Without a word the ancient demon threw a spell at us. I increased the power on my shield to repel his incantation. The pain price hit me hard. I gritted my teeth and felt it roll off my back, feeling like it took my skin with the power it took from me.

My fingers twitched, wanting to use the stone, but Eric shook his head, “Not yet.”

They’d explained that using dark magic was kind of like making a deal with a demon. It would twist things to suit its needs. My wish had to be concise, and those it affected needed to be present. I seriously doubted there was another innocuous Kreturus somewhere the Stone could kill, and say tah-dah, I did it, but I wasn’t going to chance that.

Kreturus’ shoulders were tense as he moved closer, blue eyes piercing me from a distance. He scowled at me from below his brow, “You are too weak to defeat me. I sense it. I know...” His fists balled at his sides as he stopped less than twenty paces from me. Hatred flared in his eyes.

I didn’t respond with words. Instead I threw a spell at him. It plucked him from the place he stood and dragged him forward. Closer. He had to be closer. Kreturus laughed like a madman, as he lurched toward us and stopped a few paces away.

Before he stopped, his gaze darted between Collin and Eric. “No more time for delicacy.” His hand flew forward as I drew my dagger, untwisting the stone from its hidden place. My fingers moved quickly. In a matter of seconds I’d snap the stone together and make my wish. In a matter of seconds the vilest being I’d ever encountered would be dead. Kreturus’ spell hurled at us, but I wasn’t worried. I assumed my shield was strong enough. Nothing should have been able to penetrate it, but that wasn’t what he did.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Kreturus used a spell that seeped through the protective barrier.

Before I knew what happened, Collin gasped and fell to his knees with his hands at his throat. Every muscle in his body tensed. There were invisible hands putting pressure on Collin’s throat, choking him to death. It all happened so fast. I would play this moment over and over again in my mind, wondering if I hesitated—or what I did wrong. But time and time again, I would realize there was no time. There was nothing I could do.

The spell crushing Collin’s throat tightened suddenly. The motion went beyond strangulation. Before I could blink, a sickening crack shattered the silence. Collin’s hands fell away from his throat. He seemed suspended in air for a moment, like something was holding his lifeless body upright. When Collin’s eyes rolled back in his head, I felt my dagger ripped out of my grip. Within a breath, the Celestial Silver lodged deeply in Collin’s chest. My weapon was moved by an unseen hand. Blood bubbled from the wound, turning to black tar as Collin’s body was released from the spell. He fell softly onto the white snow.

Horror stole my voice as Collin died in front of me. His wounds bled black before he was reclaimed by the earth. It was as if the ground opened, swallowing him whole below the layers of snow and ice.

Eric’s eyes were wide, as the ground opened. Thinking fast, he grabbed onto the dagger and tugged it out of Collin’s chest before he disappeared. Eric stepped swiftly away from Collin’s decaying body. He placed the dagger in my hands. Its cold metal felt surreal in my grip. I twisted it, not thinking. Shock washed over me, crippling me. Making it impossible to think. Impossible to respond. After all this time, after everything we’d been through, I lost him. Collin died standing right next to me and I was powerless to save him. My throat tightened. Breathing seemed unimportant. Raising my gaze, I looked at the demon.

A wicked smile spread across his lips. His dark clothing hugged his form. Kreturus’ voice boomed, “Previous bargain still stands. Your false sense of security is enchanting, but I’m done playing nice, Ivy. Come with me now, or I’ll kill your other friend, and anything that resides in this fucking place that isn’t demonic.” He wanted me. He still wanted me. I could surrender. A shiver raked my spine as I stood there, abashed and defeated.

Eric spoke wildly in my ear, “Ivy, don’t. Don’t listen to him!” But I pulled away, dropping my shield—the shield that did nothing. The shield that failed to protect. Numbness flooded me, as I stepped toward him. Eric swore at my back, unable to stop me.

The wind ripped through my hair, throwing it wildly around my face. The ends of my curly hair weren’t violet. I was utterly calm. I hated Kreturus, but I couldn’t feel it. In that second, I was everything Locoiea taught me to be. I knew Collin was gone, but I couldn’t feel the pain from his loss. There was nothing I could do to bring him back.

And the plan - it was shot to hell. I didn’t even have the stone. The dagger was in Eric’s hand, and the other half of the stone was … I didn’t even know. Kreturus was correct. His powers were stronger than mine.

Sliding my hand into my pocket, I stopped in front of the demon. Clarity filled my mind, making it easy to see a path. And I chose it. Nothing was by chance. Not ever again. This was my fate. It was time to accept it. I knew what to do.

My eyes were dry, and narrowed into slits. I asked, “Our previous bargain still stands? In its entirety?” Kreturus looked over my shoulder at Eric and nodded. I stared blankly ahead, and locked my jaw. The muscles in my arms were corded tightly, ready to burst. But I didn’t wring my hands nervously. I glared at the demon, and nodded once. “Then I submit. I surrender.”

Kreturus stepped forward, clutching my chin in his smooth hand. I didn’t jerk out of his grip. He gazed into my docile face, taking in the vacant expression and asked, “I assume this is your exemption?” he asked, gesturing to Eric. Swallowing hard, I nodded. A new plan was forming, and twisting in my mind. There was no going backwards. Nothing would change what’d just happened. Nothing.

