Just gasp and whimper. And cry.
I feel Killian brace against the force, trying not to be pushed back as Pax presses so hard into my spine that I’m sure he’s about to break me in two. But I give in to the power, consciousness slipping away. My body goes limp, and Killian’s grip on me tightens.
“Enough,” I hear him growl, but not an angry growl. A scared and desperate growl.
“No,” Seth says, as he laces his fingers through mine.
Roarke takes a hold of my other hand. “We have to fight.”
Their touch ignites the little bit of struggle left in me – filling my gaps with their power. Each thread has its own feel, but they twine together to make a whole. I shouldn’t be able to see the threads, but they’re inside me, struggling to repair the damage. To keep me alive. Killian’s threads are ice-cold and blood red in color. Roarke’s fibers almost calmly search out my weaknesses, deep purple and thin as silk. Seth’s power stretches and snaps in every direction, demanding with a burnt orange intensity. And Pax, Pax is commanding my body into obedience, with deep forest green veins of power. I should be worried about their frantic screams, the way my body is jerking as their power rushes through me, all of that should worry me.
But the pain is gone. And when that happens, death isn’t far away.
Their heads bow to meet mine, forming a circle with me in the middle. For a split second, I’m sure this is the end – this is what accepting fate looks like. We’ve all been here once before, and things should be easier the second time around – shouldn’t they?
But before defeat can latch on, the power pulsing through us doubles.
The earth hums, and the trees, the air, the whole world vibrates.
And I pass out.
I watch her fall. The ShimmerSeed is beside himself with joy, and before Beautiful’s torn body has even hit the ground, I control the form. Snapping and slashing, I tear toward the Saber. Time stops.
That hole I thought I needed to fill with the death of every Hyll is torn right open – paling against this new pain. Holding her in the Spring hurt – but I took it all for granted when we pulled her out.
I don’t need death – I need life.
I need her life. Safe and whole and mine. I knew that. I lost sight of it, but I knew it, and now I want it back.
The beat of my heart hammers harder than it ever has, forcing me to move faster. Faster. The short distance that was between us feels like eternity unfolding. Darkness uses the Shadows – appearing over Beautiful and throwing himself down as her shield, leaving his back exposed, but that won’t be a problem because I’m already leaping over the two of them. The ShimmerSeed is under my paws with satisfying, bone crushing impact.
I sink my teeth into his throat, taste the thrum of a pulse, and savor that second when life ceases – exactly as it should be. I shake my head sharply, severing it from his body.
Then turn sharply, in the same second as Pax pushes forward, and for a brief moment, we share time and space.
She’s on the ground. The Darkness brother has her held in his Shadows, and his pure black gaze meets mine.
Don’t take her – I beg
“Don’t take her,” Pax echoes.
She’s so broken. Blood stains the shirt, and her shoulder is at an angle that tells me the thing’s no longer connected by bone, possibly not even muscle.
Killian picks her up, growling, “It’s mortal!”
We ignore him, tearing her shirt to inspect the damage. Pax looks at the wound, gaping and losing blood at a rate even the strongest Saber can’t sustain. I see all of that too – but what I’m looking at is her back.
Marred by lashings, the sight of which makes my skin prick with remembered pain. My gut twists, and my instincts pull with the desire to take retribution.
That can’t be right.
This can’t be her skin, her back – her past.
There has to be a mistake.
She’s ours. We would never have let this happen.
Ours to hold, to protect, to keep – to save.
Save her! –
We stare Killian in the eye, saying, “Take her.”
“It’s too late. The Veil queen can’t bring back the dead – taking her now won’t save her.”
With one finger Pax traces her spine, drawing a line in the blood. Too much blood.
“We can heal her,” Roarke declares.
“Not this damage,” Killian argues. “No one can heal this kind of damage. Her shoulder’s almost detached, and her spine…”
We’ve stopped listening, stopped caring. Seth and I both frozen in white-hot terror. Pax presses his palm to her spine, and without a single thought, I throw my soul into his.
Hard.
Power meeting power.
And all of it is directed at the one thing in this world we want more than air itself.
The hurting of just moments ago – watching the woman who murdered our family die before we could take our revenge – it feels so small, so distant, insignificant.
Nothing else matters.
She whimpers, but we push harder, feeling her body respond despite all odds. Respond and struggle. This has to work!
But it’s just not enough.
We’re not enough, and the fear unfolds that all we are doing is dragging out her pain. We’re making her last moments unbearable, but we can’t stop. The earth would shake itself apart, all life falling into the abyss, and it would be insignificant compared to this moment. To right now.
“Enough,” Killian gasps – pleads.
Seth grabs her hand – declaring, “No!”
Life is meaningless unless we can fix this.
Roarke grabs her other hand. “We have to fight.”
Our heads bow to hers. One instant, we’re all fighting alone, struggling, desperate – and the next, the core of Silva ignites between us. Sabers. Pentad. Bonded. Mates. Whole.
Alive.
Gasping, we hold each other, our power pulling
