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Blinking up at Grave, who wears a triumphant grin from ear to ear, I snarl.
No.
He doesn’t get to add my name to his death toll, not when there is vengeance due. He won’t get away with this. He won’t take what’s mine and live long enough to reap any kind of reward.
Consequences. That is all that is coming his way.
I swear it.
The fucker presses his palm against Raven’s chest, blood coating his fingers as he does, before he wrenches the sword from her dying body.
Magic still clings to my limbs, rendering me useless as I scramble to find my feet again. The cry filling the air turns gargled, making me frown, and I glance away from Raven for a split second to see if I can find the source of the awful sound.
Of all the people around us, my eyes lock on Leila, who is gaping at me with tears streaking down her face. My nostrils flare. I don’t need to worry over her right now. I keep searching. It’s when my eyes find Eldon’s that I understand.
Lifting a hand to my throat, I feel the vibration, and with a sharp gasp, the noise stops.
It’s me.
The shrill cry was coming from me.
My throat instantly clogs, the emotion unable to escape past my lips as it had been, and I channel that energy into my limbs instead. Adrenaline floods my veins and a snarl snaps from my mouth before I push to my feet.
Objective one: kill this motherfucker. Objective two: kill everyone else in the vicinity that poses a threat. Objective three: find a way to save Raven, no matter the cost or sacrifice.
Glancing down at Raven, I bite back the growing ache at the sight of her closed eyelids, along with the growing spread of blood pooling around her. I let the reality of it wash over me, though, fueling me. I want to see Burton’s face, whether as himself or as Erikel. I want to see if this was a part of his plan all along because I sure as fuck can’t piece together how this works in his favor, but before I can lock eyes with the fucker, everything begins to shift around me.
My hands whip out to my sides, trying to remain balanced as colors blur, and a moment later, the view around us changes, too.
“Raven. No, fuck, Raven,” Zane cries out, rushing to her side. I frown, noting the speed behind his move, and I quickly realize the magic holding us back is no longer pinning us in place.
Eldon and Creed fall to their knees beside Raven, running their hands over her body as they call out her name, but my instincts take over, my protective nature taking the lead as I piece together what the fuck is happening right now.
Blades of grass crush under my boots, the field rolling out in every direction, but it’s not somewhere I’m familiar with. Trees are dotted sporadically around us, not really shielding us from view, but I’m not sure we’re anywhere near Burton right now.
“Brax.”
The sound of my mother’s voice threatens to drop me to my knees once more, the need for her to take all of my worry and pain away overwhelming. But more than that, the pounding in my head calms when I comprehend the fact that we’re safer than we were moments ago.
Spinning to lock eyes on her, I’m relieved to see my father at her side. Rhys and a woman, who I now know as Raven’s mother, stand with them, and I get the unfortunate pleasure of reliving the horrors of Raven’s attack through her eyes, too.
“Somebody has to help her. Now,” Creed bites, desperation thick in his voice as he sweeps a bloodied hand down her face in panic.
“Evangeline.” Raven’s mother responds immediately while my brain stutters over the fact that it’s Raven’s father’s voice I heard call her name. Turning to my left, I find him and Sebastian still with us.
If it was left to me, saving them wouldn’t have been high up the priority list, but right now, that doesn’t matter. All that matters is Raven and vengeance.
“What happened?” Rhys asks, approaching with my parents a step behind him. “We worked as fast as we could, I swear. I didn’t… I’m so sorry,” he rambles, coming to a stop behind Zane, planting a hand on his shoulder in comfort.
My parents approach me, but I refuse to let them touch me. Touching me will only confirm the pain consuming me, and I can’t accept that this is real. Not yet.
Slipping away from my mother’s hand, I crouch by Raven’s head, stroking my fingers through her new jet-black hair, and my chest clenches unbearably tight.
“Save her. Save her now. Someone here must be able to,” I order, first looking to my parents before turning my glare on Rhys and her parents. Sebastian hovers a step back, his brows pinched together as he looks at his sister, and anger burns up my spine. “Get him the fuck out of here before I do. She saved you. Risked everything to save Lyra, and you can’t offer her the same,” I snarl, and I feel like I can’t breathe because I know it applies to me too.
She saved me, brought me back from the dead, and I can’t offer the same in return.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
