart in my hands and relocate his soul to the darkest of hells.

A wicked smile turns on my face, eyes closing and hands pulling into a symbol in front of me. Breathing deeply, in and out, I concentrate on the neverending wealth of mana responding to me.

I envision the desolate sand and despair of New Delhi. I close my mind upon it as I would grasp onto the sand beneath me now. Holding tight to the gravestone, to the long winding path beyond those gates.

I feel the night get hotter and drier around me, blinking.

Looking around, I know there is no way anyone could have followed me. I know there aren't enough eyes in the city to be alerted to my presence immediately.

And this gravestone...

Lowering myself to the ground, I kick my legs out in front of me and rest my hand along the smooth surface. My fingers trace and pick at the small engravings.

"We did it, Theron," I find myself murmuring. Hushed words disappearing into the night. "We found Lindon and we're safe in Greece..."

A gentle wind passes between the two of us and I falter. "I'm so sorry you never got to see it..."

Sadness fights for a place in my chest but there is none. There is no more space for empty tears that will not serve me. My teeth grind and the searing rage claws back in.

It's his fault.

All of this is his fault.

Even Theron's demise...

It all comes back to him.

"Lindon wants to rebuild this world," I muse, chuckling to myself and staring up at the bright half-moon. "He wants to focus on the broken countries and hurt people and find a way to revive the livestock... Save the world..."

My frown turns into a look of disgust and frustration. Kiel isn't even a priority to him. Because the world needs us more.

I feel my fingers gripping at the sand and burning it to bright molten liquid before I can help it. The golden substance drips out of my palm and I shake the rest off.

"But here I am," I growl, fighting the cruel, wicked rage away. "Alive."

I realize I want Theron to appear again, to criticize my choices and tell me I'm being stupid. Perhaps he wouldn't.

Perhaps he would understand.

But I cannot deny how badly I want him to tell me anyway.

Instead, he is gone, not safe but dead. Just as so many others I know I will never see again. People who died because we were separated.

Freezing murderous heat rushes over me and grips my veins.

"I'm going to torment him the way he has tormented me... Slowly destroying his friends, his family, the lives they live for... Manipulate his mind until he can no longer take it. I will make Kiel beg for the path he has chosen to walk."

My waist leans onto the tall stone. It's colder than both the air and sand. Frozen in time. Just as Theron was and I am.

The damage is done.

Permanently.

"I'm going to show him what it feels like to be broken..."

While the others sleep.

While they continue to build their little, happy world. Working towards a bright future where they can feel safe.

I will hunt every last creature on this planet that stands in their way, in my way.

I will find every last one of Kiel's secrets and allies, the monsters he keeps locked away tight.

And I will hunt the demons in the night, by becoming what they fear most.

A living nightmare.

Wow. Here we are. Here at the end. 

I don't have a whole lot to say other than Thank you All for joining me throughout this entire novel. There will definitely be more information in the Final Note. 

That being said, how do you feel?

Don't forget to vote and comment for the very last time in this book and I hope you all have a wonderful day.