Dead. I’m dead now and I’ll never see Allisandra again…
And then he had heard the voice. Warm and strong and feminine, it had filled his head.
“Do not concede, Warrior,” the voice had urged him. “This evil must end. It is the Cruel Father who gives the Overlord his strength. But I will give you mine and you shall overcome!”
A rush of new energy had suddenly filled him, like electricity galvanizing a piece of metal when it’s struck by lightning. Kane had thrust the other male’s blade aside and fought afresh—fought like a madman, determined to win—to rid the world of the foul beast who poisoned the land.
Everything had seemed like a blur and then, somehow, the Overlord was at his feet and he was standing there in a pool of blood and stunned silence.
At last, the silence broke as the warriors around him cheered.
“The new Overlord!” Kane heard one of them shout. “Kane is the new Overlord—long may he live!”
The other Kru’ell Ones took up the cry but even as their words penetrated his brain, Kane realized that something else had penetrated his flesh.
Looking down, he saw fresh blood seeping from his side. Putting a hand to the wound, he tried to staunch the flow. But there was so much—too much.
Kane’s last thought as he sank to his knees was that he had killed the Overlord… but it seemed that maybe the Overlord had killed him too. And if he died, he would surely never see his love again.
“Allisandra,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry…”
And then all was blackness.
Thirty-Nine
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Sophie looked at her anxiously.
“Of course. I’m fine—perfectly fine.” Alli gave a jagged laugh that belied her words. To hide the trembling of her hands, she smoothed down the wedding dress—it had been her mother’s, one of the few things her father had kept in storage for Alli after her mother died.
“But you only got released from the Med Center this morning,” Sophie protested. “Are you sure you’re up to a big ceremony?”
“Listen, if I try to postpone the wedding, Douglas will have a heart attack.” Alli tried to make her voice businesslike and strong. “I mean, we’ve been planning this for months and, as he would surely point out, the amount of money he’s expended on the reception is too much to waste.”
Of course to Douglas, any amount of money was too much to waste. But that wasn’t the point, Alli told herself. The point was to get back to normal after the mini-breakdown she’d suffered the day before while watching the events of that other universe in the PORTAL.
“I’m fine,” she said again, trying to convince herself as much as Sophie. “But thank you for asking. Now—how do I look?”
She twirled in front of the mirror, the long white gown with its sweetheart neckline showing off her curves to best advantage. Her mother had been plus-sized too and the dress was cut just right to flatter a fuller figure.
“You look beautiful,” Sophie said, trying to smile. “I just want to be sure you know what you’re doing.”
“Of course I know what I’m doing—I’m getting married to Douglas just like I’ve planned to for the past year,” Alli said, more sharply than she intended.
“But, well…are you sure—” Sophie began.
“Well, well—is everyone ready for the big day?”
It was Liv, Sophie’s twin sister, poking her head into the bridal tent which was set up on the side lawn of the Sacred Grove, where the ceremony was to take place. She looked at Alli with barely concealed concern.
“Just thought I’d check in on my patient one more time before the ceremony,” she said.
“I’m fine,” Alli said, firmly, trying to make it be true.
Fine except for the little voice in the back of her head, whispering that she had forgotten something…something terribly important…
Alli ignored that voice fiercely. Today was her big day, after all. She’d been planning it for months and she was damn well going to have it, she told herself. Nothing was going to stop her from having her ‘happily ever after moment,’ as her wedding planner called it.
Just then, there was a masculine cough outside the tent.
“Ladies?” Commander Sylvan’s voice said. “Are you ready? Everyone is assembled and waiting.”
“It’s show time!” Alli said brightly, trying to drown out the annoying little voice in her head with good cheer. “Come on, girls—how do I look?”
“Beautiful,” Liv said sincerely and Sophie nodded. “But are you sure—”
“Time to get going!” Alli interrupted. She stepped hastily out of the tent before either sister could say anything else and took Commander Sylvan’s arm. Since Alli’s father had died so long ago, he had considerately offered to walk her down the isle—an offer that Alli had accepted with gratitude at the time.
But now, as they made their way barefoot down the middle of the Sacred Grove (everyone had to remove their shoes since it was holy ground) she couldn’t feel anything but fear and a sense of wrongness that seemed to grow with every step.