Evil had poisoned my perspective and, therefore, that of my star. I had stopped caring about what was best for the Realms, stopped being a proper vessel for the Trinity Star. I had lost my limitations because I refused to believe in them. I had lost respect for the plan. And it had nearly destroyed the balance of the Universe. That was why the Tablet of Destinies didn't work on me or for me. I had gone beyond the restriction of Destiny.
But I was going to fix all of that. Even if it killed me.
I screamed as the Trinity Star pulled more and more magic through me. Vast amounts of energy streamed from the Void and the Nine Great Magics to pour through my heart. Enough power to undo the horrors we had brought into the world. Undo months of work within moments. Undo creation and destruction. The Star burned, pieces of it melting away under the blast. I felt as if I were melting too. The Wicked Witch post-bucket-flinging. I'm melting. Me-e-el-lting! I started to laugh through the pain. Yes; this was how I wanted to go out; laughing as I set the world to rights. A perfect end for the Godhunter.
My body trembled as the stronghold crumbled around me, disappearing into the nothing it had been born of. Grass rose up beneath me and sunlight warmed my skin but still, I writhed in the agony of justice; hands fisted and back arched. Starlight shone through me until I thought I'd die from it, until my mind and body and even my soul seemed to disappear within the magic. Until all I was, was light. Finally, the pain subsided, and I took a deep, gasping breath, amazed that I had survived.
The Trinity Star hadn't fared so well.
The Star laid dull and dreary inside my chest. It was there and it was mine, but it was back to its most elementary abilities and strength. It united my magic; that was all. I knew without reaching for them that I was cut off from the Void and the Nine Great Magics. I had burned those bridges with starlight. No more wishes for me.
Relief trembled through me but then lurched up short against the aching pain in my chest. A wound that would never heal. I had done horrible things, and I was grateful that the Trinity Star had been able to repair them, but there had been one thing that I hadn't wanted to undo. One man who would haunt me for the rest of my life. One name that would echo in my thoughts forever.
“Viper,” I whispered brokenly as I opened my tear-filled eyes.
I never had the chance to love him as me; the real me. After all those years of waiting, I took him from the Void only to send him straight back. I took a breath to let out my anguish.
“I'm here, my star,” Viper's beloved voice, free of the edge of evil, brushed over me like a velvet blanket.
Despite its softness, it startled me and my breath turned into a gasp as I jerked my head to the side to see him lying beside me. Viper; he was still there. It was then that I realized how tightly I had my hand clenched and what it held. I looked down at our clasped hands with wonder. Viper had been the one thing I refused to let go of. The one good thing I had done. And he had held on too. Through blinding starlight and realm-changing blasts of power, Viper had held onto me.
“Viper!” I sobbed as I crumpled into his embrace.
“Vervain,” Viper murmured in my hair, “I knew you'd win in the end.”
“I pulled back and stared at him in shock. “What did you say?”
“I told you”—he smiled gently as he brushed the starlight lock away from my face—“I chose to answer your call. I went with you because I knew I would love you. I knew that even though there was evil inside you, you were stronger than it. I took the risk of exposing myself to that evil because I had this feeling, this deep certainty, that you were worth it.”
“I love you,” I whispered in awe. “Thank you for having faith in me, even when I wasn't me.”
“Thank you for saving me.” He lifted our joined hands. “Everything else you made vanished, but you wouldn't let the Void take me.”
Viper laid his mouth over mine, just a soft, tender press of lips, but I rose up against it, pulling him into a deep kiss and branding him with my love. He was mine. Truly mine. No evil between us, no false desire or bloodlust. I had brought Viper through the cleansing and healed us both. I couldn't let him go now.
Something shivered inside me even as I rejoiced. I knew my men would be hurt by this, but I had to make them understand. I brought Viper into the world with evil in my heart, and he had loved me anyway. He had stood by me and allowed that evil to infect him. No; I wasn't letting him go. I doubt he'd let me if I tried.
Strident voices raised around us, shouting in Arabic. I blinked in surprise as I pulled out of our kiss and took a good look around. Viper and I laid on the lawn before the old palace of Bahrain. Everything back to normal. And the human guards weren't too happy with us for making out on the grass.
I laughed and looked back at Viper. “How would you like to see my real home?”
“You mean our home?” He lifted a challenging brow.
“I have to warn you;
