Lay Me Down by Winnie Brooks

Ashia
Dust is gone, but a worse foe has taken over. The city is in chaos, and our world is, too. Sahara has requested our help, but I can’t shake the need to look at them as the enemy. Something is off, and now that my heart is nothing but a black hole, I’ve turned into something malevolent—a Queen worthy of the dark throne I was given. I took my rightful place at his side, but I never thought I would have to use it. Now the space beside me is cold and empty, and everyone is looking to me for answers. I won’t rest until he’s standing tall beside me once again, no matter the cost, and our enemies will fall to my efforts. Call it the hormones, the stress, the exhaustion, it doesn’t really matter. I will do, and be, anything it takes to make this right—to have him at my side again—even if it means this darkness consumes me whole.

Damien
My mind is twisted. I’m seeing things that aren’t there, hearing voices that are long gone, and I can’t turn them off this time. The ethereal plains that once existed separately are melting together, making me question everything around me. I’m calling out and reaching for her, only to grasp onto thin air. She needs me, they both do, and I was stupid enough to fall into the enemies’ clutches. They force me to commit the unthinkable, and just when I thought I couldn’t sink any lower, they prove me wrong. My only salvation seems to be a stranger. One that I don’t trust, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get back to her. I watch through unknowing eyes as she tears the city apart, and I’m forced to watch her chip away pieces of herself to get to me. This will end, and I’ll ensure their safety through it all—even if that means letting myself go.

*Lay Me Down is book 3 in the Descent to Darkness Trilogy, and this series must be read in order. This book is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18.*