Chains of Fate

Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Seven

I rose to my feet, staring numbly at the spot where Therin had stood only moments ago.

I did it. Therin was finally gone.

It was over.

Abruptly, power surged through my body, turning my body into a living torch. I gasped and clutched my head. I was alive with energy. The force of it all almost knocked me back down. What was going on?

Well done, a voice said in my head. The curse is broken.

"Eden?" I said, clutching my side, which still burned where my rib broke.

She didn't reply, and her presence disappeared. She must have been talking about the curse on the pendant. My head throbbed. Wasn't that already destroyed when the tunnel fell on Hadrian?

Eremithian soldiers streamed out from the city to tend to the wounded. I realized that the army had never left the city. I had exited Eremith through the underground tunnels and found the Barghest before they'd gotten the chance to leave.

I limped over to Astera, gritting my teeth as I went. A nymph tended to her wounds, and three more came over. Among them was Scartha, the oread that prepared me for battle. I hovered over the nymphs as they bandaged the wound from Astera's chest. Her beautiful face was pale, and her breathing was shallow. My throat constricted. "Is she going to be alright?" I asked Scartha.

The teal-haired nymph simply gave me a sad smile as one of the dryads called for two satyrs. The goat men lifted the queen in their arms and clopped off toward one of the medical buildings. Scartha waved goodbye to me as she followed them.

I looked around for the others. Synnove lay next to an unconscious Rowan. My breath caught when I saw the dancer stir. But before I could approach her, a small nymph knelt before me and held up the Heirloom of Illtyd. I took it from her and sheathed it at my waist. The weight of it ripped through my side, but I ignored it. "Thank you," I told the nymph. Her face beamed, and she fumbled a curtsy before she left.

I saw more Eremithians attending to Mayra and Clarice. Mayra seemed to be conscious and was arguing with the soldiers. Clarice, on the other hand, was not awake. A willowy nymph was carrying her to the medical building.

I moved over to Synnove and knelt beside her. I braced my side with one hand and shook her shoulder with the other. She moaned, and relief filled my chest. She was alive.

"She doesn't look too well."

I glanced up to see Ayacinth. The giant crouched next to Rowan and gently lifted him into her arms. His eyes were closed, and his body was covered in scratches.

"He doesn't look too well, either." I stared at him. Now that Therin was dead, the curse should be broken. He didn't have to transform into the Barghest any longer. My eyes shifted to Ayacinth. I should have been angry at her for her treachery. Because she gave me that cursed pendant, it almost killed me and silenced Eden forever. I glanced at Rowan when he moaned. "You knew about him all this time, didn't you?"

She nodded silently, biting her lip.

I should have felt rage. She betrayed us all. Deceived us all.

But I couldn't. I was so tired of feeling angry.

"I did it all to protect him," she whispered, stroking the brown curls on Rowan's head.

I immediately thought of Titus. Right now, he was probably in battle, fighting to protect this city. To protect me. I ground my teeth and stood, unclenching and clenching my fists.