Instinct had me reaching for the fire that’d tortured me all my life. To slam heat into her and erase the cold stealing everything but...
Nothing.
Not a single flame or spark.
That...wasn’t possible.
Ithadto be there. It had to be. It was the only thing that could save—
A concussive blastexplodedfrom her.
It slammed into me with a teeth-rattling punch, knocking me flat on my back.
Scrambling upright, I grabbed her close again. Her skin broke apart with the brightest light. Silver and white, sterling and blinding. The hair on the back of my arms stood up as she seized in my embrace. Another shockwave of power escaped as her hair twirled, unravelling like ribbons, vanishing into the arctic wind.
“Rook!”
What the fuck was I supposed to do?!
Resting my cheek on the top of her head, I smoothed down her long hair, trying to hold all her pieces together as she continued to shatter. “Wake up. Youhaveto wake up.”
Everything about her was wrong and cold and...empty.
Flinging open every barrier I still had between me and the torturous fire, I commanded it to obey me andhelpher.
My heart coughed with smoke. The tiniest flame spluttered out as quickly as it sparked.
The fire—the same power that’d made my entire life a misery—chose that moment to abandon me.
I wouldn’t let her die.
I’d told her that.
She would never be free of me because I wouldn’t fucking allow it.
“You’re not leaving.” Sinking into the smoky chambers of my heart, I commanded the fire to answer. It spluttered weakly again, giving me a single ember.
Fuck,why?
Whywas it so weak? What the hell happened to make me thisuseless?
My pulse pounded as Rook kept slipping.
What else was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to stop her dying?
Blood.
Hurry.
“You’ll be okay.” I brought my wrist to my mouth and tore like a beast. Blood welled—not gold like before or even crimson, but a thick, tarry black that looked as if I’d been dead for decades.
I didn’t care.
Pressing the bleeding wound to her blue-tinged lips, I begged, “Just a few sips, alright? Drink and you’ll wake up.”
She didn’t react.
Black blood smeared her lips.
