Page 128 of Dance of Stars and Ashes

“Zarya,” he growled, gently rolling her over.

Though she could barely move, she managed a small smile, loving how he said her name, like casting the world with the brightness of wildfire.

He scooped her up, cradling her in his arms as her head fell against his chest. He was so warm and solid, and she swore she could feel her heartbeat aligning with his as they fell into a parallel rhythm.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

“What happened?” he asked.

“It was Dhawan,” Zarya managed to croak around her dry throat. “He captured me so he could send me to Andhera—he must have told my father about me.”

Rabin’s arms stiffened beneath her, his grip tightening on her thighs. He placed a kiss on the top of her head. “You’re safe now. I won’t ever let anything happen to you. I swear it.”

“It hurts so much,” Zarya whispered, clinging to him, “I think I’m dying.”

“You are not dying,” he replied with a ferocious snarl.

Rabin lay her back down as she stared at the sky, inhaling wheezing breaths. As her heartbeat slowed, she felt herself slipping away.

Rabin placed his large hand against her stomach, where her wound throbbed, warmth flowing from his touch and into her. She whispered a breath of surprise as the pain trickled away, just for a moment, before it flooded back, ricocheting through her limbs. She jerked at the impact and groaned.

“I’m sorry,” Rabin said.

Her limbs were so heavy. Her eyelids fluttered open and closed, sound rushing through her ears, white and indistinct and roaring. Whatever waited for her on the other side of this life called to her—beckoned her with its soothing embrace. All she had to do was… let go.

“Zarya!” Rabin said. “You will hang on. Do you hear me?”

“What did you just do?” she whispered. “Did you feel that?”

Paramadhar.

She was more sure than ever now. He had started to heal her, and it had to be because of their connection.

“I did,” he said, and then he gave her a significant look that told her everything. While they hadn’t been given the opportunity to discuss it yet, his expression said it all. They were destined, and he was all in.

“Can you… fix it?”

“I don’t know,” he said, and then he placed his hands on her again, and she felt that same warmth stir to life, filling her with calm before it blew out like a match against a thunderstorm.

“Fuck,” Rabin swore, a sound of despair tearing from him. “I’m not strong enough to heal you alone. Zarya, I need you to help me. You can do this.”

He took her hand and crushed her fingers with his while he kept the other pressed against her wound. He stretched out next to her and whispered in her ear.

“You can’t die, Spitfire. I have waited too long for you.”

She heard him over the buzzing in her ears, feeling the earth-shattering plea in his voice. These words sang to her, lighting up that empty space that had always lived behind her heart.

“Tap into your magic, Zarya,” he said. “I need you to use it. Join your anchors. Just a little bit. Please. You can’t die. Do you hear me? You cannot fucking die.”

Zarya did as he asked, vaguely aware she would do anything he demanded of her. She was willingly at his mercy, like a disciple finding their god.

Dimly, her anchors flickered.

All six of them rose to her call, but the darkness didn’t offer seduction today. Today, it offered a lifeline.

She was dying. And she wasn’t ready to die yet. Her life had only just begun.

Rabin had said it wasn’t evil, and the darkness was only a form of strength and power. Strength she needed right now if she was going to avenge Yasen. If she was going to answer the promise of this connection between her and this man who’d swept into her life and changed everything.