“He thought you might need me,” she whispers as I fall into her.
With the anger and resentment no longer taking over, the realization that I may never see him again comes crashing down on top of me. My heart feels like it’s being torn from my chest as the feelings I used to have for him come rushing back. Amaya cradles me in her arms on the ground, stroking my hair as my cries drown out her soft words trying to comfort me.
Every part of me knows that the Damien I loved and maybe still do love is still in there. I want to rush back in and rip him from those chains and tell him to run, but too much of me knows that even if I release him, he’s still a prisoner to the king and the curse. That’s not a life I want him to live, even if it meant saving him from death. The only thing I can do now is pray to The Mother to bring him back to me. His life is in her hands now.
Chapter 27
Ryder
“How is she doing?” I ask Amaya when I find her in the Center, cutting down her invisible opponents.
She stops and sheathes her weapon behind her back in an impressively smooth motion. “She’s heartbroken,” she answers, looking down at a point on the mat. “Did you know about the spell that separates his mind?”
“I only just found out myself when I went to see him after Reign’s visit.” She remains quiet like she’s trying to figure out if she believes me or not. “I would’ve told Reign if I had known. I promised her no more secrets and I don’t intend on breaking it.”
She finally looks up at me. “If he doesn’t make it, she’s going to need all of us. That includes you, too.” Her eyes narrow on me in warning. “Don’t screw it up this time.”
“You have permission to kill me if I do.” The offer seems to earn me a small smile that I’ll gladly take.
“When is it happening?”
“He’s already had the tea with the elixir in it. Myra will release the gas about half an hour from now.”
“Come to me first if he doesn’t make it so that I can be there when you tell her.”
“I will,” I promise, and I wonder what it must be like to have a friend like Amaya. She’s fiercely protective and loyal in a way that most people aren’t. With all of the heartache Reign has been put through, I have no doubt that Amaya was sent to her from The Mother to help her through it all. If I believed in soul ties, the two of them are what I would imagine the connection to be like. Undeniable and transcending all definitions of love.
Myra is already waiting when I arrive. Creating a deadly gas is the highest level of magic a wind witch can manifest. We only have five of them here in the Shadow Lands who can do it and Myra is by far the most experienced.
“Everything is set,” she reports. “Just waiting on your order.”
Once I give her the go-ahead, there’s no turning back. I’ve run through it a hundred times over in my head and this is the only way. Unfortunately, knowing that doesn’t make the call any easier to make.
“Do it,” I command before I talk myself out of it altogether.
The door has already been magically sealed so that the gas can’t escape. I won’t know it’s all cleared until she comes back out, but I told her to give it five minutes before pulling the gas back.
Five minutes feels like twenty as I wait for her to open the door. Henry’s anxious energy is rubbing off on me each time he paces back and forth in front of me.
“It’s going to work,” he whispers more to himself than to me. “You’ve done the calculations right. Everything is going to be fine.”
When Myra swings the door open, my heart stops beating.
“It’s done. He’s out.”
I do my best to keep my composure as I take in the sight of his body still chained to the slab. Henry checks his pulse for good measure and nods to me.
“Please let this work,” I say out loud before giving Henry the order to continue with the serum.
After he injects the full syringe into Damien’s veins, the two of us stand like statues waiting for any sign of life to return. As the seconds tick past, images of Reign’s heartbroken face begin to flash in my mind.
How am I going to tell her he’s dead, and he’s not coming back? That I couldn’t save him?
“I don’t understand,” Henry says as he continues his anxious pacing. “It should’ve worked. It should’ve brought him—”
A gasp explodes from Damien as he shoots up, almost pulling the chains from the stone. I’m too stunned to move, but Henry already has his hands all over Damien who looks like he just saw a ghost.
“Let me check your pulse,” Henry insists, pressing two fingers against his neck.
