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  I swallowed hard, chastising myself for not acting sooner.

  "Your brother for half of your heart, or I will destroy this filth.” He motioned to Claire. “From the inside out."

  I stared in disbelief. I couldn't let Claire suffer because of me anymore. And I'd been longing to find Lyle for so long. But if I gave up half of my heart to Ophidian, what would happen to me? I felt as if I was standing back in Barracks once more, looking at Schism's two red doors at the edge of Wintertide. I knew nothing of what lay behind either one, but I had to make a choice.

  I squeezed the sword tightly, praying it had some words of wisdom. In a soft voice, it said, You are not alone. And I knew my answer.

  Taking a deep breath, I looked Ophidian straight in the eye and nodded. "Deal."

  Chapter 35

  “Addie, get out of here! Run!” Claire screamed, but her voice was distorted by the smoke swirling around her. I kept my eyes focused on the snake before me. His smile widened to reveal sharp, gray teeth, as if he could already feel the power of my heart beating within his chest.

  Taking a step toward Ophidian, I watched him rise from his throne. I grasped the sword, feeling its power flow through me.

  "Before I give you half of my heart, I need to see that my brother and Claire are unharmed."

  Ophidian grinned again, snapping his fingers. One of the black clouds immediately dissipated, causing Claire to fall to the ground.

  As soon as she landed, Claire gasped for breath before digging her heels into the ground and rushing toward me with all her strength. Schism, however, grabbed her arm with his ebony hand, ceasing her escape. Seeing she wasn’t physically hurt, I looked toward Lyle. Ophidian followed my line of sight and snapped again, causing the cloud to fade and the chains to fall around Lyle.

  Lyle crumpled to the ground. His chest heaved as he sucked in gasps of air. His eyes were wide, desperately drinking in all around him. As he tried to stand back up, he looked up at me, his gaze darting to my face.

  "Addie. But . . . why?" he whispered.

  I gave him a small smile before turning back to Ophidian. His mouth had grown wider, displaying multiple rows of sharp teeth. I could see where he had gotten his template for the phagos. His pale skin turned translucent, revealing a dark layer of grayish-green flesh beneath. His eyes bulged, displaying further attributes of a snake: bright, yellow, and deadly. The black serpents surrounding his eyes lengthened, sliding from the sides of his face and receding beneath his translucent shirt.

  Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the satchel by my side and lifted the strap over my head. I carefully opened the pouch and removed the tattered, white cloth. A hue of red surrounded the dirtied strips, as if they could barely contain what was inside.

  I swallowed hard and unwrapped my heart. It was no longer cracked and dulled by the evil of Ophidian's Realm, but was still alive with life, beating with a new power I'd never felt before.

  Every gaze latched onto my heart as its red light illuminated the musty cavern. Claire, Ophidian, Lyle, Schism, and the malum—all watched and waited to see what would happen next. Heat radiated from my heart’s pulsations. I placed my heart in one hand and grasped the sword with the other.

  "You want half," I said in my powerful voice, raising the sword above my head. "I'll give you half."

  Ophidian's face changed, the gleam in his greedy eyes dissolving into a cold, hard glare as I brought the sword down, splitting my heart in two. I screamed from the pain, causing the mound of black hearts to shake apart until each one lay on the cavern floor.

  The malum screeched in response, hovering before flying around the room, creating a swirling mass of black chaos. Claire stumbled across the black hearts and landed a few feet away from me. Lyle rolled down as well, landing on the other side.

  Clutching the empty cavity in my chest, I stared at my heart, broken in two even halves. I looked over to the two people who either made a poor choice or none at all. Before anything could attack me, I carried both pieces over to Lyle. His eyes were still shut from the force of his fall. My breath caught at the sight of his battered and bruised face. He had done so much to care for me; it was time for me to look after him. With the tip of the sword, I sliced through his chest, causing a mixture of red and black blood to ooze out. Swallowing hard, I clasped one half of my heart and plunged it into Lyle's chest. If he had at least half a heart, there was no way Ophidian could give him a black one. Hopefully.

