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“I . . . did you die too?” I whispered, hardly able to speak past the scratchiness of my throat.
“We don’t think so? The light came as he began pulling your . . . his hand out.” Esme only added more to the confusion inside my aching head. “You’ve been suspended by the land for over a week.”
“You scared us, Aria,” Zyion stated, his eyes slowly roving over my face.
Scanning his frame, I noted the bandage, which was obvious without a shirt covering his chest. I wanted to ask if he was okay, but my thoughts drifted back to the battle, flashing through my head on repeat.
Peering around, I noted the clearing was a large chamber. It wasn’t the forest where we’d previously been when I’d lost consciousness. How the hell had we been moved?
“Where are we?” I asked, returning my focus to Knox, who didn’t move at all.
“We’re in a chamber inside the library. I don’t know what the hell happened, but we’re here. You fought him, but you—weren’t doing so hot. He’d put up a shield, or Hecate had. We’re not sure about that one yet. However, it dropped, which allowed us to get closer to you, but a light shot through the ground, and everyone close to it ended up here.”
“It transported us to the library?” I asked, even more befuddled than before.
“Yeah, one of the larger chambers, from what we can tell.”
“That’s . . . weird.”
Knox’s face was slack, as if he’d died. It freaked my brain out, even if I knew the land was healing him. Why was the land healing him? Unless what Scylla said was true. If Draghana had indeed made a sacrifice, then there was another who could fight against Hecate, another part of the prophecy. Knox could be the one she’d been sacrificed to create. Had he known what he was?
“Peasant,” Greer’s soft, calming tone forced me to spin toward where it had sounded.
Greer’s eyes were rimmed with red, as if he’d been crying. Trying to stand, I whimpered as the searing, red-hot pain burned through my chest. Falling over, I barely prevented my face from connecting to the floor of the chamber as I pushed my palms down flat against it. The entire room spun around me. It caused my head to bob around drunkenly. Sitting back down, I tried not to add any more injuries.
“Slowly, Aria,” Greer offered, then knelt in front of me. “You’ve been floating in the light for a few days. You need to give yourself a moment.”
“Why isn’t he waking up?”
“We don’t know. We didn’t know why you weren’t, either. My guess is, the damage was more extensive than any of us realized it would be.” His explanation made sense, but didn’t ease the claws tearing through my mind. “Try to calm down. You’ve endured a lot of pain. Enough that we’ve listened to your screams through the walls for days now. Even asleep, you screamed in agony.”
“But Knox didn’t,” I pointed out, watching his face crumple. Turning back to take in his form, I forced my legs to support my weight. “Because we don’t know if he survived what she did to him. Right?” My heart squeezed painfully as I let the thought enter my mind. Hecate could even now be forcing more darkness into him. “Right?” I demanded again, wanting an answer to why he wasn’t coming out of it, since the land was tied to only me. Or was it?
“The moment the light shot up through the ground, I witnessed the darkness slithering out of him. Snake-like things, which then vanished in a cloud of smoke. As if they couldn’t survive being in the direct light, or the light the land released.” Killian offered, his hand touching my shoulder, then squeezing in silent reassurance.
“We should draw you a bath, then get something into you, Aria,” Greer said carefully, worry sharpening his expression. “Unless you don’t wish to leave him.”
“I want Knox to wake up,” I whispered as tears gripped my throat, choking the words off. “I don’t fucking care about me right now. I’ll be fine once he’s awake.” My words caused a bevy of worried whispers, which I ignored.
“We’re all just as concerned about you, Peasant.” He tipped his head, the worry turning to uneasiness, then fear for my health. “An hour ago, we didn’t even know if you would wake up. You’ve been like Knox for days, too. Knox is healing, but you can’t save him if you’re exhausted or become sick from neglecting your own needs.”
“We all want Knox to wake up. Knox wouldn’t want you to make yourself sick by ignoring your needs. Do you know if you . . . did you miscarry?” Brander’s eyes dipped to my middle, then drifted back to my face.
My hand moved to my abdomen, frowning as I felt a sob rock through me. “I don’t know.” A new worry joined the growing list of them. I’d not even thought about them after seeing Knox’s unmoving form.
“Then we should assume you didn’t lose them until we know otherwise. That means you need nourishment. He’s not going anywhere. We’ve had someone constantly on watch within the chamber since you both appeared inside of it.” His words were comforting, but I needed Knox to wake up. “Your shift is covered in blood, and there’s a rather large hole in it, Aria.”
I glanced down, finding the top ripped. Dragging my fingers over the gaping hole Knox had put in the fabric, I jerked my head back, drinking in the calmness of his face. The moment I reached for him in the light, he spun over, his head at an awkward angle from the light spinning him so his back was to the floor. Stepping closer to him, my hand slid over his naked chest, skimming over the sleek, hard muscles. Heat drifted over my palm, proving he was still alive.
“Knox, I need you. You have to come back to me,” I whispered, then lowered my head, placing my lips against his. “I love you. I can’t fight her without you beside me. You’re my fucking anchor. Without you, I’m adrift on a churning sea. Come back to me, monster.” Kissing his lips, then forehead, I turned, uncaring, who watched my foundation crumble.
Knox was my fucking air, and without it, I couldn’t breathe. He’d kept me grounded, as if I’d become unhinged without his strength. I didn’t want to lose him, nor could I survive if he was gone.
“Do we know if Hecate’s aware that he’s . . . gone?” My words cracked, refusing to come out as anything but broken.
“I’ve been keeping watch of the citadel. It’s a bevy of activity. There’s been an endless parade of dark witches converging into the city, then entering the gates. Hecate hasn’t been seen since we saw her with Knox inside the gates.” Zyion leaned against the farthest wall, his eyes scanning my face.
“Basilius, can you take dragon form?” I asked, even as my mind grasped onto a way to get inside the citadel.
