Page 332 of The Edge of Darkness

I thought I would have at least another thousand years with him before the idea of ‘farewell’ ever needed to cross our minds, and that, surely, by then, we would have figured out a way for him to stay by my side.

But this? This was not in my plans.

This was agony. This was misery. I had become a goddess while my mate took his last breath.

I couldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t.

“My Lady . . .” Eathril’s voice was close by, full of shock and sadness. I sensed his presence as if he was kneeling beside me. “What can I do?” he whispered.

I had no answer. My heart was in my throat, and it was breaking into a thousand pieces all over again. When I didn’t respond, he slowly backed away, and in that moment, I’d never felt more alone.

When Niall was alive, I could feel his essence like a thread in my mind, but now, I couldn’t. I squeezed my eyelids shut as hard as I possibly could, searching for that thread like a lost, frantic doe darting through the woods, looking for the trail. I was desperate for a remnant, for something—anything.

There, on the other side of the stone wall that now stood like the fortified battlements of a castle in my mind, a shredded black tether lay motionless on the floor. The end was frayed where it had been severed.

The sight of it hollowed me out.

In a frenzy, I commanded my light to retrieve it. The moment it was in my mind’s grip, I shoved my power into it. Light wrapped around the tattered edges, and I willed them to mend. I had no idea what I was doing, or if it was even going to make a difference, but I couldn’t go on without him. And worse yet, I couldn’t go on knowing I didn’t use every effort to at least try to bring him back to me. It was madness, and it was probably utterly useless, but I did it anyway, holding onto that sliver of hope that it wasn’t all for nothing.

My godly power danced along the frail tether, pushing life down the bond. I inhaled deeply, willing the strength of each breath I took to transfer to him, to breathe life into his lungs once more.

Several minutes went by . . . and nothing.

Give me a sign. Anything, I pleaded down the bond. My light wound around the tether, reaching, feeling, coaxing him back to me.

Nothing.

There was nothing I could do. The pain and hurt threatened to take me under like a flood.

Then, the sky crackled and broke above us. A staggering shudder tore through the atmosphere, and the ground rattled to its core as a being bathed in golden light descended with a force so fierce, that all of us, even the stones around us, were lifted off the ground as gravity momentarily ceased upon his impact.

I lifted my head and beheld the god-king himself. Karios.

His dominating presence swallowed up the open space. The golden crown that he wore atop his head left no room for doubt as to who he was. A cloak of thick furs hung from his broad shoulders and dragged the ground behind him. He stood tall, muscles carved in perfect form, his arms exposed beneath a black and brown leather vest that hugged his chest. Leather vambraces clasped him from wrist to elbow.

His face was harsh, yet handsome, with a sharp nose, high cheekbones, and a thick, but groomed, beard that covered his cheeks and chin. Amber eyes churned beneath thick brows. The top half of his dark brown hair was tied back, leaving the rest to fall atop his shoulders. He looked perhaps only ten years older than me, if I had to put an age on him in human years, but his spirit was ancient, primal. I could feel it.

When he spoke, the sound was filled with a deep, pulsing energy. The epitome of power. The rumble of storms amongst darkened clouds.

“Daughter.”

I didn’t say anything back. I couldn’t. My mate was dead in my arms, and I was numb, yet wholly attuned to places I didn’t even know could ache with the pain of loss. All I could do was stare up at the god-king and fall deeper into my despair.

His gaze shifted to Niall, his inner thoughts manifesting in his expression and tainting his features with guilt.

I looked back at my mate as well and continued rocking his body against mine, gripping the lifeless tether in my mind’s eye and tugging, over and over—waiting, wishing, wanting.

“Niall,” I sobbed.

Silence.

I took another shaky breath, a broken whisper falling from my lips like a dying prayer. “Asher.”

Then, the tether . . . it throbbed.

My heart stuttered.

The subtle hint of thrumming murmured within my chest. So faint, yet . . .