Page 4 of She Who Holds My Wrath

We don’t wait for more information. I grab the grimoire, shoving it back into my coat, and follow the goddesses as we practically run through the halls of Zeriavoss. The air around us trembles with gathering energy. The whole palace feels on edge, a thickness surrounds the atmosphere like it knows something catastrophic is brewing.

By the time we reach her chamber, the hallway outside is rife with panic. Healers, guards, and servants are all scattered like debris. Someone is sobbing against the wall, shaking with obvious fear as a healer comforts them. The air around the door shimmers with residual heat. Her panic-stricken voice comes from the other side of the door, her fear palpable.

“Get the fuck away from me!” Her voice is cracked raw. Broken. I’ve heard her scream in agony, in grief—but this? This is something else entirely. This is the sound of a soul that has torn entirely open.

Elyistria pushes the doors open, and heat slams into us like a wave. She’s there, pressed against the far wall, hair a wild halo of gold and silver streaks, billowing on a phantom breeze. Her hands are wreathed in pure white fire, sparks of fire spurting from them, untamed like her emotions. Her eyes are rimmed red from crying, her gown clings to her skin, soaked in sweat. She’s a storm barely caged in flesh. The servants inside cower, too afraid to move, too afraid to poke the beast that stands in front of them.

Elyistria lifts a hand to stop me as I step forward. “No. She’ll hurt you. She won’t mean to, but she will.”

I watch as she takes a cautious step inside, myself and Sariya standing at the threshold. The Goddess of Light moves cautiously, a gentle smile on her face as she approaches the broken queen.

“NO!” Daisy shrieks towards Elyistria. “You betrayed me! Everyone has betrayed me at some point in my god forsaken life!”

Elyistria doesn’t even flinch. “I didn’t betray you, Daisy. I was young. I was afraid. I didn’t know what to do back then, and I can only apologise. I’m sorry. They threatened to kill me too, if I came for you. I couldn’t help if I died as well.”

“You didn’t know I would come back. That’s impossible.” Daisy seethes, white fire twisting higher from her upturned palms.

“No,” Elyistria admits, her voice quiet and steady. “I didn’t. But I had a strong feeling a soul like yours could never truly be gone. And I was right. I’m trying to fix my mistakes, Daisy. But I can’t if you don’t let me. I’m here now.”

Daisy’s lip trembles, her fire pulsing violently. “It’s too late. Korithax. Talia,” her voice breaks. “They’re gone.”

“I know,” Elyistria says, inching forward. “I’m sorry. But I need you, Daisy. Everyone does. We cannot win this war without you. Korithax needs you to be strong for his people. Your people.”

Daisy trembles. “I don’t want to be strong. I want to go home. I want to go back to my boring life. I don’t want any of this.”

“I know.” Elyistria sighs, taking another step forward.

Daisy’s fire flares higher. “Take. Me. Home.” She grits out.

I can’t stay quiet anymore. I move beside Elyistria, ignoring the sear in the air. “Don’t you want to watch them burn for what they did to you? To Talia? To Korithax?”

Her eyes snap to mine. “Don’t speak his fucking name,” she snarls. “You should’ve saved him. You should’ve taken him when you pushed Ezra through that portal.”

“Daisy…”

“No. I blame you too, Aran.”

I take the hit, letting it land a blow. And gods it does. It hits painfully, straight into my heart. I can’t even argue against it, because she’s right. And that’s what hurts the most. I didn’t protect him. My entire life’s purpose was to guide and protect him, and I failed.

“I blame me too,” I whisper, blinking away the blur from the tears threatening to fall. “I should’ve known. I’m sorry. He was more than my king, Daisy. He was my brother.”

Despite my best efforts to stay composed, my voice cracks and a tear slips down my cheek before I can stop it. I swallow hard, steadying myself. Daisy doesn’t need my grief right now; she needs my strength. She needs someone strong beside her who can hold her up when she’s crumbling. Korithax did that before he died. So it’s my duty to do it now. For him, as well as her.

I straighten, my hands curling into fists at my sides. “Whether you want this or not, the war is coming. With or without you. Don’t think for a moment they’ll leave you alone if you run.”

I take another step forward, steadying myself, ensuring she hears my words loud and clear. “They know who you are now. And they will never stop, Daisy. Peace is no longer an option. We either win this war together, or we all die.”

Her flames flicker for a brief moment. I watch her carefully, my eyes darting back and forth between hers and her palms. I mentally exhale as her flames lower. She staggers back on shaking legs, collapsing against the wall. Her body slides down until she’s sitting, knees to her chest, arms trembling as they wrap around her legs. Slowly, her fire fades to nothing.

“I didn’t know how to be what he needed,” she whispers.

“You already were,” I tell her, my voice breaking all over again. “But now, you need to become what he believed you could be.”

“I’ve barely been awake an hour. Do I not even get chance to breathe? To grieve? My husband and best friend were just murdered in front of me. I just watched my entire life change in a flash, and you’re here telling me I need to become something my dead husband believed I could be?” she snaps.

I flinch slightly at the way her voice escalates with each word. Starting off broken and ending in a high-pitched shriek of agony and rage. I can see how hard she’s holding down the power thrumming beneath her veins. But I can also see her hair raising again, the air around her vibrating with barely contained fury.

“War does not wait for grief, Daisy,” I reply softly.