Page 80 of Black Hearted
With shaking hands, I tipped the vial, letting the bitter liquid flow onto my tongue.
The effects were immediate. The fluid seemed to harden in my throat, cutting off my air. I gasped, clutching my chest as my lungs refused to draw breath.
“Zane!” Lorelei’s voice rang out again, closer this time, filled with desperation.
She shouldn’t have been able to break free—not from my bindings—but somehow, she had. I didn’t dare turn toward her. I couldn’t let her see me like this, choking on my final moments.
Stumbling forward, I pressed my hand against the tree.
It reacted instantly, pulling the life from my body. My heart clenched painfully, and I dropped to my knees, slumping forward until my cheek rested against the smooth bark.
The tree’s heartbeat filled my ears, louder and stronger with each passing second, drowning out Lorelei’s cries. Black dots swarmed at the edges of my vision, narrowing my world.
I couldn’t breathe. My chest burned as if a heavy weight were crushing me.
Lorelei’s screams grew louder, frantic, and full of anguish, but I couldn’t turn to face her.
A low, resonant hum emanated from the tree, vibrating through my bones.
You have your sacrifice. Now end the curse, I demanded silently, forcing the last of my energy into the tree.
A deafening crack split the air.
The world went dark. My soul tore free of my body, and I was no more.
Chapter Thirty
Zander
Ileaned against the wall in awe, watching my beautiful wife sleep in the soft glow of early evening. My gaze shifted to the four tiny bundles—our children. Dawn had brought them into the world with a strength I hadn’t even known she possessed. She wasn’t just incredible; she was extraordinary. Two sons and two daughters. Daughters. As an Ethereum lord, I’d never imagined such a thing possible, yet here they were. My heart ached with a love so vast it felt endless.
Dawn had endured so much to bring these babies into the world and was now sacrificing her energy and magic to keep them alive. My role was clear. To protect them at all costs. Yet the rumors of her mother’s presence in Faerie, combined with the lingering curse, filled me with unease. Sleep would not come easily tonight.
With a sigh, I quietly left the room to let Dawn rest. I padded down the hall to the drink station Zane’s maid had thoughtfully set up for the house’s guests. Coffee, tea, and drinking chocolate were always available—a small luxury that offered some normalcyamidst the chaos. At the last moment, I chose the drinking chocolate, wanting something comforting right now.
I couldn’t shake the disquiet that settled over me. Even with Zane’s castle teeming with guards, knowing Queen Liliana was not only in Faerie but here in Westeria made my blood run cold. Stryker had expressed the same unease, especially after Aribella’s attack. Adrien, too, was undoubtedly on edge.
I stepped into the library, sipping the warm, rich drink. It wasn’t something I often indulged in, but it carried a nostalgic sweetness. It reminded me of simpler times, back when my mother used to stand in the kitchen with the head cook, teaching him her grandmother’s recipes.
A smile tugged at my lips as I remembered the time Callum stole the chocolate chunks meant for drinking chocolate and passed them out to the rest of us. We couldn’t have been more than six years old, and though Cal, being the oldest, was the obvious culprit, none of us ever gave him up. My mother interrogated us all for hours, but we kept his secret.
The warmth of the memory was shattered in an instant when a dagger came hurtling through the air.
With a gasp, I dropped the mug and barely moved out of its path in time. Reflexes saved me more than anything else. The blade smashed into the stone wall behind me, clattering to the floor.
My breath caught as a strikingly beautiful older woman stepped from the shadows. Her presence radiated power, shimmering with magic that reminded me of the protective bubbles around my children.
Queen Liliana. My mother-in-law.
She had to be—there was no mistaking it. She looked like an older version of Dawn. The same cascade of corn-silk blonde hair, the same piercing green eyes, the same delicate features. But there was one stark difference. The hatred in her gaze burned brighter than anything I’d ever seen. Even when Dawn thought she hated me, she’d never looked at me like this. The chill of it froze me in place.
How in the fates had she gotten here?
I reached down for the fallen dagger, the pink moonstone in the hilt winking up at me, but before I could grab it, a beam of sunlight streaked through the air. It sliced clean through the tip of my left index finger.
Crying out in a mix of pain and fury, I raised my hands and reached inside for my magic. Dawn had given me permission to kill her mother if it came to that, but I feared it would devastate her. The queen thought I was evil. She thought killing me was the only way to delay the curse. But if I could stop her from hurting me and then explain things to her, maybe she would understand, and so as I shot two black shards from my palms, I aimed to pin the Summer queen to the wall by her shoulders, avoiding a fatal blow.
The shards flew through the air, only to strike the shimmering bubble of magic surrounding Liliana. They fell harmlessly to the floor with a metallic clang.
