Loving the Forbidden Prince

chapter 226 Choose Now Who You Serve

ETAN

Borsche and Falek took hold of Ayleth's mother as Quwan and Etan dropped to Ayleth's side on the grass.

"Help her, please!" Etan pleaded. "What's wrong? What's wrong? Ayleth, please breathe my love—please!"

Ayleth, gaping like a fish, kept pawing at his arms, reaching for him, but her face was wide with fear and she made no sound.

"What's wrong with her?" Etan screamed at Quwan. "What did that bitch do?"

Quwan muttered calmly to Falek and Borsche to remember their focus and the two men nodded, but their eyes were wide, then he turned to Ayleth. He examined her, lifting her hands and whispering things Etan couldn't catch, then turned back to look at her mother again.

"Extend your hand," the former wizard commanded her, his voice ringing with authority.

With a scream of rage, as if her body obeyed against her will, Ayleth's mother writhed, then shoved her fist forward, the chain of her necklace twisted in her fingers.

"Open it!" Quwan instructed, and despite baring her teeth in resistance, her palm was suddenly revealed, her fingers open and shaking.

And within it, a splash of blood, broken pieces of glass, and a tangled matt of some kind of hair or fur.

Quwan's face went dark when he turned back to Etan and Ayleth. He put a hand to Ayleth's forehead, and another to Etan's wrist where Etan gripped Ayleth's waist.

"This is dark magic. The darkest," he said quietly, looking directly into Ayleth's wide eyes that were beginning to panic. "Ayleth... you gave yourself willingly to this. I can't break this for you—it can only be broken within you. You have to turn from it."

Etan wanted to throttle the man. "She said she did! She said she didn't ever want it to be something used against her! She turned from it, Quwan!"

But his advisor shook his head at Ayleth. "No, sweet girl, listen. The power that drives this magic, it owns you. You've invited it into your life—even if it was by deception. Even if you did not understand, you gave yourself. Only a greater power can remove it."

Ayleth's chest heaved and her body shuddered, but only the tiniest scrape of a groan broke through her throat.

Etan wanted to scream. "How? How does she break it?"

Quwan leaned down, stroking Ayleth's hair. "You must call to Him. The Father of Lights. Only he is strong enough. You cannot break this with your own power, or mine, Ayleth. Do you hear me? You must replace the curse with the light—it's the only way. Give yourself to him. He will know if you mean it. Call to him—any that call on His name will be saved. But it must be his—not your own power, not Etan's... you must give yourself as willingly to Him as you did to the Goddess."

Etan turned to Ayleth, hope rising in his chest. "Did you hear, Ayleth? Love? That's all you have to do. You just have to choose Him. He brings you the true light—the light that shines, it doesn't bring darkness. Let his Light in Ayleth—please!"

Ayleth's mouth opened and closed like she was trying to speak, but he could see her eyes beginning to glaze and he screamed for her to please, please listen!

"Surrender to His power, Ayleth, and He will save you. That is all. Surrender."

"Ayleth, please!"

Her brows pinched over her nose and her eyes filled with fear, her mouth gasping for air that she couldn't draw.

Etan panicked. "Submit, Ayleth, please! Surrender. Let Him choose the path of your life and you will never regret it—I never have. Never a single day! Can't you see, he brought me you!"

Ayleth choked, her eyes fluttering as if something was splattered in her face. She opened her mouth, but couldn't make a sound, her hands drawing up to clutch her throat.

Etan's head buzzed. He screamed. Vaguely he remembered Quwan's warning, that they couldn't become distracted by the flesh. But his wife was dying! What was he to do?!

A scream that raised the hair on the back of Etan's neck echoed through the garden, and like a cat, Ayleth's mother twisted out of the grip of the men who'd been "Quwan, do something!"

Borsche and Falek, their hands on her mother, cried for Ayleth to please, please, choose the Father of Lights.

But Quwan looked at Etan sadly. "I cannot save her from this, Etan. She must make the choice. Ayleth," he said, turning back to her, his face wracked with worry, "Choose. Choose now who you serve. Only one power will bring freedom for all—"

A scream that raised the hair on the back of Etan's neck echoed through the garden, and like a cat, Ayleth's mother twisted out of the grip of the men who'd been distracted, pleading with Ayleth.

Gripping a shard of the glass in her bloodstained fist, the Queen of Zenithra screamed, "Death on you!" and plunged the shard straight for Ayleth's chest.

Screaming, Etan threw himself over his wife and the blazing pain erupted in his left shoulder.

Then Ayleth screamed and began to shake.

As Quwan muttered orders and moved, Etan found the world going black around him. Ayleth under his chest and he should move because he was heavy and she was struggling to breath. But she wasn't moving. He'd stopped the attack, he'd put himself in the way! She didn't need to be hurt!

But he couldn't form the words.

When he tried to pull in a breath, it was as if the air only made it to his throat and not his lungs.

One hand to Ayleth's face, his face on her chest, he couldn't even speak to her, to calm her as her entire body began to spasm under him.

She was dying, and he was there, and he could do nothing.

I'm so sorry, my love. I'm so sorry. I wasn't enough.

As the world began to go black and despair overwhelmed him, he closed his eyes, clung to Ayleth and began to plead with the Father to save them both.

Please. Please. Don't let the evil win.

We can't win this. We aren't enough.

Please.