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Kill theh my body The creature takes a step forward No, I think in return

You are one of us You don’t need the there yourself It is your home

The poison of the whispers seeps deep into hts fill with a sudden influx of hatred Raffaele e in my expression, because he suddenly pulls away from me Lucent’s eyes widen "No, Adelina!" she shouts I clenchon to Lucent’s cry No

The creature snarls It lunges for me--only to skewer itself on Lucent’s blade She had moved in front of me so quickly that I didn’t even see it The creature screa throes Lucent yanks her blade out of its chest with a labored growl, and together with Raffaele, we run around its flailing body

We are so close to the origin now Butshapes gathering near the beaht and behind us We continue to run Ahead of us, a cluster of creatures surrounds the light, and they turn their hideous faces in our direction Maeve appears, bares her teeth, and flings herself at them--I reach within to weave a cloud of illusions around her and the others, trying to make them as invisible as I can There are too many of us in ive them so heavily, his eyes ith fury, his mouth twisted into a wide smile His blades are covered in black blood, while his own clothes are stained red He meets my stare, then turns to face the creatures With a roar, he charges at them

The creatures swarm him--but even then, they can’t seehts like a beast while the rest of us gather by the origin The light is bright enough here that I need to shield ain One of the creatures sinks its jaws deep into his shoulder--he lets out a roar of agony In the same moment, he twists around and stabs the creature deep in the neck I wince The creature tears its fangs out of his shoulder with a shriek I throwto prevent hi with Maeve "Give us solances at the others "Keep going!"

Before I can tell hi to fend off the s one at a creature clawing at Teren’s back At the same time, Maeve pulls an arrow fro to lunge at Teren She fires Both attacks hit their marks The creatures screah it all, Teren fights like a dehing He closes his eyes

"The gods speak!" he shouts as the creatures rip at hies its razor-sharp claws straight through Teren’s back, the black nails protruding froasp, while Magiano freezes Then they are on thetoward him--but Teren’s eyes are wide, his mouth open Blood trickles from the corners of his lips His body tries to heal around the creature’s claws, but they re moments returns to iano flings hi enough to knock the creature backward--he is channeling Teren’s power I pull harder, trying to inflict an illusion of pain on the creatures They shriek at s her sword at the still-advancing creature that Magiano had just attacked--her blade cuts the demon’s arm clean off As the creature writhes, Teren collapses I know before his body even hits the snow that he will notblocks out the sound inHis eyes are turned in my direction

There is a ht

Maeve and Magiano carefully roll Teren onto his back, while I hurry forward a few steps to see hi slow and shallow His eyes are hooded The wound in his chest is healing, but it is not healing fast enough "Teren," I say, leaning over him

His eyes flutter open for aon any of us, and instead his gaze ends up resting soiven," he murmurs, so quietly that I think I ain, but it doesn’t

I findmyself to remember my first encounters with him--how he’d tied me to the stake and wished me to burn, how he’d threatened my sister and taken Enzo’s life, how even after that, he continued to torh to take his own lover’s life I knoithout a doubt, that he deserved to die

So why am I sad? I reach up and feel tears on my face Why do I care what happens to him? I’d kept him a prisoner of my own, hated him and tortured him I should be thrilled in this h the snow, the vacant, lifeless white of his eyes

Teren is dead, and I do not knohy I cry for him

I have killed and destroyed too I have hurt Perhaps we have always been one and the saone, I feel a sudden rush of exhaustion, a freeing grief His deathchapter in my life