The world is nothing but absence. His soul is gone. And mine is shattering under the weight of it.
I don’t feel anything but pain anymore. I don’t even care if I live past this moment. I did everything I could. This was the only way I could fight. I gave everything I had. If he doesn’t come back… my twin soul… what use is there in fighting anymore? Who would I keep fighting for?
Neris feels like a raw wound inside my mind, bleeding all over my thoughts.She’s howling. We both are. His name, over and over, like a prayer to any god who would listen.
Draven, Draven, Draven.
The pain builds. My mind frays. I don’t know how long passes. Time slips away.
Through the agony, I feel a cold hand brushing the top of my head.
“You cry too loud,” a dark voice says. Low. Deep. Like a growl buried in shadows. And then, that cold touch is gone.
The next moment, I feel it. A beat. Weak, but there. Inside Draven’s chest. And then another one. And another.
I gasp, ripping my fangs from Draven’s neck, pressing my ear to his chest.
It’s real. It’s real. His heart is beating.
I dissolve into sobs, joy and agony mixing into something feral inside of me. My whole body is shaking with it.
His arms suddenly come around me, hugging me tight. Desperate. Possessive.
My breath leaves me all at once. The pain vanishes like it was never there. And our bond blazes back to life. Not just whole, but unbreakable. Brighter than anything I’ve ever felt.
“I love you too,” he whispers against my skin. That voice. That voice — deep and raw and his. Just like that, I break all over again.
“You heard that?” I sob, the words catching in my throat. Relief floods my entire body. He’s back, he’s alive.
“It was the only thing that got through,” he murmurs. “Your voice.”
He pulls back, cradling my face in his hand. Tilts my chin up. His storm-blue eyes are back, full of light. Full of him. No more red.
And there, at the corner of his mouth, is the ghost of a smile.
My mate is back.
“I’ll fucking kill you all!” the witch’s voice cracks through the air, venom and hate laced in every word.
Shit. I forgot about her.
Draven’s smile vanishes in an instant. Silver floods his eyes like moonlight swallowing the night sky. Before I can blink, he’s on his feet, lifting me with him. My legs instinctively lock around his waist.
He gives me a kiss. Short, sharp and sweet. Then he sets me down — careful, but fast.
My gaze instantly drops to his chest. Nothing. No dark bruise. No sign of the wound I carved there to bring him back. Just perfect, unmarred skin. I want to seemymark, my name seared into him, but he’s too damn tall.
All the air leaves my lungs when his wings explode from his back. Massive, blinding and on fucking fire!
“What the hell, Draven? You’re on fire!” I shout, stumbling back.
He smirks. Dark. Dangerous. Like he knows what he’s become.
“Yeah, I am,” he says, voice like velvet. Then with a single sweep of his hand, a circle of fire bursts to life around me. Waist-high flames that crackle and dance like they’re alive.
“My fire won’t hurt you,” he murmurs, eyes flicking over me. “But it’ll burn everything and everyone else. Stay inside the ring, Kassira. Don’t move. I need you safe.”
I keep my mouth shut. Let him do his thing. I’ll gladly watch from my privileged position.
