I reveled in this. As I got closer to her men, I wondered if they would recognize my mask as one of their own. Probably not, so I needed to be cautious. I wasn’t about to die before ensuring Lina’s safety.
Then I saw her—and for a moment, the battlefield disappeared. God, she was breathtaking. Power and grace paired with death. The way she moved, the way she commanded, the way she killed without hesitation. She owned the fight, and she owned me.
And I owned her.
I sprinted toward her, dodging bursts of gunfire and killing anyone stupid enough to stand in my way. Her attention was locked on the enemy lines while I closed the distance between us.
I’d been staring at her for too long because neither Dorin nor I caught the two shooters zeroing in on them. Dorin reacted first, shoving Lina out of the way with enough force to send her into the dirt, hands barely cushioning the impact.
Her men scrambled to drag her out of the firing zone while Dorin and a few others attempted to return fire. The field was madness, bodies everywhere, groups scattered and outnumbered. Those two assholes kept advancing with terrifying precision.
As I closed in, I shot one of the men aiming for Dorin, but the other fired again, and a sharp, tearing pain ripped through my chest. I still managed to reach Dorin first, and a few of their subordinates rushed in right after.
Before my mask could slip, we dove behind a slab of metal for cover. With the speed I was moving and the force of the tackle, it made sense that Dorin ended up under me, pinned against the ground as bullets hammered above us.
Lina’s scream pierced through the commotion—a sound filled with agony that could’ve woken the dead. Why was she screaming? Who had been hurt? And why was Dorin staring at me like that? For a second, I entertained the idea of messing with him.
My arms faltered from holding my weight, and a sudden wave of weakness rolled through me. Voices fogged together in the noise, but Lina’s kept getting louder and more frantic.
A crooked grin tugged at my mouth when my gaze met Dorin’s. I expected annoyance. Maybe disappointment. Instead, I saw fear.
He flinched as droplets of blood splattered onto his cheek, staining his skin.
“Cezar—fuck, Cezar…” Dorin’s voice faltered, his eyes wide.
My vision blurred around the edges. Dorin, overcoming his shock, moved himself to anchor me as I collapsed. NowIwas the one lying on the ground with him over me.
“Just hold on, Cezar. Grab me something to stop the bleeding!” he screamed at one of the men.
Amidst my rapid blinking, I saw her—Lina—dropping to her knees beside me. More of her people appeared, finally stepping out of wherever the hell they’d been hiding. Smart. She’d been funneling them into one spot. I probably just fucked the whole thing up.
I really am a worthless piece of shit.
Lina cried out, “Cezar, no, fuck, please, no! Dorin, do something, please! Listen to me, can you hear me?” She grabbed my hand, and I attempted to squeeze hers back, but it didn’t work.
“It can’t end like this,” she cried. “Dorin, you have to save him. Please. Cezar, I’m so sorry.”
She kissed me. I fought to kiss her back, but all I felt was a crushing weight in my chest.
Unable to make out much of what Dorin was saying, but judging by Petal’s distress, I must have been shot. All that mattered was her safety. In barely a whisper, with her face close to mine, I managed, “Tell me, my Petal, that I took it like a good boy.”
And then everything went dark.
Chapter 28
ADELINA
The screams still rang in my ears. I hadn’t even realized it was me calling out for him. The son of my enemy.
It didn’t surprise me that he knew where we were, but why the hell would he come? And why now, when I never even got the chance to tell him I was sorry for how I reacted earlier?
“—Lina, Lina, hey, are you hearing me?” Dorin’s voice pried me from my hellish thoughts, his hands shaking me gently. All I could see was Cezar—covered in blood, collapsing into Dorin as he saved him. The bullet had been aimed at Dorin’s heart; instead, it marked Cezar’s.
Tears welled up uncontrollably as Dorin attempted to bring me back. The events kept replaying in my mind, no matter how hard I tried to ignore them. Over and over. Like punishment. Then the doctor walked in.
“All right, so he’ll be out for a while. He should make a full recovery. The bullet missed his heart by a margin. Landed just shy of the subclavian artery. You stopped the bleeding long enough to get him here. He’ll need physical therapy, and he can’t skip it unless he wants long-term damage. It’s going to hurt, but he’ll get most of his function back.”
I didn’t wait for another word. The momentrecoverhit my ears, I shoved past the doctor and rushed into the room where Cezar lay seemingly lifeless on the hospital bed.
