Page 76 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
Mal snorted.
‘And her character.’
‘So she does not take after you?’
‘She does.’ His thumb continued its slow, soothing circle over her hand, easing the tension from her shoulders. ‘She has all the g-good from both of us.’
Mal opened one eye to look at him. ‘Is there any good, Ash?’
His smile faltered for a heartbeat, and she immediately regretted being the one to steal it away.
‘Perhaps not,’ he said softly. ‘Butsheis.’
Mal nodded.
‘She c-cannot hear the world,’ Ash went on softly. ‘But she is so bra-brave.’
‘She will need to be.’ Mal opened both eyes and turned to face him fully, taking in the man she was bound to whether she wished it or not. The man she loved, because a curse had decreed that she must. ‘I will hurt her. Can I trust you to keepher safe from me?’
Ash nodded, grave and certain. ‘You will. But I will pro-protect her.’
‘From me.’ The truth tasted bitter on her tongue, and she struggled to swallow it. ‘I don’t like this path. We could find another. Another where the three of us are together.’
‘There isn’t one, Mal.’
His words slid straight through her heart, cracking something fragile and already bruised. Tears welled, and Ash leaned closer, his thumb brushing them away with aching tenderness.
‘It was the only o-one where the three of us e-exist,’ he whispered, his lips so close to hers she could feel his breath. ‘And we will suffer. For years, we will suffer. But in the end, she will s-save us.’ He pressed a kiss to her mouth, so soft it was barely there. ‘She was al-always the chosen one.’
Mal tightened her grip on his wrist, unwilling to let him slip away. When she glanced about, the God-Killer was nowhere to be seen. It never was, not when Ash stood this close. With him beside her, she felt more like herself—clearer, steadier, less jagged with fury.
He was her saviour.
And, just as surely, her doom.
Her gaze drifted to her uncle Morthos, who for the first time since she had met him was smiling, his broad forehead resting against the scaled brow of one of his wyverns. The simple tenderness of the gesture made something ache inside her. She wanted to fly, to rise into the open sky and forget the world and all that waited beyond this fragile moment. To forget the truths Ash had laid bare, truths that had splintered her heart.
But she would not look away.
For their daughter. For the world.
She would do whatever was required.
Even if it meant becoming the villain in every story ever told.
She did not fear it, not if it meant saving those she loved.
Mal knew what she had to become.
The God-Killer.
The villain.
The monster.
She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the chair as Ash’s hand continued its gentle, grounding rhythm over hers. A small, resolute smile curved her lips.
Whatever was coming,she was ready.
