A Court of Wings and Fate

66. The Final Steps

Her fingers brushed against the knife. Estelle's lips curved into a cruel grin. Ze'ev swallowed hard, not releasing her. "They will not kill you swiftly. No, they will break you in ways you could never imagine. They will carve my name, and Mikael's, into your rotten skin before peeling it off. They will shatter your bones. Heal them. Shatter them again."

"They will force you to drink poison and only give you the antidote when you are on the brink of death. They will stretch your body in unnatural ways until your joints dislocate. They will shred your wings into ribbons and saw them off with chains, as you tried to do to me!"

"You never have been a good liar," Ze'ev growled. There was almost a tremor of fear in his voice.

"I am not lying. You know what they're capable of as well as I do. Kill me and find out." Her hand closed around the hilt of the blade.

"Half breed bitch!" Ze'ev roared. He grabbed her by the throat.

Estelle raised the blade and plunged it into the corner of his eye. She thrust up at a partial angle and heard the distinctive crunch of bone. Ze'ev convulsed. Blood ran out his nostrils and leaked from the wound in his eye. Estelle twisted the blade and bone cracked again. Ze'ev's body had already gone limp. His creatures collapsed around them.

Estelle pried the blade from his face and stared at him, her breath coming in uneven pants. With a scream, she drove the blade through his chest. Leather and blood flew as she hacked away at him. Hot tears ran down Estelle's cheeks. Her arms seemed to move on their own accord. She couldn't stop. Ze'ev's chest was a mess of riven flesh and black blood.

Estelle flung the blade aside and crawled away, sobbing. She curled up on the snow, not caring how it burned against her feverish skin. She shivered and clutched the fresh wound at her side. Perhaps if she laid there long enough, the cold would kill her before her wound or fever did. If she laid there long enough, Mikael would come for her, to take her wherever he'd gone. Where his mother was waiting.

Her tears fell harder and she could make no sound. She couldn't even scream. She couldn't release the pain that was bottled up inside her. She wanted to rip out her own heart and crush it just to make the pain stop. She didn't have the energy to push the shadows away as they drifted across her cheeks. She could only cry.

Estelle didn't know how long she lay there. Long enough that she was shivering from the actual cold, not just her fever. Her cheek almost felt numb against the snow. The shadows lingered on her arms, tugging gently. She sat up, brushing snow and dirt from her face. The shadows pulled harder. They were guiding her back to the cliffside she'd climbed up.

Estelle stumbled to her feet, keeping one hand over the wound in her stomach. Her head spun, blurring her vision, but she kept walking. The shadows wanted to guide her to the monolith, or perhaps show her something. She didn't look back at Ze'ev's body, or at his creatures that littered the ground.

She reached the cliffside and glanced down warily. "I don't know if I can make that climb." Her voice was little more than a hoarse whisper. The shadows pulled harder, then went still. Estelle bit her lip, gauging the distance between possible footholds. "I wish you could talk to me." One shadow softly nudged her cheek.

Estelle eased herself over the edge, somehow gripping the rocks with her blood soaked hands. She shivered again, sweat beading along her forehead. Her wings were beginning to ache, despite the wraps still secured around the ashwood. That wasn't a good sign. She worked her way down the cliffside cautiously. The pain in her ankle worsened with every step. She gritted her teeth and kept going.

She didn't want to think about what awaited her at the base of this cliff. The decision she would have to make. Touch the monolith and return home, or find Mikael's body and stay with him? Estelle paused, blinking back the burning tears that filled her eyes once again.

No, there was no decision to be made. She had to take Mikael home. His fathers, his friends...they would want to mourn him properly. She would take him home and somehow, find a way to go on without him.

Estelle's progress was slow, but, at last, she reached the base of the cliff. The monolith glistened before her. The shadows pulled on her arms again. Estelle followed their tugs and returned to the pass. She could see Mikael's limp body up ahead. There was a pool of blood around him.

She paused, bracing a hand on the rocky wall. She couldn't do this. She couldn't see him like this. The sight...it would haunt her dreams forever. Estelle attempted to smother a sob, but it slipped past her lips anyway. She couldn't. She couldn't. She...

Mikael's chest rose, then fell. His hand curled into a fist. He moved his arm off his chest and groaned. Estelle stared at him, her heart hammering against her ribs. Mikael moved again, then gave a strangled cry of pain. She sprinted to his side, falling to her knees in the puddle of blood.

"Mikael!" She sobbed, cupping his face in her hands. Mikael gripped one of her hands with his own. Estelle bent over him, her tears falling against his cheeks. "You're alive. I thought..."

"I'm alive. You didn't feel the Bond break, did you, Batsy?" Mikael rasped with a wince. "I'm alive. I'm pretty sure everything is broken though." Estelle moved her hands away from his face and began feeling his limbs for any broken bones. "Ze'ev?"

"Dead," she replied. "So are his creatures."

"You're hurt." Mikael gestured weakly towards the wound in her stomach. Estelle didn't reply. "We have to get out of here. Help me up."

"Your leg is broken," Estelle pointed out.

"Help me up," he repeated.

She slid an arm beneath his. Mikael gritted his teeth, but grunted as Estelle helped him stand. He leaned heavily on her, keeping his broken leg from touching the ground. Mikael wavered and Estelle held him steady until he regained his balance.

They limped towards the monolith, leaving speckles of blood behind them. Estelle scanned the ridgeline for signs of movement, but there were none. They reached the mouth of the pass and the onyx monolith sat before them. Estelle helped Mikael over to it. As one, they reached out their hands and touched the smooth stone. Wind roared in Estelle's ears and she squeezed her eyes shut, holding tightly to Mikael.

The wind faded and was replaced by the familiar sounds of Windhaven. Someone hollered in surprise, and Estelle knew they'd been spotted. She opened her eyes to see Devlon, Jorah, and Azriel racing towards them. Corbin, Lysander, Calden, Celeste, and Sienna weren't far behind.

Estelle didn't let go of Mikael, but extended one arm towards her father. Azriel swept her into a tight embrace, his shoulders shaking. His shadows flocked to hers, which were dancing with newfound strength. Estelle breathed a sigh of relief, feeling her magic returning. Azriel snapped the ashwood chains off her wings, then did the same for Mikael.

"What happened? Who pulled you into the Rite?" Devlon demanded.

"Question them later," Jorah interrupted. "They need to see a healer."

"Take Estelle first," Mikael murmured. His face was ashen and he swayed on his feet. Estelle was certain that her arm was the only thing holding him up. "The chains cut into her wings. She's been fighting the effects of the ashwood."

"I'm taking you both," Azriel replied firmly. He gripped Mikael's shoulder and his shadows folded over them. The darkness was comforting and familiar. Estelle didn't know when they reached Velaris. She held onto the darkness, and it held onto her.