Set to rule a new kingdom.
My kingdom.
“Valora?” Adrik whispered, stirring.
“He’s gone.” I didn’t move, my eyes fixated on the sky above.
“You killed him?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
Adrik followed my gaze, his lips curling down. “You didn’t send him to the death planes.”
“No, I didn’t.” I canted my head, studying the design his ashes made in the sky. A large star. “I want him to suffer. For eternity.”
And he would with his soul shredded into so many pieces.
Are you still proud of me? I wondered, smiling. “It’s done.”
The war was finally over.
And I now owned the crown.
A baby.
Lucifer’s daughter.
And a kingdom.
It resembled the foundation of a bad joke. But instead gave birth to a new life as Valora and I walked outside the palace walls. We hadn’t spoken much since she killed Necros, her handiwork brightening the night sky above with millions of twinkling lights.
“What now?” she asked, surveying the demolished landscapes that once housed Caluçon.
She’d already dismissed the only remaining guard—Jeremiah—for the night, telling him to rest and report back in the morning. I suspected she would knight him, perhaps put him in charge of refining palace security. Given the bravery I witnessed from him, I approved. But he would have a hard time recruiting new employees.
Thousands had died today.
All Necros loyalists with black hearts.
And I couldn’t mourn a single one.
“Do you wish to mourn for the kingdom?” I wondered aloud, draping my jacket around her bare shoulders. She didn’t seem to mind being nude, but the lack of a sun had brought on a chilly breeze that trailed goose bumps down her arms.
“No.” She gazed up at the beautiful display above. “No, I do not. But I would like to rename it.”
I linked my fingers through hers, pulling her alongside me. “Do you have something in mind?”
“I do,” she murmured. “Nova Kingdom.”
An appropriate name, given her display of power today. “I like it.”
She nodded as if she already knew. And maybe she did. Valora vibrated with more power than ever, her confidence bolstered by having removed the one who’d brought her down all these years. She seemed alive, happy, and so very strong.
“What do you want to do about your parents?” It seemed so weird to me to think of Lucifer and Lux as her father and mother. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how insane it was to her.
“Nothing for now.” She paused at the cliffs that overlooked the fields leading to the town below. “I don’t agree with what they’ve done. But I’m also not ready to understand it all yet.”
An intelligent interpretation. “We may never understand it.”