The demon reached into his pocket and withdrew a knife. Its blackened blade was made of brimstone. Smiling he said, “A good faith payment, then. Something to prove you won’t break your promise this time.” He drew the blade across his palm, tearing open the skin as it passed. A trail of bright red blood filled his palm. He held it out to me. Cupped within his palm was more demon blood than I’d ever seen. It slowly dripped between his fingers forming scarlet drops on the snow.

This was it. This was the moment that I’d fought so hard to prevent. This was the moment when I lost and became the ruthless girl in the prophecy. It was his blood that would hold me. Blood is power. And I could no longer refuse. There was no stone in my hand, no magic within my reach. The best I could do was save Eric.

Taking his hand, I raised it to my lips, ready to drink the blood that was seeping between Kreturus’ fingers. Before opening my mouth, I stared at the bright red blood. Blood is power. As I went to part my lips, Eric’s scream shattered my thoughts.

“NO!” Before I drank, he lunged for me. Eric grabbed onto my arm and jerked me away from Kreturus. The blood in the demon’s palm splattered on the snow, melting it as it sank. Eric’s hand slapped my face, stinging the skin. “Wake the fuck up! Collin died for you! You can’t let things end this way. You can’t! Finish this! Finish this now!”

Wake up? Was I asleep? Is that what he thought? I remained docile as Eric shook me, not blinking, and not meeting his gaze. With a flick of my wrist, I used a spell that threw him back into the snow, surprised that Kreturus didn’t quench my powers. I glanced at the demon. He gave me a cursory nod, as if to say that more power was mine—if I drank. If I did the thing that Eric was begging me to not do.

Turning back to Eric I laughed hollowly. I was speaking truths, and twisting them into lies. It was necessary. “What will it take for you to see what I truly am, Eric? Will you not see it until it is so blatantly obvious, until there is no shadow of a doubt that I am beyond redemption?” Turning to Kreturus, I asked, “Do you have the cup? The Prophecy?” He knew what I meant. I didn’t have to explain. The cup by itself had no power. It was a memento—proof that he won. Kreturus handed it to me with a sick smile on his face. As I spoke, he moved closer to me, claiming me. Thrusting the cup at Eric, I shoved it into his hands, screaming, “Look! See? That woman is me! What she did—it’s what I am!” My jaw locked tight as he looked at it, turning it over on his fingers.

His voice was deep, as if he were desperately trying to control himself, “No,” he said hurling the cup to the ground. “That is not you. It will never be you.” He growled.

An exasperated scream, tore out of my throat. Kreturus watched in fascination, with power crackling at his fingertips. I took Shannon’s dagger and sliced it through my clothes, tearing away my shirt so it draped across my body like the carving on the chalice. I threw away the dagger, and it sank into the snow somewhere behind me. I didn’t look to see where it fell. My hands reached behind me and removed my bra. I cast it aside. I was the Prophecy One. She was me.

I glared at Eric. This was over. There was no more fighting, no more wars. This would end it. It would end everything. The black goblet lay on its side next to the silver dagger. Bending over, I retrieved the chalice, sliding my fingers across the snow. My fingers slid along the silver blade, but I didn’t pick up the weapon.

Covering the top of the cup with my hand, I said to Eric, “Never doubt me again.” My voice was low, commanding as my eyes met his. The wind whipped my hair to the side and blew through my torn shirt. The garment draped off my body, not covering me. I looked like the girl on the goblet - exactly.

Breathing through my mouth, eyes hooded, I turned back toward Kreturus. Numbness flooded me. I did not shiver as the winter wind wrapped itself around my flesh, chilling it. The demon’s eyes lingered on my exposed skin, the curve of my breast. I breathed deeply and he smiled in appreciation. His hand lifted—touching me. All the while his eyes were on me, wanting me, hungry for every inch of me, and desiring every speck of power that coursed through my veins.

So, I offered him exactly what he wanted.

“Again,” I commanded, indicating the Demon King should slice open his hand. “I’ll give you more than my word this time. And I will bind you to your word as well. You will not kill Eric. He has your pardon. Are we still agreed?”

Eric lunged at me, but Kreturus brushed him away like a gnat. Eric screamed as he fell to the side, forced to the ground where he was held in place with a spell. “Agreed.”

The demon had a satisfied smile across his face. He drew the blade across his palm. My heart was beating so fast. I couldn’t slow it. Eric screamed behind me, but couldn’t move. Kreturus held him down, pinning him to the frozen earth—forcing him to watch me destroy myself. Eric should have been frozen in silent fascination, but he wasn’t. Rage coursed through him as he screamed, trying to make me stop. But I didn’t. I’d never stop. Not now. There was no going back. This was all I could offer. It was everything and yet, it was not enough.

Kreturus’ bloody palm dripped with blood when he made a fist. I took it in my hand, sliding the slick warmth along my face and across my lips. Smiling at him, I licked his blood, tasting him in my mouth. He breathed deeply, as I drew his hand to the goblet, allowing his blood to fill it. His warm blood slid through my stomach, and forced a smile to form on my lips. Watching greedily, I saw him fill the chalice with his blood. When the cup was full, Kreturus, pulled me to him connecting our hips with the rough tug. I held the goblet by the stem, careful not to spill the contents. He moved his hand to my breast, squeezing me hard. Blood covered my pale skin—his blood—demon blood that would bind me to him and control me for the rest of my life.