Chapter 4

Dorothea's POV

The phoenix's bone was used to make a heart-protecting elixir while the sacrificial fire was still burning.

Arabella swallowed the elixir, her shoulders trembling as she cried, "Your Majesty, will Dorothea resent me for this?"

Edward wiped away her tears, but his gaze passed over the crowd and settled on the distant altar. I was still pinned there. Blood trickled down the marble steps, and when the wind blew, it turned cold as thin ice.

He watched for a moment before ordering an attendant, "Bring the millennium-old kingsroot from my private treasury. She will be terribly weak when she wakes."

Arabella's face turned ashen. She gripped his sleeve. "Your Majesty, are you still going to see Dorothea?"

Edward looked at her. "Arabella, she is my wife. I only took her blood and bone for the sake of saving the kingdom and you. She has suffered a great deal today. Of course, I should see her and comfort her."

Listening from afar, I suddenly found it absurd. To him, was this what it meant to comfort someone? After drawing my blood and carving out my bone, all it took to comfort me was a bowl of medicine.

The high priest stepped forward, his expression grim. "Your Majesty, there is still one final step in the ritual."

Edward frowned. "What is it?"

The high priest bowed until his forehead touched the ground. "Although the divine beast has been subdued, the sacrificial offering's soul still lingers.

"If we do not use a Soul Lantern to maintain the seal for seven days, I fear the beast may awaken again in the middle of the night."

The Soul Lantern was the light that guided me back to the mortal world every time I died. Edward knew that, of course. He was the one who lit that lantern for me.

Back then, whenever my soul left my body, he would stay by the lantern for seven nights without sleep, never even daring to blink. He used to say, "Thea, as long as the lantern is lit and I am here, you will find your way back."

Now, after a long silence, he asked, "What will happen to her if we take away the Soul Lantern?"

The high priest dared not raise his head. "If she still possesses the power to reform her body, she will be fine. It's just… returning to the mortal world will be more challenging."

More challenging…

A mouthful of blood surged into my throat. I couldn't even manage a laugh.

An attendant knelt and pleaded with him, "Your Majesty, Lady Dorothea's life is already hanging by a thread. If the Soul Lantern is taken from her, I fear—"

Edward shot him a cold look. "She has died 99 times. When has she ever failed to return?"

The attendant lay prostrate on the ground, too afraid to say another word.

Edward walked slowly up to the altar steps. He stopped before me, bent down, and brushed the tangled hair from my face. "Thea."

By then, I could no longer speak. There was nothing left in my throat but blood and froth. Even my breathing was so faint that the wind could easily carry it away.

The spikes were buried deep into my collarbones. I didn't even have the strength to turn my head away from him. All I could do was keep my eyes open and watch as he took the Soul Lantern.

At that moment, I stopped struggling. Perhaps I finally understood that to him, I was no longer someone who could cry or feel pain.

I was merely an old tool he had gotten so used to using that he couldn't bring himself to discard me.

Faced with my silence, Edward assumed I had yielded to him once again, just as I always did. His voice softened. "Thea, help me one last time. The Soul Lantern will maintain the seal for seven days. After that, I'll come back for you myself.

"We'll hold the coronation. The royal seal, the crown, the queen's palace, and the entire court will all be yours. Arabella will kneel before you as an apology. You've always been soft-hearted. Don't hold it against her."

A tear slipped from the corner of my eye. He reached out and wiped it away, a faint smile curving his lips, as though confident I would always come back.

"I know, I know. You cannot bear to resent me."

Edward took the Soul Lantern. The moment the wick was pulled free, the last trace of warmth in my body left me.

The wind howled across the altar. From somewhere far away, I heard a faint voice. It sounded as though it was coming from an old dream, through the last snowfall of a world I no longer belonged to.

"Dorothea Sinclair, my host, your death is irreversible. May you finally be free."

The Soul Lantern was placed upon the altar to maintain the seal. Edward personally closed its glass casing, then turned and lifted Arabella into his arms.

Before leaving, he told the attendant, "Once she stops breathing, bring her back to the Willow Palace. Don't let the maids make a fuss and cry. If she wakes up and hears it, she'll complain that it feels inauspicious."

Everyone bowed and obeyed. Edward never looked back.

As night fell, my body began to crumble into motes of light—first my fingertips, then my hands, and finally, the collarbones he had driven those iron spikes through.

So, this is how it felt to perish. It was soundless and peaceful.

The lights of the mortal world continued to burn, but that would be the last time I saw them.

…

Third-Person POV

After returning to the palace, Edward first settled Arabella in the Radiant Palace.

The royal physicians told him that the phoenix's bone had taken root in her body and that she was no longer in danger. All she needed was rest.

Only after she fell asleep did he return to the Willow Palace. It was ablaze with lamplight.

Edward stood beside the bed where Dorothea always slept, watching the maids lay out fresh blankets. He ordered them to stoke the brazier until the room was warm.

"She always gets cold when she comes back," he said. "Have candied fruit ready, too. The medicine is too bitter, and she always throws a fuss before finishing it."

The maids kept their heads bowed, none of them daring to answer.

Edward sat at the bedside, running his palm over the unfinished coronation crown. His face remained perfectly calm, as though Dorothea had merely thrown a tantrum, gone to sleep for the night, and would come back in the morning.

Suddenly, a royal astronomer came stumbling into the chamber. "Your Majesty!"

Edward frowned. "What is the commotion for? She hates noise when she wakes."

The royal astronomer dropped to his knees. "The Phoenix Star has fallen!"

Edward stiffened.

Outside, the night sky was dominated by the Phoenix Star, a celestial omen that had hung there for a century. Now, it was falling toward the western mountains, leaving behind a blood-red streak of fire.

For the first time, he panicked. "Lies. Arabella is the true phoenix's reincarnation."

The royal astronomer shook his head through his tears. "Your Majesty, the stars cannot be wrong. The true phoenix's reincarnation has already returned to the sky."

The moment the words left his mouth, a sharp crack rang out from the warding altar. A palace attendant came running, stumbling almost the entire way. His face was ashen.

"Your Majesty, Lady Dorothea's Soul Lantern… It shattered!"