Chapter 108: Chapter 108

Adelie

I stayed in bed, pretending to be ill. I couldn’t risk anyone discovering that I was actually okay. I had to support Esty’s story to protect Kairos.

Right now, Esty was all I had. I didn’t have any other options. It was strange to think that I was relying on her, as if she had ever shown me she was trustworthy or even a friend.

All she had ever shown was that she prioritized her own interests and her family’s. But I couldn’t really fault her for that. I would do the same.

In fact, I ~was~ doing the same for Kairos, for our child, and for my family.

Esty was the closest thing I had to a friend at the moment. I knew I didn’t want her in my life forever.

Once this was over, regardless of the outcome, she would leave. I wouldn’t need her. I wouldn’t want her around.

Burton came in to see how I was doing. I could tell he was anxiously waiting for me to recover.

I also knew that he didn’t really care about me right now. He was just showing respect for my territory and my pack. My leadership.

“Adelie. How are you?” he asked.

“Better,” I replied, trying not to annoy him further. “I just need a little more time.” I could see he was struggling not to say anything to me.

He left my room for the third time, and I knew it wouldn’t be the last. I let out a sigh of frustration.

I understood his impatience because I felt the same. I was waiting. But I didn’t know what I was waiting for. I wondered how Kairos was coping, waiting to finally be free of Christopher.

Did he wonder why it was taking so long?

I had managed to delay things for three hours. The silence was deafening. I was driving myself crazy with thoughts of all the things that could go wrong.

Finally, Esty entered the room. She shook her head. “I don’t think she’s coming,” she said.

“Who?” I asked.

She continued to shake her head. “I was sure she would, but I don’t think she will. She got my message. I know she did, but she didn’t respond.”

“So…what now?” I asked her. It was only then that I realized how much I had been relying on her. How much I had wanted her to be right. But she wasn’t. It was all for nothing. As usual.

“This has gone on long enough, Adelie,” Burton snapped as he stormed into the room. “I’ve been here too long, and I won’t stay here any longer waiting for you to get over your fear.

“I have responsibilities, just like I have a responsibility here to send back souls that don’t belong on land and that are causing harm to both the human and mythical world.

“You need to pull yourself together or I’ll do this alone. I don’t need an audience. Besides, watching him die will only make you feel worse. Why don’t you stay here?” He was fed up with me, irritated and angry.

But so was I. “No!” I shouted back. “You’ve been making all the rules, but this is ~my~ pack. My people and my mate. If this is the only choice he has, then he can choose who kills him.”

“You think he’ll want you to kill him?” he asked. It was surprising that he understood love that well. But we had a plan, and for it to work, I had to be the one.

“He’ll let me do it, for my sake. I won’t let anyone else hurt him. And I don’t trust you not to make him suffer.” But that was a lie. Only my plan would make him suffer and fight to keep his soul.

“Alright,” he conceded. “I may not comprehend the cruel aspects of love, but he can make the decision. Just promise me you won’t make us all plead for it.”

I gave a nod of agreement and he exited, with Esty trailing behind, her smile tinged with sadness, her hopes dashed.

***

We arrived at an open space where a crowd had gathered. A group of guards stood by, bracing for the worst. Burton’s tools of torture were laid out on a table.

I watched as guards led Kairos out of his cell. He squinted, unaccustomed to the bright light.

We all stood in anticipation of Kairos’ impending demise. I had a silver dagger tucked into my belt. Death stood next to me, grinning at the crowd as if he’d pulled off a grand deception.

His hand rested on my shoulder. “Everything will be okay. Even better.”

Kairos glanced my way. He smiled as if it was just another day, as if nothing was amiss.

“Kairos, you’ve been given a choice,” Burton spat out the words with evident loathing. “Your final wish is to choose your executioner.”

My hand instinctively went to the icy handle of the dagger at my waist.

Kairos’ hands were still shackled. He’d been sedated to prevent any resistance from Christopher.

He walked towards me, the chains clanging against his legs. He stopped in front of me, cupping my face in his hands. He kissed me, but it was too brief, too fleeting.

He continued to hold my face, looking deep into my eyes. “I once told you that only you could drive a dagger through my heart. I didn’t mean it literally.

“Not that I’d stop you,” he chuckled, coaxing a small smile from me.

“But…uh, I will need to…stab you.” We needed to maintain the illusion that I had killed Kairos. He nodded.

“Okay,” he whispered.

He was eerily calm, considering I was about to stab him.

I knew he had more to say, but I blurted out, “What if I screw it up?”

He held my hands tighter, chuckling again, his gaze lowered. “I won’t let you screw it up,” he assured me.

I smiled at him, tilting my head in confusion, unsure of his meaning.

“You’re always trying to outwit me, Murrell,” he smirked. “But there’s nothing you wouldn’t attempt. You’d save the world if you saw even a glimmer of hope.

“And you’d sacrifice yourself without a second thought. I’d let you save the world and die for it if you had to. But not today.

“On another day, far from now, you’ll die saving the world after achieving all your dreams. And I’ll watch you do it, waiting for us to reunite in another world.”

I was paralyzed. I couldn’t move. My eyes began to sting. I didn’t know whether to cry or not. My voice seemed to have disappeared.

It was only when I saw a single tear roll down his cheek that I allowed my own tears to flow, washing over his hands. I didn’t understand what was happening. But I knew it wasn’t good.

“I love you, and I promise that wherever I go, my love for you will only grow stronger. And when we meet again, I’ll surrender myself to you completely.

“I am forever yours, and no one else will ever have power over me.

“Our journey may have been short, but even if a thousand lifetimes ended this way, I’d relive them just to experience what we had.

“Be happy, Adelie. Do great things. No mountain is too high for you. Let the world fear your power. You are the warrior the world doesn’t deserve but desperately needs.”

He released me, the cold wind chilling my skin, and stepped back.

His gaze remained fixed on me. “I choose Burton,” he declared. My mind finally started to process what was happening. He knew. He knew my entire plan. He had promised to protect me from harm, and he had done just that.

My head shook in denial as Kairos departed for Burton. “No!” My voice echoed in the room, a raw cry of despair.

Kairos muttered something to the guards, who then approached me. “No!” I yelled again, lunging towards him, but the guards restrained me.

He had known. He had known all along. That’s why he had agreed so readily. That’s why he had been so cautious in making his decision. “Kairos,” I called out to him, my voice breaking.

He didn’t even glance back. I collapsed in the arms of the guards. “Why would he do this?” I whispered, my voice barely audible as Death stood beside me.

“He’d go to the ends of the earth to keep you safe, Adelie. He’d rather die than see you endure the pain you would,” he replied.

Esty was trying to get my attention, but I couldn’t meet her gaze. I didn’t want to.

I watched as they removed his chains and Burton spoke a few words before shaking his hand. They arranged a comfortable spot with blankets for him to lie down.

Beside Burton, a weapon was placed. A silver dagger. “Would you like to be numbed first?” Burton inquired.

But Kairos shook his head. Why would he want to remember his final moments in excruciating pain? Kairos laid down. As Burton reached for the weapon, he looked at me.

Everyone’s attention was on Burton and Kairos, and the spectacle of his impending death. I fell to my knees. My sobs were no longer audible. I just wept a silent stream of tears, knowing this was the end.

“Stop!” A voice yelled from the side. My hearing was muffled and my vision blurred. I saw everyone’s gaze shift away from us.