Listed below are the content warnings for this final installment of the Artefacts of Ouranos. Thank you for coming on this journey with me.

I promised you all a happy ending . . . so here it is.

Love,
Nisha

Content Warnings: You’ll find the same themes and topics as the previous books in the series, including mentions of past abuse, both sexual and physical. There are mentions of trauma, suicide ideation, alcohol abuse, non-consensual touching, and child abuse. There is also mention of pregnancy and its possible complications, though everything turns out fine.

The dogs are safe. Nothing happens or ever will happen to the dogs. They’re both very good girls.

CHAPTER 1

LOR

SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE APHELION

My heart lives outside of my body now, bleeding out on the hard-packed earth where I kneel on the unforgiving ground.

Sobbing, I cling to Nadir, pressing my ear to his chest, willing his heart to beat. It remains silent and inert, like wood charred by wildfires, drained of life and slowly crackling to ash.

My ribbons of my dense crimson magic pump through his limbs, grasping at nothing but the yawning emptiness in his chest. It’s no use. My grip slips and stutters, and I struggle to cling to the shreds of his spirit draining into the soil.

If I keep pushing myself, I risk losing control of my healing magic and sliding into the electric threads of my lightning, causing even more damage.

It’s hard to believe I could make this any worse.

I scream. I cry. I let every tear fall. I plead to the skies. I beg the goddess to save him. I bargain with the heavens. I offer up my soul in exchange for his life. I will do anything.

My vision blurs at the corners, and my stomach roils, bile basting the back of my throat. Sweat beads on my forehead as my surroundings tilt on an axis. My cries vibrate through every nerve, assaulting my ears and the tiny hairs covering my arms and the back of my neck. My skin hurts. My hair hurts. The pain in my chest feels like I’m being manipulated by giant hands, twisting my body at opposite angles until I’m nearly torn in half.

Distantly, my mind registers that Rion and his army are still close. Though we’re hidden from view, I need to stay aware. Soon enough, they’ll wake up under my dome of lightning unless I managed to kill them too. But something tells me it won’t be that easy to finally rid myself of the Aurora King.

He has the ark of Heart in his possession. Until a few days ago, I’d never heard of it, but it belongs to me. And I want it back. Something tells me I need it back.