Tegwyn releases his arrow.
The projectile makes contact just as her teeth graze his shoulder, and I have no idea what comes over me.
One moment, I’m about to watch him die, and the next I’m leaping in front of him, taking the brunt of her sharp teeth in his place.
There’s blood. It rents the air, a thick, coppery tang, yet I don’t even feel the pain.
All I find are his eyes. Eyes so full of pain and regret.
“Ivy…” he whispers.
Before I can reach up and caress his cheek, my arm falls slack, and then my eyes close.
It's dark. But through the murk, I spy a bright light. A light so warm, I hardly feel despair. All I sense is love. It’s Tegwyn’s soul. And it’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
“Têr nghalon.”
36
Tegwyn
Ivybleedsoutinmy arms, and all I can do is hold on to her tightly, hoping she can hear me. “Ivy?”
She doesn’t stir. Her eyes remain closed, her glow diminishing by the second, yet I try again, shaking her harder. “Ivy!”
No response. I squeeze my eyes shut. Just when I thought I couldn’t hate myself further... I let the woman I lovediefor me.
She took the brunt of that monster’s teeth, and all I can do now is watch, helplessly, as she dies in my arms. There’s nothing I can do. Her wounds are too deep, and my magic simply isn’t enough to heal her.
I’ve never felt so helpless.
“Ivy…why?” I choke, barely able to get the words out of my throat.
It hurts.All of it.
Her breathing becomes laboured, and there’s no mistaking the dreaded death rattle as her lungs give up the fight.
A wheezing sound catches my attention, and my eyes latch on to that naked female. She must have transformed back into her true form the moment my arrow pierced her flesh, and she’s now dying as a result.
As she should be. Those arrows are tipped with iron.The bitch deserved it.
I’m not surprised she was beautiful beneath the dog suit. Most Fae are. Her limbs are long, slender, and her hips curved, but she’s still a demon.
If only I had arrived earlier, I could have killed her before she had the chance to get to Ivy, but it’s too late.
Pressing my forehead against Ivy’s, I whisper her name, hoping she hears me somewhere.
Call it Fae intuition, but I can sense her calling my name… Mytruename.
After all, she can call to me from anywhere. Even from the place between life and death.
She’s not dead, not yet.
There must be some magic I can muster from the dregs of my soul. I have to try at least.
“Ivy, it’s going to be all right. I can fix this. Fix you.”
Only silence greets me, but I feel her smile from beyond, and I close my eyes.
