Kevin huffs, turning his face toward the tunnel entrance. The hair at the back of his long neck stands on end, and a low growl rumbles in his throat as a whooshing sound echoes into the chamber.
“Oh my God,” I whisper. “They’re back…”
As the sound of flapping wings grows louder, I resist the urge to run toward the mouth of the tunnel, knowing there’s a good chance they will crash into me on their way out.
A moment later, Nyx flies through the mouth of the tunnel, his expression twisted with exhaustion and a layer of blue-black blood splattered across his face and chest. Just behind him is Dravik, his wings beating the air frantically as he tries to hold himself aloft. Rhune is clutched in Dravik’s arms, his body limp and nearly too heavy for Dravik to handle.
“Drop him here!” Nyx yells, laying out a fur haphazardly in the center of the floor. “Quickly!”
Dravik does as he says, being careful to support Rhune’s head as he lays him gently on the blanket. As soon as he’s flat on the ground, Nyx places his hand on Rhune’s chest, his face contorting with effort as a dark blur of light beams from the base of his palm.
Kevin bleats, breaking me from the spell I was under, and I rush over to Rhune’s side, quickly taking stock of his injuries. His left arm has nearly been ripped off, and it lies limp at his side, attached to his shoulder by nothing more than a few ligaments. Deep gashes litter his torso and neck, oozing thick blue-black blood—so much of it, I wonder how in the world he’s still alive.
“Rhune,” I whisper in a broken voice. “Poor, sweet Rhune…”
At the sound of my voice, Rhune’s eyes spring open, fixing on my face with a look of ravenous hunger. “Willow,” he rasps. He extends his good arm toward me, clutching something tight in his bloodied palm. “My… Willow…”
“Rest yourself, Rhune,” Dravik orders, trying to push his arm back to his side.
“N-No,” he croaks. “Have to… found it… finally…”
Rhune fights him with all his strength, so determined that Dravik gives up and allows Rhune to extend his fist toward me.
“For… you…” One by one, his fingers uncurl, revealing a small golden locket resting in the center of his palm. And though it’s covered in blood and dirt, I’d recognize the intricate carvings on the necklace’s face anywhere.
My locket. The one I lost in the forest.
“You… you found it,” I whisper, too stunned to move. “You really found it for me…”
“For you,” he croaks. “Always for you.” With the last of his strength, he presses the necklace into my waiting palm, coating my skin in the same warm blood covering his.
“Please,” he whispers. “Forgive me.”
As the last syllable falls from his lips, Rhune’s arm falls limp to his side, and he passes out from the pain.
“Shit!” Dravik rushes to place his palms to Rhune’s shoulder, and his brows furrow in concentration as he pushes healing magic into Rhune’s injuries—but I can’t help but notice how slow it seems to be working.
“Stupid, stupid demon,” Nyx growls. “He was probably so excited to get back to this world when he found that necklace that he didn’t bother to feed and replenish his strength.”
“I don’t understand,” I say. “This is all because he wanted to get my necklace back?” My stomach twists with guilt. “God… if only I didn’t send him away. He never would have gone out, he never would be like this.” Tears prick my vision as I reach out to Rhune, placing my hand lightly on his abdomen. “I’m so sorry, Rhune.”
“It’s not your faultat all,Willow.” Nyx’s expression twists with agony. “I’m the one who told him to go back to the human realm to get your necklace. I thought it would help you forgive him. And, selfishly, I thought it would help you forgivemefor having the idea.” He shakes his head, utterly dejected. “Here is what my selfishness has done. Poor Rhune…”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“Hopefully… he lost a lot of his life essence,” Nyx says. “He’s lucky he didn’t lose his arm. When he traveled from your world to here, he likely didn’t have enough energy to hold his body together. When he entered the portal, it tore him apart.”
“Oh my God,” I whisper. “And he did this all for a necklace?”
“Yournecklace. It was important to you, and so it was worth dying to him.”
Nyx’s words shake me to my core. I barely know Rhune, yet he’s shown me more devotion with this single action than my ex showed in all the years we were together.
And just when I’ve finally come to realize it, Rhune might die.
“You can’t die,” I order, tears pricking the corners of my vision. “You just… you can’t. You have to hold on, Rhune. You have tofight.For us.”
“If I know one thing about Rhune, it’s that he will fight for you,” Dravik says. “We’re going to get him patched up, Willow. He looks pretty bad now, but we’ve been through worse and survived.”
