Kaebl’s face pinches in disgust as he tips his chin. They brought her to an altar and bound her soul to each of the remaining pieces, then let the rest run its course. It worked remarkably well—for a time. But while his body was mended, his mind was shattered beyond repair. The loss of his mate—a woman he had only met for a few moments—was too much for him to bear. He turns his head to face me fully, drowning me in the weight of his gaze. She offered her life for him willingly, too. That’s how powerful that kind of bond is, Dagny. If we bonded, there’s no doubt in my mind you would offer your life to bring Abaddon back—your one, true mate.

“But you’re my mate,” I whisper. “You and all the others. I feel it.”

He just shakes his head sadly. “Abaddon is your mate, Dagny. The rest of us are just pale imitations. We each have pieces of him, yes, but as a whole…” He lets out a heavy sigh. “The stars fated you to him for a reason, little one.”

“I wouldn’t do that. I don’t even know him!”

Yes, you do. His eyes shine with a tender warmth. You see pieces of him in me. In Cyprien and Lir and Roark and Fenryr… and especially Malice. And yes, perhaps you wouldn’t do it right away. But if something threatened our lives, and you knew reversing the sundering would save us—save Abaddon—you would do it in an instant. Without knowing how, without knowing why, you would.

“You don’t know that⁠—”

I do! It’s exactly what happened in the other case. I didn’t want to go into details, but… He lets out a puff of breath, his jaw ticking. When the lord’s mate refused to give her life initially, they brought a knife to his throat—knowing how powerful that bond is—and acted like they were going to kill him. She gave up her life in an instant, and they hadn’t even mated yet.

“That’s… horrible.”

It was more than that. It was… devastating. He shakes his head. In the end, the kingdom was turned to ash, and half the world was drenched in flames. He cleared the continent, leaving only Slaine’s and Abaddon’s territories untouched at the edge of the world. And now… now there’s truly nothing left on this half of The Far Place.

I swallow hard. “There are no more kingdoms? No more demons? They’re all just… gone?”