Page 122 of Tears for a Broken Sky
“Wrong, Phoenix,” he snarled. “I’ve beenshownthe truth. I know what you are now—traitor.I’ve come to claim what’s mine.”
I staggered back a step, panting. “And what’s that, huh? You think killing me is the answer?”
Thorne’s eyes flared black, void of everything I remembered. His voice dropped low—deadly.
“I think killing you is the only thing I’ve thought about since I woke in chains. Since the king let Vasquez peel my mind apart. Sinceyouleft me.”
“That’s not fair—”
He surged forward, and I barely deflected the blow.
“All of you,” he spat. “Twisted. Traitorous. You chose her. Youallchose her. And you left me to die!”
My heart cracked open. “We didn’t chooseherover you, Thorne.Youchose her over us. You’re the one who sent us away!”
He hesitated. Just for a second.
“No.No!You are wrong. You are lying! Kill the Shades. Elira must be delivered.” He repeated it like it was a mantra. “Order before mercy. Truth before feeling. Duty before desire.”
A sickening feeling ripped through me. This was worse than I could imagine.
“Listen to yourself!” I shouted. “Thorne! Fight it! Those words arenot yours!”
He didn’t blink.
“Remember me!”
And for the briefest of moments—I saw it.
A flicker.
A fracture in the mask.
The man I loved like a brother. The man who once stood between us and the abyss.
His grip faltered.
His eyes cleared. Just for a breath.
Then—
Gone.
He roared—and lunged again.
Chapter 30
Elira
I felt it before I saw it—Phoenix’s pain. Like a thread yanked taut in my chest.
I turned just in time to see Thorne’s blade slash across his cheek. Blood painted Phoenix’s face. And Thorne—gods, Thorne—he looked like death in human form.
“Thorne!” I screamed.
He didn’t stop.
Didn’t even look at me.
