An ominous, swirling energy emanates from the golden wire, thickening the air and staining the clearing with a blinding beam of golden light. It circles his body, curling around his head, throat, chest, belly, pelvis, and legs—separating him into six pieces. The magic cuts through his skin, separating flesh from muscle and tendon from bone as it carves deeper into his flesh, severing his body right before my eyes.

Abaddon gazes into my eyes, and a flash of red consumes the golden iris as he takes in the pain twisting my expression. His lips part, his voice echoing softly into the space between us—only, it’s not Abaddon’s voice I hear. It’s Malice’s.

“My heart. My mate. There’s no reason to look so sad.” A feline smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, and though he tries to reach up, to hold me, he’s unable. A sigh billows from his parted lips, but the joy in his eyes remains as he whispers, “It’s okay, Dagny.”

“It’s not.” I shake my head vehemently. “It’s… it’s not. Nothing is okay.”

“But it is,” he answers, the corners of his eyes crinkling with his smile. “The few moments I was allowed to spend with you… They mean more to me than life. I can go willingly to my grave, knowing I had them and got to meet you, even if it was only for a short time.” His eyes drift closed as the golden wire sinks deeper into his bone, tearing the threads of his soul apart. “Thank you,” he whispers, his voice dying along with the light in his eyes. “Thank you… thank you… thank… you.”

There’s an explosion of light, a surge of energy that shoots through the air and threatens to cleave the ground. Abaddon’s body sunders—and when I blink, I’m staring down at six evenly divided sections—no golden wire, no grand theatrics, nothing.

There’s no blood, no carnage, or anything spectacularly gory about the sight, but it’s the most horrifying thing I have ever laid eyes on. To see my mate, the one being I love most in this world, chopped into pieces… There are no words to describe the anguish it brings, the utter despair pulsing throughout my body, threatening to tear open my chest and send my heart shooting out of my throat.

I throw my head back with a scream originating from the base of my stomach, filled with so much pain that it rattles the silver branches of the welwigs, filling the air with a melodic tinkling as their leaves rustle in the hurricane swirling around me.