  The wound immediately closed up, covering the beating organ. Lyle’s eyes flew open, and he looked at me in shock.

  "Addie," he gasped, eyes still wide before he squinted them to focus. "What did you do?" He placed his hand over the place where my half heart was beating. "Why would you trade your heart to save me?"

  I shook my head quickly, remembering Nana’s choice from her journal. "Love's not a trade, Lyle. It's a gift."

  Lyle reached out and held me close. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for everything."

  I hugged him back, then released him. "You need to get out of here. Now."

  "Not without you." His voice was stern.

  I huffed as he reverted to his overprotective ways. "Stay hidden."

  Rushing back through the black hordes, I swung the sword at the creatures soaring above until I found Claire. Her body was still limp at the base of the throne.

  As I ran toward her, a large, black hand reached out and grabbed me by the neck.

  "You've done quite enough, little Addie." Schism’s voice slithered as his eyes shifted to red, his skin blackening into the monster he truly was. "Now be a good little girl and give me your heart."

  I grasped at the cold, stone fingers as I was lifted from the ground. My feet flailed, kicking at the surrounding air as oxygen escaped my lungs. Gasping, I tried to swing at him with the sword, but I could only manage a small nick on his cheek, causing Schism to laugh at the poor attempt. The power of the sword drained from my body, growing fainter with half of my heart missing.

  Schism's fingers tightened around my throat before I jerked the sword back, scraping the blade across his blood-red eyes. With a horrible cry, he released his grip on me, and I fell to the ground.

  A loud crack vibrated through my body. Horror weighed on me as pain shot from my leg. Looking down, I found below the knee, my leg had flipped in a way that wasn't normal.

  I wanted to scream, but my head spun from the tremendous pain. Nausea built in my stomach, threatening to escape. Tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision. I almost missed the other half of my heart resting just a few feet away from Schism's feet. I didn't have time to dwell on my pain. I had to save Claire.

  Biting my tongue, I grabbed my fallen sword and hoisted myself up as much as I could. There was enough power in the magical weapon to dull the pain. I could finish what I started.

  I held the sword in one trembling hand, willing to face Schism until the bitter end. I had expected to find him already flying back to Ophidian with the other half of my heart in his hand. But he simply stood there, staring at it as he had before.

  The half heart beat steadily in front of him, continuously giving off the red hue.

  While Schism was hypnotized by its power, I continued to crawl toward him, pain flaring through my leg. If anyone was going to slay this monster, it would be me.

  Each pull I made across the clay ground felt as if my body was being ripped apart. I gritted my teeth and continued moving. The frantic malum were still flying chaotically. The tips of their floating bodies were sharp, cutting into my flesh as they rushed by.

  Below Schism, I raised the sword high to strike. He broke his attention from my heart and growled.

  Wiping the blood from a gash in my forehead, I heaved myself forward.

  Unsheathing his long, black claws, Schism wasted no time in bearing down upon me.

  I gripped the sword with both hands and met him head-on. The sound of the sword against his claws reverberated through the cavern, and everything stopped. The malum ceased t
heir flight, silencing their deafening screeches. The only sound heard was the beating of my half heart.

  All eyes were transfixed on the half heart as I battled Schism. Their stares weighed on me as my power further weakened, the agony from my leg growing more intense as the power and protection of the sword drained away.

  Gritting my teeth, I shoved Schism back, swinging wildly. He laughed again. I tried to rise but felt a new searing pain in my leg. Crying out, I crumpled to the ground.

  Retracting his claws from my broken leg, Schism lifted his foot and pressed down on my mangled limb. As I screamed louder, sobbing, he pressed harder.

  "Scream, little Addie. It will be the last sound you ever make." His claws grew longer as he leaned in close to my face. "You see, once a heart no longer has a body to belong to, anyone can have it."

