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Did she realise? Sure, she knew what being the star meant. But did she grasp the seriousness of the situation? That she was literally not just saving the world, our world, but hers too?
The worst thing is, only the four of us will know what she did. Will remember her name. We have to honour her offering, make sure our people at the very least know who she was and what she did.
I won’t let her be forgotten.
“Is it done?” I’ve never heard such raw emotion uttered in three single words, posed as a question, before. More shocking is that it’s Bhodi who uttered them.
“Almost. The blood has to stop flowing. We need every drop.” I feel like the lowest form of life saying this, hate how cold and unfeeling my voice comes out when I’m feeling anything but. How barbaric that the prophecy would see us slaughter the woman we love, drain every drop of her blood to fortify the decaying gates to our world and to, somehow, aid us in finding our missing queen and save our entire race. How agonisingly slowly her essence drains.
Taking a deep breath, I bury my emotions. There will be time to grieve for Malia later. There will be time to grieve for myself too. For now, we don’t have much time.
“We’re almost there. Remember, when the blood stops, we only have a couple of minutes before the gate seals. We must go through. We have to go back. The mission depends on it.”
“What about Malia?” Another distraught three words. This time as expected, as they’re from Cove. He was always the emotional one, the kind one. The one most likely to feel hard and fall deep.
I shake my head. “We spoke about this. We can’t risk taking her through when we don’t know how her blood magic works. We can’t jeopardise our people on the unknown. She has to stay here.”
“Yeah, well,wetalked about this too,” Bhodi snarls. “And we’ve decided wearerisking it. We’re not leaving her behind. She deserves a burial, a proper sendoff. Acknowledgement of what she’s done for us all.”
He’s not wrong. But I don’t know what might happen if we move her body. I’m torn. Do what’s right or do what’sright? I sigh. “Fine. Get ready to…” I almost saygrab the bodybut Jesus, even I can see how harsh that sounds. But time is of the essence here.
I raise my blade once more. One final cut and it’s done.
You can do this. You have to finish it. At this point, it would be cruel not to.
I close my eyes and bring the dagger down over her heart.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got her,” Reef tells me, crouching down and sliding one arm under her neck, the other under her knees. They must have undone her bindings at some point. He hasn’t moved her, still letting the final drops drain away, but he’s ready to move the second I give the signal.
She already looks so pale. Her vibrant hair, duller. Light still streams from her like a celestial being, but that too is muted. The whole world seems to have turned to grayscale. Like an omen. A message from the heavens that we’ve somehow made a grave mistake.
“Get ready…” My attention is fixated on the slowing trickle of blood coming from her chest. Where I stabbed her in the heart. Where I may as well have stabbed myself.
The skies turn dark, and Malia’s light is extinguished like a candle.
“What?!” Bhodi yells.
“Shikari! Move! Now!” Blind panic claws at my throat.No! Not now!We’ve come too far to succumb to the darkness at the last hurdle. “Reef, take Malia through the gate. Go!” I don’t stop to see if he’s following orders. He’s a soldier for a reason. Our best soldier. But he’s also still injured and recovering, so he’s safer out of here. There’s no way we can take on…I glance to the skies and stagger back, overwhelmed. The skies areblackwith an uncountable number of Shikari. We’re outnumbered, outweaponed and outmatched. Fuck.
It’s a suicide mission. But we have to hold them off to allow Reef to get through the gate with Malia. We can’t allow the Shikari to get hold of her body. Her soul still resides within it, and the gate isn’t sealed. We have to protect our people. But more than that, I won’t allow Malia’s body, her memory, her soul, to be defiled and decimated by these vermin.
“Don’t let them get her blood!” I shout to my remaining comrades as we move as one to withdraw our weapons, the ceremonial daggers discarded on the empty altar where she once lay. We can’t use weapons stained with her blood to kill Shikari. The unthinkable would happen.
The second my fists wrap around the handle of my blades, they illuminate, firing a blinding light out into the darkness like Moses parting the Red Sea. Ordinarily, the sight of these weapons alone would be enough to make the Shikari withdraw, but not recently. They’re too bold now. Too desperate. The lure of the star, of her blood, is too strong. Even now, over the stench of a hundred Shikari, I can smell Malia’s blood soaking into the hot stone altar.
It’s as intoxicating as she is.
Was.
Fuck. I need to focus.
I hear the portal opening and closing behind us and I can only pray that Reef made it through with Malia. One less thing to worry about, but now we have to protect her blood.
Somehow the dawn sky darkens even more, the storm clouds of Shikari thicken and they gear up ready to attack. My hands tighten on my weapons.
There’s no way we’ll survive this.
But in death I can reunite with Malia and tell her all the things I should have said when I had the chance.
The Shikari attack with a blood-curdling cry that sends shivers down my spine, and together with Cove and Bhodi by my side, we fight valiantly.
Until I’m hit and stagger back onto the altar that’s saturated with Malia’s blood. My own life’s essence joins hers and I feel a bond forging that will tie me to her for all eternity. The events of this night have forever changed the course of our destinies, and my brothers must steel themselves for the challenges that lie ahead. Without me.
My vision darkens and my weapons slip from my grip. I fall to my knees and welcome the darkness.
Death will almost be worth it, to hold and kiss her again.
* * *
