Page 174

His head snapped towards me at the panic in my voice and I held up my hand, black blood glistening on my fingertips.

“We’re too late.”

His eyes flared, darkness swallowing the whites of his eyes, more monster than man.

Without hesitating he stormed towards me and gripped my shoulder.

Shadows consumed me.

Their coldness tore me apart and robbed me of my senses before I could protest.

It was a darkness so vast, so consuming, that it felt like I was in the Nether.

I wanted to scream, every nerve ending in my body begging me to claw my way out of the darkness.

Finally, we burst from the darkness. Everything that I was flooding back into my body, hands grasping at my chest and looking around frantically.

I wasn’t in the Nether.

I was on Elysium, kneeling before the throne that used to belong to me, now broken and filled with rot.

Lyra sat atop it with my fucking dagger pressed against her throat, eyes squeezed shut as tears glistened over her pale cheeks.

At the same time, Rythos and I lunged towards her.

His hand wrapped around her wrist, stopping the knife from digging in deeper while I cupped her face.

“Let go of the dagger, love,” Rythos rasped, clearly fighting whatever demons threatening to tear him apart.

She tried to wrench her hand free, and the knife bit in further. I gritted my teeth against the pain.

“No!”she sobbed, the sound making it hard for me to swallow.

“Open your eyes, Sunshine.” I brushed my thumb over her cheek, collecting the tears that fell.

“I have to fix it!”

“Drop the fucking knife,” Rythos growled, pure darkness oozing through his voice as his hand tightened on her wrist.

Her eyes flashed open, cerulean, blue sparkling with tears like the ocean reflecting the sun with so much determination I thought I was going to drown.

“You don’t understand, Rythos…” Her voice broke. “I broke the Throne and I made you into the monster you are.”

Rythos’ fingers slipped from her wrist, and he stumbled back as if physically hit.

My hand flew to replace his so she wouldn’t take the opportunity to end us both.

“I don’t remember, Rythos, but it was me.”

A fractured sob broke through her, and before I could comfort her, she sucked in a breath and screeched.

I flew backwards from the sheer power of it, back slamming into the infected marble.

Rythos landed a few feet away from me.

The breath whooshed out of my lungs, and I rolled onto my side and pushed myself back up.

“Let me fix it!” I shouted. “Take my life instead. You already broke our life link, I can sense it.”