Page 184 of The Reaping Rose

My gaze whips to Esen, who sticks to Atlas’s side. If what Malachi is saying is true, then Esen and Hazel share a soul. One bound to shadow magic, and the other, the void.

What have I done? I brought Esen here. What have I led her into?

“Pay attention, Elorie,” Malachi snaps, pulling my gaze back to him. “There is much you do not understand, but you will soon. I will show you. What is broken can be whole once again. There is a lesson to be learned here.”

Malachi moves in a blink. One moment, he’s standing alone, the next, he has Esen by the throat. Atlas and Greer are shoved back with a burst of light.

“Don’t.” I take a step forward, but Wilder stops me.

“I must,” Malachi says, his tone cold.

“Please, you don’t have to. What’s done is done. The orb is broken. Let her go, and we’ll leave.” A tear slips down my cheek as I beg, but Malachi chuckles.

“We both know that is not how this ends.”

I take another step, and Malachi clicks his tongue.

“Don’t, Elorie.” Esen’s gaze meets mine, and I feel her reach out, somehow weaving into my mind. “You have too much to live for; this is where it ends for me.”

“It can’t,” I beg.

“It must. You have people to live for. Friends. A family.”

“You could have that too.”

“I see that now. You gave that to me. You showed me what it means to fight for others, and that’s what I want to do. Thank you for helping me see there was something worth holding on to. Something worth fighting for. Thank you for giving me my power back. For trusting me to make the right choice this time.”

“Esen.” Her name is a cry, no longer in my mind.

A black tear slips down her cheek. “Thank you for being my friend.”

In a swift twist, Malachi cracks Esen’s neck. Bone splinters, echoing as my knees give out.

Wilder barely has time to catch me. I collapse in his arms as Esen’s lifeless body slumps to the ground. Her empty eyes are on me, but she’s no longer there. Tears pour down my cheeks, and a sob rips free. But I can’t take my eyes off Esen. She deserved more than this.

Freedom.

A life.

She was born a sacrifice, then rejected by those she loved. Used by the overlord. Brought here to then be used by us to destroy the orb. She deserved real friendship. Real love. She should have walked out of this with us.

I brought her into this.

I killed her.

A sob racks my chest. I can hardly breathe. Wilder holds me up, and I’ve never felt so heavy—so empty.

“How could you?” I try to throw myself at Malachi, but Wilder holds me back.

Callum shifts, putting himself between us. I know they do it to protect me, but I don’t care anymore. He deserves to pay for what he’s done. For Esen. For Selia. For his people he sacrifices in the name of power.

Malachi grins as if he can read my thoughts. He glances down, and I follow his gaze, freezing when I see what caught his attention.

The webs on Esen’s cheek slither and move. The edges become points that dig into her skin like a claw. Esen’s chest lifts with a breath, and for a second, I think she’s alive.

But she isn’t.

Her body collapses a second time, and Hazel stumbles back, gripping her stomach.