Samael’s voice sounded stronger than mine, and he didn’t have to take breaks to keep speaking.
“You?” he asked.
“Not really.”
He didn’t speak again for a few moments. “Will they come for us or assume we’re dead?”
“If they’re alive—” Small breath. “—they’ll come.”
I was glad when Samael didn’t speak again; it hurt too much to talk. I had to believe I was right in my words to him, but I worried our fate might leave us trapped beneath this rubble, wasting away from starvation and dehydration.
Will we eventually die or turn into withered husks of our former selves?
That wasn’t a fate I could contemplate, especially not for Ellery.
“What she did…” Samael said. “Ryker, what she did….”
Fear emanated from his voice. She’d saved us by releasing her power in such a way, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t scared the shit out of all those who saw it.
The amsirah were wary of her after learning what she could do, but they’d grown to trust and love her. That trust might have been shattered… or perhaps strengthened.
Even if she hadn’t known exactly what would happen when she released her powers, she’d been willing to sacrifice everything for them, including herself, me, and her loved ones. They had to see that.
“It was—” Breath. “—amazing,” I told him.
Samael remained silent for a while before speaking again. “Yeah.”
Inhaling through my nose, I closed my eyes as exhaustion took over and I passed out.
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
Ellery
When the collapse happened, I somehow managed to fall through the roof of one of the beautiful, colorful homes trapped beneath the earth in the city of the dead. Remains from the palace were piled beneath and over me, but not all of the home had crumpled beneath the palace.
I’d woken to discover myself tucked into a small alcove that somehow managed to keep me from being flattened. My right wrist was badly broken, and I tried not to look at it as the bone sluggishly retracted beneath my skin.
My left ankle had dislocated at some point, but I’d managed to twist it back into place with my left hand. My lip bled from how hard I’d bitten it while doing so.
Lifting my hands, I waved them before me as I tried to open a portal; nothing happened. I hadn’t been able to open a portal out of the city of the dead before, but that was when the Heart of Stone was here.
Things could have changed after its reunification with the gargoyles. They didn’t.
Lightning danced around my fingers as I surveyed my surroundings. Rocks, wood, and other debris surrounded me; the whole space was probably only four feet by four feet.
I couldn’t stretch out in it, but I was certain I’d gotten a lot luckier than most who’d gone down with the palace… because of me.
My chest tightened to the point where I couldn’t breathe as my thoughts turned to Ryker. I’d never forget the look on his face when the ground gave way and we plunged into the abyss of rubble and death.
But somehow, I survived. Did he?
His lightning still thrummed within me; it was a powerful reminder of the beautiful man I loved so dearly.
Had I lost him? Was I the one who killed him?
My heart ached so badly I could barely breathe. What did I do?
And what of Scarlet, Luna, and Callan? Did they make it?
