Page 160

Rot

Lyra

Everything ached.

A deep, pleasant pain that pulsed with every slow beat of my heart as I lay between my bonded.

Helion and Rythos rested on either side of me, Helion absently playing with my hair while Rythos hummed a low tune that soothed something restless deep within my soul.

“They have steered off course, again.” Helion’s voice broke through the calm, his warmth disappearing as he stood next to the bed.

A sliver of disappointment bled through me when he pulled on his trousers, buttoning them low on his hips beneath his pronounced V. “I need to fix that. Then I need to go to the Hell’s ship to make sure they haven’t all killed each other. I’ll be back, Sunshine.” Helion smirked, leaning down to press a kiss to my forehead.

“Wait.” I sat up, clutching the sheet to my chest. Cerilla was on that ship, and she might be able to help me. “I want to come.”

“You just did,” Rythos remarked.

“More than once,” Helion added.

Oh, this was new. I stared between them, words evading me as disbelief eroded them away.

The two of them being on the same side might be more dangerous than when they hated each other.

Rythos laughed, the carefree sound sending a warmth through my chest and I found myself staring at him. The way his full mouth tilted up. The way the corners of his eyes crinkled, softening the sharp angles of his face.

The illusion was shattered when a violent cough ripped through him. He spluttered, blue blood spraying over his hand.

His eyes widened before he collapsed backwards, the muscles in his neck straining as shadows streamed towards him and buried themselves beneath his skin.

“Rythos?” I asked, panic flooding me as I gripped his face. Pain exploded through my chest, the shadowy bond in my chest clawing at my own heart.

He let out a pained grunt and the blackened rot beneath his skin surged, spreading before my eyes. His limbs jerked uncontrollably.

No. No. No.

“Open your eyes!” I demanded.

Helion rushed to the other side of the bed and rolled Rythos onto his side.

“Here,” Helion said calmly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small blade.

Without hesitating, he slashed it across Rythos’ chest.

“Stop!” I screamed, voice fracturing with power that made the sea below us become completely still.

But I was too late.

A wound split through his skin, over the top of his rotting heart. Deep blue blood gushed from his chest, streaked with dark rot and puss.

Helion’s eyes flicked to mine, his mask slipping to show a hint of hurt before he covered it back up. A twinge of regret flicked through me. I trusted him, didn’t I?

“I’m helping.” He wiped the knife on the sheets before flipping it and shoving it in my hand. “I’m bloodletting him to lessen the rot. It should work for a time. But if you feed him your blood, it will help.”

Just like he had made Edgar do to me for years.

The thought turned sour in my mouth, but I shoved it aside before it could take root.

I dug the blade into my palm.