  The tips of his claws began to push into my chest, slowly, painfully. I tried to bite my lip and stop my screaming, but I couldn't. Schism's eyes grew hungrier and his grin wider as he attempted to further drain my body of blood, leaving my heart no live body to return to.

  How could I have come all this way just to die at the hand of the monster who started it all?

  Chapter 36

  I swallowed hard and sank deeper into myself, numbing my mind to the pain. I said a silent prayer to the Heavens, asking them to care for all those I loved when I was gone.

  As I was about to surrender, a bright light shone in my periphery. Schism's attention was quickly drawn away from me and toward the ball of white light hurling toward him. It slammed into his face, knocking his claws free from my skin.

  Unable to move, I felt a set of strong, wiry arms encase me. I tried to push them away before the familiar beating of my heart pounded next to my ear. Looking up, I found Lyle staring down at me. He brushed a strand of my short hair out of my face.

  "Hang on, Addie," he said, clutching me close.

  I nestled into his chest, remembering the comfort he had always given me. The white light shone again. When I turned toward it, I let out a gasp. In the midst of the hovering malum, the man from the sixth Choice stood alone against Schism.

  As the man stepped forward, white light poured from his palms, thrusting into the creature of darkness. Schism snarled and flew higher. The man moved forward, this time hitting one of Schism's wings. Screeching loudly, Schism descended, his wing disintegrating into dust.

  My body was failing, but my mind was still working fast. I looked up at Lyle, whose attention was locked on the battle between the man and Schism. I tugged at his shirt until he looked down at me.

  "My heart," I murmured, my voice a fraction of what it had been. My skin had stopped glowing, too, fading to a translucent blue. "Go get it—and Claire."

  Lyle's eyebrows furrowed.

  "The girl with white hair."

  He nodded before grabbing the sword and running over to Claire. The glow of the sword began to shine again, and I wondered whether it recognized the power of my heart within Lyle.

  Pain flooded my body, but mostly my chest. I placed my hand on it, then brought my hand to my eyes, watching the bright red liquid drip from my fingertips.

  A hollow breath escaped from my lips as Lyle returned with Claire in his arms and the other half of my heart clutched in his hand. He gently laid Claire next to me before running back to retrieve the sword and waiting for further instructions.

  My hand reached out, shaking and pale. With a pained look, he dropped the other half of my heart into my palm. I managed to sit up slightly, causing pain to erupt from every nerve in my leg.

  With my half heart in hand, I wrapped my fingers around the sword's hilt and crawled toward Claire before Lyle reached out and grabbed my wrist.

  "What are you doing? You need that."

  I shook my head, lacking the strength to argue with him, and brushed his hand away.

  "Addie," Lyle said protectively. "We don't even know who she is. Why would you save her? What's going to happen to you?"

  I looked at him sternly, remembering how Claire had said he had begun forgetting things. I guessed half of a pure heart could only heal so much of his mind.

  "I know who she is," I said, but it came out barely above a whisper. "She's saved my life, and yours. She deserves another chance to make her own choice."

  Before he could argue with me, I gently pierced Claire's skin with the tip of the sword and pushed the half heart into the empty cavity in her chest. Her blood didn't flow out of her like Lyle's had. Instead, it stayed securely in place, welcoming the beating heart. A loud gasp poured from her lips as she sat up.

  I fell back, my head thumping on the hard ground, missing the protection the sword gave my body. I don’t know how it works, but I do know it protected me. A guttural wail escaped my lips, and my hands shook uncontrollably. The burning heat of my blood escaped my body until my fingertips cooled, and all feeling was lost. The numbing glided its way up my arms. Was this what it was like to die?

  Looking up at the domed ceiling, I watched the malum stare down at me with their red eyes. I blinked up at them, not caring whether they fed off my life anymore. I had nothing left to give.

  Claire and Lyle knelt over me, blocking the malum from sight.

  "You were stupid again," Claire said, tears brimming in her eyes. "I told you not to be stupid."

  "You said you never got to choose," I said weakly. "Now you get the chance."

