Page 217 of Tears for a Broken Sky
No body.
No ashes.
Just silence.
The kind of silence that follows a curse finally broken.
I stood there, shadows still whispering around my shoulders like wings, and whispered the only truth that ever mattered:
“I was never yours.”
Chapter 51
Thorne
I sat up, breath ragged, my mind clearer than it had been in weeks.
Every nerve in my body trembled—with adrenaline, with fear. With shame.
Elira stood at the heart of the chamber like something risen from ash and starlight. A queen of ruin, crowned in darkness. Shadows curled around her body, weaving a gown of living flame—no longer merely hers, but somethingmore.
And behind her…
Gods.
The dragon loomed.
It had always been there, hadn’t it? Lurking in the edges of her magic. Watching. Waiting. That fire in her eyes—untamed, unyielding—it was never just fury.
It wascallingsomething.
Just like her.
Maddie lay nearby, wide-eyed and gasping. Still alive. Still breathing.
And me?
I dropped to my knees.
I knelt before my queen.
And I wept.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “For everything.”
My voice broke. The words came raw.
“My little shadow…”
But the voice that answered wasn’t hers.
“Elira is not here,” it said—hervoice, but not herself. It echoed with something vast and ancient, vibrating through my bones like thunder spoken in a dream.
“I am Kharith. Mother of dragons. Elira has awakened me—through her power, and her pain. Pain you helped cause.”
“I know.” My chest splintered open. “I know. Please. Take my life. I don’t deserve it. I offer it to you freely.”
“You have done many terrible things, Thorne Draevin.”
