Page 157 of The Ashborn

“Please,” she begged, her voice breaking. “Heal yourself.”

“It’s okay,” he rasped through the spurt of blood forming around his lips. His hand shook as it found her chin, thumb brushing her skin like he was memorizing her. “Hey,” he whispered as Kienna’s eyes snapped shut. “Look at me, please.”

She forced her eyes open as her chin trembled, daring to look at the tragedy unfolding in front of her. Every instinct screamed to look away, but she couldn’t abandon him—not now.

Danek forced a smile. “I may…never see sunlight in fields filled with…laughter.” He grimaced, swallowing hard to hold his mind steady. “At least I got to see you smile. I always knew this was how I’d love you.”

Tears flooded her eyes, blurring him until she couldn’t tell where his face ended and the world began. She couldn’t stop them. “You were meant to tell our story, Danek.”

“I love you, Kienna.” He coughed, a wet, broken sound, and his gaze fluttered between her eyes as though he were afraid to miss even one last detail. “This…was enough…for me.”

His eyes flickered, light dimming and returning in uneven pulses. The gold bled slowly out of the green, the warmth draining until his gaze went distant, unmoored—no longer quite there.

“Danek?” Kienna struck his cheek lightly, desperate, already knowing. “Danek?” Her breath hitched, broke loose from her chest, and flooded into the air. “Please!” Tears fell onto him, darkening his blood-soaked clothes. “I love you. You can’t leave me!”

Baila rose to her feet, her own hands trembling. “Kienna, I swear—I didn’t mean⁠—”

Kienna’s magic flared without restraint. A pulse of raw energy burst from her, sending Baila flying into the barrier. The air screamed. The stone beneath them shuddered, collapsing her in a single, suffocating wave. Kienna folded over Danek’s chest. She whimpered as she pressed her ear to him, searching for something—anything.

There was no heartbeat.

“You lose,” Vaerin’s voice echoed through the ruin, cold and satisfied. His form flickered, smoke unraveling into nothing.

The King of River Storm was gone.

Chapter 62

—Connak—

The barrier dissipated. Connak and Ruva rushed forward the minute it dropped. As soon as they were near enough, Kienna clutched Connak’s shirt, eyes wild. “Please, you can heal him! I’m begging you.”

Connak knelt next to Danek, placing a steady hand on his chest. He waited for as long as he could to feel a breath or a beat. Anything to tether Danek back to this world. Time stretched endlessly. Connak’s hands shook against Danek’s body. There was nothing left. Moisture collected behind his eyes, burning. He shook his head and gently closed Danek’s lids. “He’s gone.”

Kienna reeled back and then slammed her fist into Connak’s shoulder. “What do you mean? You brought that stag back in the Malintale. I saw you do it. You can bring him back, too.”

Connak fought back the emotion overcoming him. His throat bobbed with heaviness. “Only when there’s something left to save. Danek is gone.”

Silence fell over them while Kienna processed. Broan stood behind her, hands shaking as quickly as Kienna’s. Her mind cracked as she fell to her knees beside Danek, her hands still pressing desperately against his wounds as if sheer force could bring him back. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, breaking. “I’m so sorry. Please… I should have told you… I should have⁠—”

She wailed as Danek’s body stilled. Her breath came in short, ragged gasps, rocking against him, her forehead resting on his chest.

Connak bowed his head. There was only silence as the forest grieved.

—Broan—

Broan knew death, but not like this. There was never a day when he worried he’d never see his brother again. If the thought had ever crossed his mind, he would have never taken their time together for granted. Most days, he spent reeling out insults and jests to keep the mood light. Now, he wished he had told Danek how much he cared. Like Kienna, he’d left too much unsaid.

His jaw remained tight, his lips sealed as his chin quivered at the scene before him. Danek was the best of them all, always fighting for the good of the realm. All he could do was stand there and watch as his best friend’s life escaped him. He wanted to punch the ground. He wanted to fight, but his body wouldn’t move. Tightness consumed him. Scalding heat pooled behind his eyes as he fought against the emotions brewing inside.

Crying was a weakness Danek would have disapproved of. Broan couldn’t bear to do it as he listened to Kienna’s sobs, her own body heaving over Danek’s. The sound of her wails nearly broke Broan. His eyes fell to his boots, water dripping on the leather. “Get up,” he said, but his words were drowned out by the tears all around him.

Before they got here, Broan had made a collective decision to ask Danek back to the mountains with him. He wanted to share his new life with his brother. He wanted to take him to the tallest peaks to see if Lief could show him a thing or two about climbing—or perhaps it was Danek who would show Lief. That would have been a sight to see—who could climb the ice the fastest. Except, it was not a sight he would ever get.

The blood pooling in the cobblestone said as much. Broan gripped his fingers into his palms. He swiped at his face, trying to understand what led them here. Broan’s attention shifted back to Baila, a scowl pulling on his face.

—Baila—

Baila would have done a million things differently. She would have dropped the blade. She would have never chosen King Vaerin. She would have refused her father every day if it meant she didn’t have to be the one to live with this for the rest of her life.