The ancient dragon was more beautiful than I’d imagined—more beautiful than any artist had envisioned. Turquoise and gold scales sparkled in the sun. Its eyes glittered with golden flecks, and I felt magic in the creature. This was more than a dinosaur; this was the mother of dragons. As it focused on us, I knew it somehow sensed my magic.
Eons of time separated us, yet I felt a connection to the beast, a bond not easily described. Kull unsheathed his sword, but I placed my hand on his arm.
“It’s okay,” I said. “She won’t hurt us.”
He glanced from me to the dinosaur, but then relented and replaced his sword in the scabbard. Kull took a step back, though he kept his eyes focused on the beast.
“Is that Kitten?” he asked me quietly.
“Yes, I think so,” I answered, clutching the necklace around my neck, my hands warming the claw fragment.
When it ducked its head, the beast reminded me of Fan’twar. The dinosaur took a step forward, letting its magic flow around me, strengthening me.
As it did, I felt my life returning. Magic filled the empty spaces of my being. The dinosaur’s golden eyes sparkled. I watched in awe as the beast opened its mouth and let out a roar, releasing its magic. A blue mist gathered around us, opening a portal.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
The rocks crumbled beneath our feet just as the portal opened, sucking us back into our own reality. The world blurred. Time and space meant nothing as we traveled from one reality to another, our bodies hurtling millions of years through time, before the births of the planets.
As we traveled through the void, I felt Theht once again. But why was she here? She no longer had the power to cross worlds. As if in answer, she spoke, her voice a whisper in my head.
You haven’t won. I may not have destroyed your world, but I can still cross through this portal, and using the energy from this event, I will enter your existence. You have not stopped me. Now, I will enter your world and reign down destruction. I will open the rift; I will allow the demons of my world to decimate your lands.
You will pay the price for your deceit, Deathbringer.
My body slammed into the ground, rattling my skull. The magic abruptly disappeared, leaving me cold and shivering as I lay in the grass. Rain pelted around me as lightning streaked across the sky. Thunder boomed overhead as I sat up. The others lay around me, but soon, they also woke and sat up, staring at our surroundings. The Wult mountains loomed in the distance and I knew we must’ve made it back to Faythander. We were alive, and the world wasn’t destroyed.
But I’d failed to stop Theht.
Kull crawled toward me. The rain washed away the mud clinging to his clothes, face, and hair. He took me in his arms and hugged me to his chest. I let him hold me, although my hands were shaking. I felt sick inside, knowing Theht would soon cross into our world and unleash destruction. It almost didn’t seem real, and as I closed my eyes tight, I imagined I’d never heard her voice at all—that everything would be okay and I would go on living as Kull’s wife. We would be happy together and nothing would separate us.
“You did it, Olive,” he said. “You saved us all.”
I only nodded, unable to speak or to explain to him that no, I had only stalled her. And when she arrived, the destruction would be worse than the asteroid’s. But for right now, we were alive.
Kull pulled away, then kissed my forehead. “I always knew you would save us all.”
“Kull,” I said, taking his hands in mine. Why wouldn’t my hands stop shaking?
“What’s the matter?”
“I… I didn’t do it.” My whole body shook with tremors as a cold presence formed behind me, making my heart race, my skin clammy. I closed my eyes tightly, knowing she was coming for me, but too afraid to face her.
I would have to confront her, and I knew it.
I would lose. The prophecies would all be fulfilled in the end, and sooner than I would like.
“She’s going to take me away from you,” I whispered as Kull held me. I clung so tightly to him I was surprised I didn’t crush him. Letting him go would be the hardest part. I knew then that I would rather die than be without him. No torture ever invented could be worse than losing him.
“Please don’t let her take me away,” I said.
He only held me. I couldn’t be sure what he was thinking. Maybe he sensed what I already knew. Our time together was ending. It wasn’t fair. Nothing was ever fair.
Heidel and Maveryck walked toward us, but as they did, the ground shook. Behind us, the whooshing sounds of a portal opening filled the air. As I turned, I saw beams of orange light shining from a mirror-like portal that tore through the air. The hole opened wider.
We stood and stumbled backward. Heidel cursed and unsheathed a weapon.
“What in Odin’s name is happening?”
“It’s Theht,” I said. “She was able to use the destruction as fuel to cross worlds. She’s coming for us.”
“What?” Maveryck said. “How?”
“The portal,” I answered. “She followed us through.”
Kull unsheathed his sword, its sapphire crystal glittering in the light cast from the rift. Sounds of humanlike shrieks came from the opening. The orange light grew brighter as the silhouette of a woman appeared and stepped through into Faythander.
I wanted to scream, though I stood immobile, unable to make my voice work. My body trembled as Theht moved toward us.
She faced the four of us. Fear washed over me—and I was reminded of the time not long ago when I’d seen her in the flesh—of that overwhelming feeling I had to kneel. The feeling came back tenfold. Before I could control my actions, I knelt at Theht’s feet along with the other
