She nods. And like the wind she flies, disappearing into the black dust.
The creature looks at me. And then it speaks. "I… I remember you…" it says with a hundred voices. "You… you summoned me."
"I did. And now I will send you back."
The Darkness laughs. A chuckle that shakes the very earth. "You have no moonlight blade."
Yes. But I know where to find one, because I remember where I left it.
Tavian said Fae had scoured the lands searching for the moonlight sword after the prince fought the Darkness, but they never found it. They never found it because it was locked away. Locked away within the creature.
I run forward, the earth rising below my feet, creating a hill as I move, pushing me up into the sky. I have never used such power before, but it comes easily now. Because I know who I am. Who I truly am.
I look to my side, and I see Baron there, running with me.
It's just you and me boy. One last time.
Perhaps I imagine it, but he seems to smile.
Then the earth pushes us forward, and we fly into the air. Over the beast. It claws at us, but moves too slowly. And up here, in the sky. I see it. The moonlight sword. Just where I left it.
Lodged in the creature's back.
I fall, Baron at my side, and together we land on the giant beast's neck. I grab onto its thick, coiling hair, holding myself from falling. Baron grabs on with his teeth.
The beast flails about, trying to reach us, but it cannot, for its arms are not long enough, and if it turns, we turn with it, holding onto its mane.
I jump to the side.
To the blade.
A giant thing of pale blue steel, covered with intricate carvings of the Fae. I grab the handle with both hands. And for the Fae I failed when I summoned this creature, for the Fae I failed when I allowed slavery to continue, for my own people, I drive the blade deeper. I drive it into the creature's heart.
And I kill the Darkness.
PART VII
—Ace—
I find my father at the very top of the hill. One moment, he is smiling, overlooking the battlefield cloaked in shadow. And the next, he yells out in pain, falling to his knees. He clutches his heart. "Something, something is wrong," he whispers.
I do not know what happened. I don't care.
He deserves pain.
A gust of wind hits me, and I see the darkness is fading below. The shadow that had covered the smoke withdraws. And from the remnants, emerges Arianna.
She flies through the sky and lands before us.
For a moment, she glances my way, and an understanding passes between us. Then she turns to my father. Raising her blade. Lux, I believe she called it. Light.
When Arianna speaks, her voice is soft, and yet it echoes with a power unimaginable. "Once, you were king of these lands. You were tasked with protecting your people. You were tasked with bringing peace." She steps forward, any trace of fear gone from her face. All weakness and pain gone. "But you lost your way." She gestures to the battlefield below, to the mountains of corpses. "This is not why you were chosen. This is not your duty. You have failed yourself. You…"
Lucian stumbles back.
"Are…"
He looks to me, eyes pleading for help.
"Not…"
He reaches out to me.
"Worthy."
"Please…" whispers my father.
I do not help him. For Levi. For the Fae.
"This land," says Arianna. "This land belongs to no one." She slashes her sword through the air, and the blade known as Light cuts the vampire king's throat.
He collapses, his life bleeding out of him, his eyes losing focus. One final time, he raises his hand in the air, and he whispers. "I only wanted… I only wanted to see home again."
And the great king dies.
And the war ends.
PART VIII
—Asher—
The shadow retreats. The dust settles.
The explosion Levi caused tossed me far down the hill, into the shallow waters. There I lay, my limbs and chest full of pain. I lay until the fighting stopped. I lay until the sun came up. Then, with my remaining strength, I pushed myself to stand, to search for the thing one I hold dearest.
I find him in the sky, battling a prince in white.
Varis meets my gaze. His eyes are no longer glazed over. His eyes are his own. And in them, I see love.
Niam turns to face me, his white cloak drifting in the wind, his sword in hand. His shoulder is torn open. His leg is cut and nearly immobile. He can barely stand. "So what will it be brother? Vampire or Fae? Who do you side with?"
I find a spear on the ground and hold the weapon tight. Tears well in my eyes. "It was never about race, brother. Not for me. It was always about people. Just people. And what makes them who they are."
Then I charge forward. And ram the spear through my brother's heart.
We collapse together. Him bleeding, his eyes blank. Me clutching his lifeless body, weeping against his chest.
I do not know how long I hold him. My brother. My kin.
Someone touches my shoulder.
I turn and see him.
His face kind.
His voice soft.
Varis.
"It's alright," he says. "It's alright, my love." And then he takes me into his arms and holds me close.
I speak through sobs. "I failed you. I failed the Fae. I didn't bring peace. Only death. Only more death."
"No, Asher." He caresses my head gently. "You could never fail me. Whatever you do, whoever you become, you will always be my Karasi. The Spirit of my heart."