“I’m sorry.”
Kalen lunged toward Lachlan, knocking him to the ground as he swiped a concealed dagger from his boot. The blade came down in an arc, Lachlan’s hand whipping out to grab Kalen’s hand to block the blow as they struggled against one another.
Everything seemed to slow to a crawl. The seconds ticked by as if even time was waiting to see what would happen. I couldn’t breathe, feeling Renai’s anguish down our bond. It raged inside my head, but I pulled her closer to my chest and stumbled backward toward safety.
Arabella dropped from the sky, her body hitting the ground with a sickening crack. I knew, at that moment, she was dead.
Kalen screamed and dug his weight harder into the knife. His words were jumbled, an incoherent mixture of pleading and tortured sobs. Lachlan only laughed at his effort, as if he was little more than a minor inconvenience.
Shadows swept over Kalen, pulling him off their master with little effort. Lachlan suspended his broken and bruised body as he had Arabella, a disgusting smirk crossing his lips as he dug his shadows into Kalen’s arms. Renai bucked in my hold as her tears splattered against my skin. She cried for me to free her, to let her go to him, but I knew there was no saving Kalen from his fate.
He slowly turned his head to stare at the two of us, brows furrowing as he saw the anguish on Renai’s face. A sob broke free from his chest, blood dribbling from his lips as he spoke. “Get her out of here!” His voice was hollow, shattered from his injuries.
I gave him a nod, my face splotched with fresh tears for a man who’d sacrificed everything even though he knew it would condemn him. There would be no forgiving myself if I didn’t honor his last wish. At the very least, I had to try. With every last bit of strength I had, I yanked Renai off the ground and stumbled backwards.
Without so much as a warning, Lachlan transformed his power into a jagged spear and thrust it into Kalen’s chest. A choked gasp escaped his lips, as he stared down at the dark tendril. Red spilled down the silver armor, dripping to the ground with sickening splashes as his body grew limp, straining against the shadows holding him in place.
The woman in my arms, the one I loved, screamed. She clawed at my arms, drawing blood with each pass. Lachlan turned around to stare at her, a malevolent grin on his face as he spoke. “How does it feel knowing he never loved you enough to choose you?” He tipped his head back and laughed. “You were nothing more than a placeholder—a warm hole for his cock when he became lonely.”
Renai let out another heart-wrenching cry as Lachlan strode forward and thrust his blade into Kalen’s neck, releasing his shadow’s hold and stepping away to admire his sickening work. Potent anger worked through my system as Kalen fell to his knees, eyes drifting toward where Renai and I stood out from the chaos.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered in short, chilling gasps as he choked on his own blood. For a brief moment he struggled to pull himself closer to Arabella, but he lacked the strength. He reached toward her, barely grazing her fingertips with his, and let out a final breath. His chest didn’t rise again. It struck me with horrifying clarity that he knew. He knewhewould die because he knewArabellawould die, and there would be no way he could live with himself if he lost her again. I looked at their hands, the way his last act had been to touch her one more time, and I silently prayed they would find each other in the next life.
All of this was a way to save Renai—to cause a distraction so she could run. But he’d underestimated her love and loyalty to him while overestimating my strength. She’d fought to stay with him until the very end, overpowering me when all Kalen wanted was for me to drag her away. He hadn’t wanted her to see him die, but she refused to leave him.
Even now.
Kalen knew Lachlan would never have honored his choice if he had chosen Arabella. Her disloyalty was seen as the ultimate betrayal, and this was a way to kill two birds with a single stone.
Renai melted in my arms, her knees giving out from under her. She couldn’t stand or support her weight. This was her version of hell, and she had just watched it play out right in front of her.
Lachlan turned to us, his eyes brimming with triumph as he pulled his sword from Kalen’s body. One hand rested casually on the pommel as the blade dripped with blood from his kill. “This is going to be better than I could ever imagine,” he said, pointing the weapon in our direction. “To get rid of four nuisances at once?” he laughed. “Perfection.”
“Fuck you!” Renai screamed, her head lolling back onto my chest. “I will fucking kill you! I will—”
His shadows dashed forward, ripping her from my grip. Two men came up from behind me and took hold of my arms. I attempted to struggle, but I was useless. After wrestling Renai, I could barely stand, let alone fight.
This was it. This was the end, and I hadn’t been strong enough to save her. My weakness had condemned her.
The darkness wrapped around Renai’s throat, lifting her slowly in the air and raising her to Lachlan’s level. She kicked her feet as her hands clawed at the phantom force holding her. Lachlan leaned in, whispering something in her ear that had her crying out.
We were going to die.
Chapter44
Matthew
Eva, Trystan, and I ran toward the palace, our feet pounding against the stones. It felt as if we were racing against time we did not have. We should have realized it sooner. I used my power to bring us closer to our location, but did not want to risk giving away our presence by sending us into the fray. Bodies littered the ground haphazardly. I swept over them quickly, celebrating a small victory as I saw more wearing black armor than any of our colors.
Of course, Lachlan would attempt to strike the palace. He would have noticed the lack of civilian presence among the dead. There would not have been enough time to relocate the population entirely, and it would not take long for him to figure out where they went.
Cries of agony sounded ahead, a boom following quickly after, and I glanced at Eva. Her face twisted into a grimace as she pushed herself harder to reach the market up ahead. Even if I’d expected destruction, it was another thing to see it come to fruition as we grew closer. Jagged, broken bits of wood stuck up into the air while glass shards crunched beneath our feet. Above all, it was impossible to ignore the stench of death hanging in the air.
Nothing could have prepared me for the scene we stumbled upon.
Lachlan stood with his hands behind his back as he used his powers to suspend Renai in the air while his men kicked Damien in the back of his knees, knocking him to the ground.
I froze, noticing a woman with dark hair lying beside a man in silver armor. His face was turned away from me, and I could not quite distinguish his hair color beneath the stain of blood.
