Page 86 of Broken

The whole battle was being fought with defensive magic—and with love.

Against self-proclaimed superior creatures who claimed to revere life—and who were trying their damnedest to kill them all.

Thanatos turned and glided into the mountain’s entrance. Glancing at each other, Cole and Ireland followed him.

Now was the time when Thanatos would need their magic.

The chamber inside the mountain was huge, but it contained only one thing: a waist-high table of rock with what looked like a curved glowing glass coffin on top of it.

Thanatos stopped at the entrance. Ireland could feel the binding spells the Fae had laid there: Bright and Dark magic, entwined. She and Cole raised their linked hands and sent their own joined magic into the spell.

Slowly, carefully, they dismantled it, and walked into the chamber, Thanatos behind them.

They reached the glass coffin. Inside, like Sleeping Beauty, lay a woman with tawny blond hair, dressed in a robe the color of the sky at dusk, a large book cradled in her arms.

The sorceress Illyria, with the Book of Twilight.

There was more binding magic surrounding the coffin. They dismantled that too, and then stepped back so Thanatos could approach.

He laid his hand gently on the top of the surface, as if cupping the woman’s cheek. Ireland asked, “Are you going to release the spell?”

He gave a tiny shake of his head. “Not here. It is not safe.”

Instead, he cast a levitation spell, and they pushed the coffin off the table and floated it out of the cavern.

The dragons’ song changed once more—to a song of respect for the sorceress who’d been trapped in there so long.

Then the song ended, and there was silence.

Thanatos pushed the coffin through DB’s doorway. The wolves streamed through next, skirting the circle of wards DB held around the Council. The red dragons Changed back to human and went next.

Only Ireland and Cole were left with DB.

Ireland turned to face the Council.

“I, Ireland, declare myself Twilight Fae—Bright and Dark together in one, free of the jurisdiction of the Bright Fae, no longer answerable to their Council.” And then she added, “Deal with it.”

And they turned and went through the gate, DB following and closing it after them.