  "Is there anything to save her?" Lyle asked frantically, looking at Claire.

  Claire shook her head, tears tumbling down her face. Bright streaks of light erupted from behind her. The man from the sixth Choice was still fighting strong. I wondered who he was to be fighting for us so loyally.

  "Listen," I said softly, "Get out of here. Go now."

  "No!" they both said.

  "We're not leaving you, Addie," Lyle added as he picked me up again.

  I let out a sharp cry, and he quickly lowered me back to the ground.

  "I've made my trade," I managed to say with a weak smile. "I would rather choose to give someone I love another chance at a choice than live through my own."

  "Addie," Lyle whispered, bowing his head so his forehead touched mine.

  I reached out and grabbed his hand, then reached for Claire's. I couldn't feel their skin or the life it was giving off, but I knew that they were there.

  "Enough!"

  I turned slightly to see Ophidian rising from his skull throne. Had he been watching this whole time, as if we were a form of entertainment for him? The malum scurried from above and fell back behind Ophidian.

  "Fracious, I asked you to retrieve the heart. Did you?" Ophidian's voice was cold and hard, shooting like daggers.

  "My lord—" Schism started, but his sentence was cut off by a gut-wrenching noise.

  "Disgusting fool," Ophidian sneered. "Your touch would only taint my prize."

  All were silent, with only the sound of the rushing river echoing through the air. The stillness was soon broken by Ophidian's steps vibrating against the clay floor as he walked toward us. I looked back to the ceiling, now malum-less. My toes were beginning to cool, and I expected the numbing to completely consume me when a warm touch ignited my ankle.

  I glanced down to see the man from the sixth Choice, covered in black and red blood, holding a finger up to his lips, a determined look on his face. He moved his hands in a back and forth motion, causing a bright light to appear from his palms. It tingled across my skin as it traveled up my body, covering Claire and Lyle with it.

  Ophidian continued his steady, long strides toward us, and I wondered why no one else had noticed how close he was. Lyle's head was still bowed, and Claire squeezed her eyes shut, her mouth moving, the words inaudible.

  Ophidian's snake eyes stared straight at me, analyzing my body as his tattoos coiled frantically around his features. He let out a snarl, swiping at a nearby malum before stalking back to his throne. I sucked in a breath as Schism came into view. Not only was his other clawed hand dismem
bered, but a large crater was left where his face had been. I blinked, trying desperately to convince myself that what I was seeing was true.

  "The Bellata is no more," Ophidian said to a malum on his right. "Ready the siti. We must find the boy and the slave who possess her heart."

  Except Lyle and Claire were right beside me. I looked to the man, who was still at my feet, moving his hands. When we made eye contact, he gave me a quick wink, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smirked.

  I wished that I could thank him, but I knew my body was failing fast.

  As I sucked in one final breath, my mind wandered back to a cold place where I had left another piece of my heart to a kind boy with golden hair.

  Chapter 37

  Deep moaning closed in. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to move my arms and legs, but my senses pulled away from me. It was as if my body was floating in one direction and my mind in another.

  High-pitched shrieks bounced from stalactite to stalactite. I tried to turn my neck but felt nothing again. I thought my eyes were open, but I could only see darkness.

  As I shifted my gaze, a figure began to form. White light encased the body, but as it drew nearer, the white quickly turned into an ash-gray that spewed out around the figure.

  As it came closer, something small began to move in my mind, as if a worm had been unleashed inside my brain, trying to wriggle its way into my thoughts. I tried to scream, but no noise came out.

  After the slithering departed from my mind, the figure got so close, I could feel its cold breath. Leaning close, the lifeless voice of the Beast whispered, "Don't think that Magister's trick fooled me. I know you're still alive. Be wary of the times to come. Everyone you love will suffer because of your choices. The fight is not over, Adelaide. It has only begun."

  The bitter cold that had surrounded me with the figure’s approach left in a fury, leaving me hollow and bare.