And from the pain in Rowan’s eyes, the rage
and determination, she knew he was already
calculating if it might somehow spare her
from the sacrificial altar.
But that would come later. After tomorrow.
If they survived.
There was a gate, and eternity lay beyond its
black archway.
But not for her. No, there would be no
Afterworld for her.
The gods had built another coffin, this time
crafting it of that dark, glimmering stone.
Stone her fire could never melt. Never
pierce. The only way to escape was to become
it—dissolve into it like sea-foam on a beach.
Every breath was thinner than the previous
one. They had not put any holes in this coffin.
Beyond her confines, she knew a second
coffin sat beside hers. Knew, because the