Blood suddenly gushed from Falden’s nose and ears, and he heard his Knights bellow in outrage as he gave his life to her. Breathed for her. With her. Linked his life force to hers.
She would stay, or she would go.
Where Isabella went, he would follow.
Chapter Fourteen
Falden was dying.
She felt him fading, the vibrant light of him flickering around her heart somehow, or maybe her soul.
Fire connected them. Hot. Burning. It hurt, striking at her body again and again, trying to get in, to break her, to get through her walls. That fire wanted to inside her, everywhere. Her spine. Her heart. The beat of her pulse. The little sparks of thought inside her mind. It was like a wall of water trying to break over her, swallow her whole, leaving nothing behind. It would consume her. Every bit of her.
She fought like she always did. That was her life. Fighting. Struggling. Never give up, that was her motto. That attitude was what got her through life, through work, through loss and pain and all the bullshit in the world.
She knew the fire was in Falden, too. She could sense it. But he accepted the pain. Welcomed it. The fire seemed to be in some kind of circuit, moving through him and back to her, pounding at her skull, at her soul like a giant fist pounding down a small wooden door.
Except she wasn’t made of wood. She was steel.
Unbreakable. She would not surrender. She would rather die than be consumed. And she would not let him die. She would take the fire away from him, take it all. She would save him if it was the very last thing she did.
“Bella.” The fire intensified as Falden’s voice reached her. “Stay with me.”
I’m trying! She fought harder. Resist. Fight. Survive. That was life. She would not fail him. She pulled on the energy, on the blue light, swallowed the pain and pulled harder. Willed the fire to burn her alive, to consume her whole, to leave Falden alone.
“Isabella!” A woman’s voice. But who?
Isabella fought to open her eyes but could not see past the storm raging within them, within herself. Blue fire everywhere. Behind her eyelids. In her mind. In her lungs. In her veins. She was burning alive.
“Isabella, let go. Don’t fight the fire. It’s him. The fire is Falden! You are killing him. Stop fighting!” The woman’s voice was adamant, determined. But could it be true?
Falden? Are you the fire?
Yes. His voice was clearer. Stronger. Yes, Bella. Yield.
You are hurting me.
Only because you resist. Let me in. Be with me. Stay with me.
Falden made peace with his fate, with whatever Isabella would decide. Live. Die. It was her choice now, because he was hers. Body and soul and blood. Hers. He belonged to her like he’d never belonged to anyone or anything—not his people, his planet, his history. Not the Knights he commanded or the king and queen he now served.
The raging storm within the sphere calmed as she reached for him with her mind. He held himself perfectly still, inviting her in deeper, where his soul could wrap around hers and offer comfort, solace, peace.
Falden?
I’m here. I will always be here. I love you, my Bella. Please, stop fighting and yield. Let me in. Be with me.
If one could feel tears in the mind, he felt hers. Relief. Joy. Love.
Fuck. That one nearly broke him. It hurt somewhere deep and lonely and needy. Somewhere he’d never dared to look—and that dark, hungry place was starving. An agony of emptiness. Of nothing. He was nothing. A shell.
I love you. Three words and she let go. Live. Die. She no longer cared as long as she gave Falden what he needed, and he needed her to stop fighting. To let go. Perhaps it would kill her, but she was dying anyway.
She stopped. Stopped resisting. Stopped fighting. She let down her walls and let the fire roar through her, into her mind where it dug into her memories and emotions, laid her bare for him to see. Her fears. Her life experiences. Her determination.
She was an incredible woman. He saw it all. Her loneliness, her strength, her love and loyalty. Her willingness to sacrifice herself for him. For those she loved. He saw her soul and was humbled. She had to live.
All that he was, he gave to her. Held nothing back. His strength. His love. His life. He gave without fear, without regret.
Abruptly the electrical current disappeared, dropping them both to the ground. As one, they breathed. Their hearts beat in sync. Slowly the orb shrank until it disappeared into nothing and blinked out of the Earthen plane, back to the void until called upon again. With the orb’s disappearance, the cold air dissipated leaving Isabella and Falden lying unconscious on the floor, flesh cold to the touch. Barely breathing.
Dagan rushed to their sides and lifted Isabella’s head, propped open her mouth and poured the maju water down her throat a few drops at a time. He didn’t ask.
Motioning to Torrin to kneel next to Falden, Dagan instructed Torrin to assist the fallen commander. The two warriors spent long minutes feeding maju water to the newly mated pair as dozens of warriors stood in a circle, lending their support, their will to the pair fighting to survive.
Falden would have been fine; he would have healed from his injuries. But now Dagan wasn’t so sure. Isabella and Falden both had blood leaking from their ears, their noses. Before the Yielding, Falden had been conscious, but now his heart beat slowly, with his mate’s. His color paled, his breathing shallow and too fast. Labored. He struggled to breathe for both of them.
“Damn it, Isabella. Fight. Now it’s time to fight.” She had to live. Whatever it took, because if they lost her, they lost Falden.
Neither loss was acceptable.
When he deemed them stable enough to survive being moved, Dagan issued his orders. “Take them
