Even in his mind, he could scarcely move. But some part of him still surged forward, following the sound of Kalee’s voice. It led him to the rubble of his castle, where his power had once thrived.

“Valen.”

The sound was growing dimmer by the second.

He reached out, touching the obsidinite stones.

So cold. His palms ached, bleeding as he began to dig. Tears of blood slipped down his face as he pulled stone after stone aside, searching.

He found it at the very bottom.

A little orb of light, a tiny kernel of it, no larger than a small seed.

Valen reached out with shaking, bleeding hands and scooped it up.

The orb was warm, a welcome feeling to shake off the chill of death. He held it to his chest, letting it soothe him, and as he pressed it close, he found that it gave him strength.

Fight back, Valen, the voice called from the orb.

It was his power.

It was his very soul, all that remained.

Darai must have overlooked it. Perhaps the Godstars were on Valen’s side after all. Perhaps they’d seen his regret for what he’d done to Mirabel.

Perhaps they’d led him back to his power, after all this time.

He could right his wrongs. He could do something, anything, to fix what he’d broken.

With great effort, Valen pushed himself from his mind, back into his dying body.

He saw Androma, nearly ready to press the blade too deep. Blood welled from her skin already, staining her shirt beneath the blade.

“Don’t,” he ground out, using that kernel of his power to speak against Darai’s will. “Andi, stop.”

The old man hadn’t noticed yet. Hadn’t felt Valen breaking through, as he willed his soldiers to keep fighting Andi’s crew.

“Stop,” Valen said again, and by the Godstars’ mercy, she heard him.

Her eyes flitted toward his, the blade pausing over her heart. She moved closer to him, a careful step within earshot.

“What are you doing?” Nor was saying to her, speaking Darai’s words. “Stop that at once! Put down the blade!”

“Kill me instead,” Valen said, praying that she could hear him. “Kill me, Andi. I’m releasing the minds. Do it, before it’s too late. I don’t have...much time.”

He saw her turn, the motion swift as she held out the blade.

Not a second of hesitation as she slid it across his throat. Valen felt the blood begin to drain from him, and he smiled.

“NO!” Darai screamed just as Valen sank into his mind, using those remaining moments of life to undo what he’d started so long ago.