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Everything can be wiped away in a second.
“Angel,” Adrian breathes as he sinks to his knees beside me, his arms wrapping around me like the same thought just dawned on him too, like he’s clinging to me as if I might disappear before his eyes.
“Sweetheart,” Kyros breathes and kneels on my other side. His hand clasps mine, and I let the warm, comforting heat of his touch seep into my skin.
I suck in a staggered breath, taking a moment to be grateful for each of my four mates. Maximus will be out soon and no one is hurt, that’s what should matter, but I can’t help but think about how easily Romulus wiped a place out that meant so much to us.
“What would’ve happened if we were in there, or if Nelle—” I cut myself off, turning a pleading glance on Kyros, and he shakes his head.
“Everyone was out at the arena today,” Kyros confirms, squeezing my hand. “Your father went down to make sure.”
I sigh in relief and focus back on the ruins before us, unable to take my focus off of it. “I thought this was it, that we’d finally be able to stop him once and for all, that we’d get the life we pictured that night in Ethereal … but he’s always ten steps ahead of us.”
“I know I should be grateful that he didn’t get to the school, and that no one is injured, but even when we get Maximus out, we’re back where we started. He’s won yet again.”
“Don’t say that, angel,” Adrian murmurs, curling a finger under my chin to meet his crystal blue eyes, even in the faint moonlight they shine like a beacon, always letting me know that I’m home, that I’m safe. “He hasn’t won anything. This is a war, not a battle.”
“How many times can we tell ourselves that without losing hope?” I ask, tugging my chin free so I don’t have to see the pain in his gaze. “This house was ours, and now it just feels like everything we built has been destroyed, and everything we dreamt of is too far to reach—perpetually moving farther and farther away with every day that passes.”
“Olivia.” Kyros seems to break as he says my name. “I promise you, we’ll find a way. Just please don’t lose hope.”
His honey-brown eyes glimmer with unshed tears in the silver moonlight. I wish I could cry, I wish I could unleash the despair piercing through my chest, dispel it and let hope surge again, but it’s no use. I’m numb. My emotions and energy are completely drained.
“I felt the same way when I saw this; I felt as though all was lost, but it isn’t,” Kyros pleads, a crease forming between his brows as he pulls my hand into his lap. “We have so much to look forward to, so much to live for. Please, just don’t give up.”
A dark cloud had seemed to be looming over Kyros before, but it’s as if seeing me dip into that same abyss has snapped him out of it. My eyes shutter, and I pull in a deep breath, wishing I could turn back time, that I could stop us from even following Kallen to that damn cave, but I can’t—just like I can’t just climb out of this hole I’ve plummeted into.
That ember of hope I felt flickering in my chest before seems to be snuffed out now, leaving my heart a cold and empty void.
“Let’s just find a place to sleep for the night,” I murmur, tugging my hand from Kyros’ and pulling myself to my feet with the last of my strength. Adrian’s hands tighten around my waist as he stands with me, but I pull out of his grasp, needing to feel the cool breeze across my skin. I hate the way that their touch doesn’t light the same fire in me that it usually would, that it doesn’t warm my soul and comfort me, but right now … I can’t feel anything.
Chapter Twenty-One
Adrian
“I’mworriedabouther,”Kyros murmurs, glancing at the door to the dorm room longingly.
I suck in a long, calming breath and nod in agreement. Looking around the hallway, I make sure there’s no one here before discussing what we’re going to do when we go back to Liv.
“Did you tell Osias?” I ask, scrubbing a hand over my face.
“No, I wasn’t sure it was the right time, not with the preparations and Octavia choosing to stay in the infernal realm. He’s about to go back and relieve her for the night,” Kyros says, and I nod, knowing it wouldn’t be long until he joined his mate. I would do the same thing too.
I glance at the door. If only there was something to help my mate through this. Seeing the manor was hard, but she’s my home, not some silly house.
“That’s for the best.” I sigh, wishing I could take away the doubt curling around her mind like a plague, but keeping this to ourselves is the best course of action. If we let anyone else see the hopelessness that sapped the life from my normally vivacious mate, it could spread like wildfire.
“Is she sleeping?” Kyros asks, and I shake my head. “We should be in there with her, maybe that will help?”
Kyros grimaces, but wipes the expression from his face as he opens the door, and I do the same, doing my best to stay positive and reassuring. My chest tightens as the door opens, revealing the small dorm room. The orb light is dimmed, barely illuminating the small bedroom. My thoughts immediately go to the first day I brought Liv to the school. She was terrified, yet instead of cowering, she lashed out and came at me with her heels, like that would really do anything to me.
The bond had pulsed between us since the first moment I locked eyes with her. She felt me from across the dance floor, just as I was immediately drawn to her—she just hadn’t known what it meant yet. But I did.
Some days I wish the illusion had been the truth, that we could’ve been just magnetically drawn to each other, and lived a human life together—but that wasn’t meant for either of us.
A grin curls on my lips as I stroll over to the side of the bed and place a kiss on her cheek, remembering the first dorm room she was in, when I promised her that even though the pull she felt for me was sudden, it was right. My heart warms, knowing that version of my mate is buried under these covers somewhere, I just have to find her. I magically strip my clothes off and I climb under the blankets with her in only my boxers, curling my body around her. I expect her to lean back against me, to feel her back against my chest, her heart beating next time mine, yet she stays still.
Kyros closes the door and sheds his clothes before climbing onto the other side of the bed. He wraps an arm around her waist, his hand sliding against the thin silk nightgown clinging to her skin. Nothing.
