My mind is a wash of memories of Altair and fear. I feel his warm body beneath my hands, his muscles tense and hard. I stumble forward, moving into the space he once occupied. I feel the cold first, cold right in my gut, like an icicle. The pain follows the cold after a moment, intense and washing through my entire body.
I look down at the silver dagger protruding from my belly. It’s so much smaller up close. I let out a ragged breath as I fall to my knees, the pain from the fall only secondary to the wound. I can hear Altair shouting beside me, but it feels so far away. Eyes wide, I search for him. He hovers over me, taking my shoulders in his arms as he lowers me to the ground.
Blood coats his hands as he tentatively touches the wound. I shake my head as stinging pain shoots through me. “Verity,” he whispers, his voice finally reaching me. “Gods, Verity.”
“Altair,” I gasp.
His voice cracks. “Verity, why? Oh, Gods.”
“How sad.” Maaz pouts. “I was looking forward to bringing her into the fold.”
“You,” Altair whispers. His shoulders quake and his hazel eyes flash furiously. “I’ll kill you. I will fucking kill you.”
“Altair,” I rasp. He turns back to me, his eyes filled with tears.
“Don’t talk, I can fix this,” Altair murmurs, lifting a trembling hand to my forehead.
I can feel my own blood smear across my forehead as he gently strokes me. “Altair, I know what to do,” I breathe. The pain is almost overwhelming. “I know how to save you.”
“Hush,” he says gently. “It’s over now. You don’t have to try anymore.”
“No.” I shake my head, wincing. “I, Verity Chastain, bind my life to yours. I will give you all of me. I will make my vows to you instead of the Dark God.”
As I say the words that have echoed through my mind since the librarian disappeared, I can feel my blood singing through my veins. Altair’s eyes widen, his lips parted in surprise. I offer him a smile, but I know it looks more like a grimace. From the dais, I can see Maaz’s face go pale, and I know that I’ve won.
I wheeze as more blood pours from the wound, drenching my tunic and spilling over the marble floor. “Did it work?”
Altair presses his lips to my bloodied forehead. “It will. For I will bind myself to you, Verity Chastain. I accept your covenant.”
As he says the words, a gust of wind bursts from the dais, breezing powerfully through the throne room and beyond. I sigh and fall back to the marble floor, eyes heavy with fatigue. I’ve done it. We’ve done it. Happiness swells in my chest for a single instant before I remember suddenly that death is near.
“How dare you?” Maaz shrieks. “It doesn’t matter if she’s broken the curse. I’ll still kill you and claim what’s mine.”
Altair rises slowly to his feet, his expression cold and cruel. A shiver slips through me at the sight. He turns to Maaz, flexing his hands. “It isn’t yours.”
Chapter 21
Altair
Verity’s blood coats my hands and stains my leather boots. She’s bleeding out quickly and will die soon if I can’t help her. The dagger still juts from her gut, but I know removing it will only make things worse. Her eyes are half-closed as she takes short and shallow breaths. The joy I felt when she swore to bind herself to me lasted only an instant before my rage towards Maaz pushed it aside. There will be time to celebrate later.
“My soldiers are coming,” I murmur. “They will have felt the curse lift.”
I turn to Maaz, my eyes blazing with fury. She sweeps her cloak back, exposing more daggers sheathed at her waist, though I know she’ll use her magic against me as well. Her beautiful face is twisted into a gruesome grimace, her slender figure trembling.
“Get out, Maaz,” I snarl. “Before I rip you apart with my bare hands and feed you to my hounds.”
“Never,” she sneers. “I’ve waited a thousand years for this.”
I step down from the dais slowly, my footsteps echoing in the massive, empty chamber. “Good. Now I can savor killing you.”
With a scream, she slings another silver dagger towards me. But I’m ready now. Quick as a cat, I snatch the blade from mid-air and toss it between my hands, chuckling softly. “I feel better than I have in years, Maaz. Stronger. Faster.”
“Cruento,” Maaz hisses, her fingers splayed towards me.
Thin, needle-like mirrors streak towards me, whistling through the air. I dart to the side, ducking just as one of the magical blade’s glides over my head. I right myself and turn towards Maaz, but she’s disappeared. The skin on the back of my neck tingles. I whirl around just as she swings a dagger at my throat, narrowly missing puncturing my jugular.
I lunge towards her, blade twisting in my hand as I slash at her. She jumps back, her cloak and heavy skirts rustling. With a snarl, she thrusts the long dagger towards my gut. I roll to the side, sweeping my blade out to nick her in the ribs. She gasps sharply, glowering. I prowl around her as she touches a finger to the wound, bleeding lightly. Blood coats her pale finger and I grin. Maaz lifts her finger to her lips, her tongue darting out to lick the blood from her skin.
My brows furrow with disgust as she smiles cruelly. “Sicaòr,” she whispers.
A gust of wind blows through the throne room, it carries a sickly-sweet stench. When the breeze brushes my cheeks, I feel a stinging pain as it peels the skin from my face, layer by layer. Hissing, I dart towards her, blade angled for her chest. She spins away, laughing. But I anticipated this. I tangle my fingers through her hair, dragging her backwards.
Maaz cries out as I tear at
