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“Raphael!”
Amelie’s instinct was to run to him, except the Dark One hung in the way. Nothing and no one was a match for her—Amelie needed the Heartstone. She sprinted down the hill toward the rose garden.
The Dark One laughed. “Your lover is deserting you, sweet prince. How does that feel? To be loved by a coward? I wouldn’t know. Nor would Malakai.”
Amelie barreled into the garden, scanning the leaf litter and rose beds. There were no telltale metallic glints. Bent low, she scattered the foliage with her hands, searching with desperate fervor.
Finally, her fingers knocked against something hard. She wrenched the clamshell from the dirt, victorious. The rose-gold exterior was grubby but intact.
Wasting no time, she left the garden and bolted up the hill. How would she use the Heartstone? Would it even work?
The Dark One had released Davron. He crouched on the ground, choking for breath. The sorceress fought Marcel and Oskar, who were doing little more than distracting her, hacking at her dark vapors with their swords.
Sigrid and Julie ran up the driveway, tiny and determined, making Amelie’s stomach drop in terror.
“Levissina!” she hollered, trying to draw the attention of the sorceress.
The Dark One leveled a magical blow at Oskar, making him collapse like a dropped marionette, before rounding on Amelie.
The rotted stench of the vapors filled Amelie’s nostrils. Cold air encircled her, pebbles battering her skin. The darkness became so thick she could see nothing else.
Squinting against the whirlwind, she opened the clamshell and held it up.
Pink light soared from the Heartstone, bigger and brighter than ever before, stopping the putrid wind at once. The shimmering radiance did not encase Amelie this time. The light flooded into Levissina’s black form instead, making her scream and writhe in agony.
The Heartstone light poured from the shell until the black vapor disappeared. Then, the pink light dissipated, too. Amelie stared in wonder at the person now standing before her.
The darkness and light had combined, leaving behind a distraught red-haired woman in a tattered green dress. Levissina raised her twitching hands to her face, turning them over in disbelief. Like in Amelie’s dream, the sorceress’s fingertips were tinged with black.
Levissina’s pale emerald eyes shifted to Davron hauling himself to his feet, ashen but alive. Her body convulsed slightly, like she was fighting back nausea.
Raphael and Oskar stirred, too.
Marcel aided his brother, while Sigrid held her father, begging him to be alright. Oskar was breathless, but gave her a reassuring smile.
“I—” Levissina began trembling violently. “I am sorry,” she whispered. “All that I have done?—”
Her eyes fluttered closed, tears rolling down her cheeks.
The sorceress shook her head and mouthed wordlessly, as if unable to process what she was thinking and feeling. Amelie tried to imagine having the best, most loving parts of your humanity restored after a decade of misery and hatred. After you had killed people.
Levissina gasped, her eyes flying open. Amelie looked down with a frown. The crimson tip of a steel blade protruded from the sorceress’s middle, blood beginning to spill around the metal. Then, the blade retracted, leaving behind a gushing wound. She clawed at her stomach, stumbling on the spot, before dropping to her knees.
Julie stood behind her with the bloodied sword hanging limply from her hand. Blinking rapidly in shock, the child dropped the weapon. She ran to her father and sister, burying her face in Oskar’s shoulder.
Levissina lurched forward, grasping at the air. Amelie dropped the clamshell and rushed to catch the sorceress, easing her onto her back. Levissina stared at the cobalt sky, an endless kaleidoscope of pain crossing her features. The pebbles beneath her body turned red and wet.
Amelie reached for her pale hand and held it tightly. No matter what this woman had done, Amelie did not want her last moments to be devoid of love. Levissina had existed for far too long without it.
Her eyes found Amelie’s. “There is a graveyard in Old Cove, on a hill.” Her voice was strained, as if every word hurt her. “Bury me there. Bury me next to Malakai.”
“We will.” Tears filled Amelie’s eyes. “I promise.”
Levissina opened her mouth to say something else, but all that came out was a thick stream of blood. She began to choke. Davron tried to pull Amelie away, but she shook him off. He stood by in somber silence.
The clamshell lay ajar on the ground, the pink gemstone looking quite the same now as any other.
EPILOGUE
