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Magic continues to fly, but my stomach drops as the giant’s fist squeezes around Azarius’ body, constricting him until he cries out. The blood drains from my face and I dive, unsure if there’s anything I can do until the monster releases him.If he doesn’t squeeze him to death first.
“Azarius!” I pump my wings faster, ignoring the pain shooting through my right side. Azarius’ eyes flash in my direction before they squeeze closed tightly and he chokes on a yell. “Fuck. No. Azarius!”
Claws extended, I attack the monster’s hand. It’s futile, like clawing against volcanic stone and barely making a scratch, but I try nevertheless. Azarius’ eyes are closed, a pained expression contorting his features, and my heart lurches.
An onslaught of magic slams into the Malev, too many spells to count, along with Rafe’s massive black form. Thick skin crunches and breaks beneath the force pounding against it, and the Malev’s grip on Azarius loosens. Az slips out of its fist, plummeting toward the ground like a stone, and I dive.
His body is limp when I catch it, pulling him to me as I carry us unsteadily to the ground. The added weight, coupled with my injured wing, makes it nearly impossible to land gracefully, and I halfway crash to the ground with him in my arms.
Gravel bites into my skin, but I ignore it as I lower Azarius carefully to the ground.
“Az,” I say, shaking him gently. “Azarius, are you okay?”
When he doesn’t move, my stomach knots painfully, and I nervously check for a pulse on the side of his neck. It’s beating, barely, but that doesn’t give me hope the way it should.
My eyes trail to his chest, where a dark purple bruise is quickly spreading across his pale skin. It creeps across his chest, spreads to his abdomen, and I notice for the first time his misshapen ribs.
Ice shoots through my veins, and my breath catches in my lungs. Everything around me slows to a haunt as the severity of his injuries sink in, and I can’t think. I can’t move.
Even when Devyn screams my name from somewhere in the distance, I can’t react.
I can only stare at Azarius’ unmoving form, praying things aren’t as bad as they seem. I might give him hell, but Az is the closest thing to family that I have. He’s my best friend. He can’t give up.He can’t die.
Devyn runs up and drops to her knees on the other side of him, panting and trying to catch her breath.
“Elio, is he okay?” she asks, gently brushing his blond hair back.
I drag my eyes up to meet hers, wanting with every fiber of my being to tell her yes, he’s fine. But I know I can’t. As much as I don’t want to admit it, not even to myself, I already know his injuries are bad. Fatal.
I try to open my mouth, to say anything at all, but the lump in my throat won’t let me. I just stare into her gaze, hoping my silence says it all for me.
“Elio,” she says, her voice cracking. Her eyes fall to Azarius’ solemn face, and she cups his face with her hand. “No, he has to be okay. He’s going to be fine.”
The giant Malev falls to the ground, swarmed by the rest of the monsters on the field, but I’m unable to move. Frozen to the spot.
Even if we win this war right now, it won’t mean nearly as much if Azarius isn’t here to celebrate it with us. For me, it won’t mean anything at all.
ChapterThirty-Six
DEVYN
It takes everything in me to not burst into tears as I stare down at Azarius’ body. The bruise spreading across his chest is darkening, making my stomach turn, and I taste bile.
No.
I scoot closer, scooping his head up into my lap and brushing the backs of my fingers along his jawline.
“Azarius, can you hear me?” I ask, fighting the wobble in my voice. “I love you. Please, wake up.”
I’m vaguely aware of the fight happening nearby, the monsters quickly overwhelming the giant Malev. The warlocks and Azarius played a huge role in tilting the fight in our favor, but that tilt might have cost me one of the most important fighters on the field.
Azarius, the man who saved my life. He stood up to Rafe and claimed me as his mate to save my life. He fought for me from the beginning, believed there was something special about me, and never wavered in his feelings for me.
Such a kind and gentle soul, so caring and selfless. So perfectly and completelymine.
But none of that is enough to save him.
Roars explode across the clearance, every monster celebrating as the giant Malev stills and doesn’t move again. At the same time, every remaining demon around us crumples to the ground and dies. Whatever that giant was, their life forces must have been tied to it.
