"Are you crazy? We can't move him until we get a doctor here. You either take charge and empty this goddamned room in peace or I'll have Isaac do it for you."
Rose. I couldn't speak clearly, but if I took breath, I would do whatever it took to keep her safe. I clawed at my brother's hand to get his attention and by the time he turned his worried gaze back to me I was ready to stab him through the heart for not getting the fucking message.
"What the fuck, Magnus? You need to stay still. Every move you make is going to push that poison deeper into your veins. You won't survive if it gets to your heart."
"Don't care," I pushed the mangled words through my lips. "Rose."
"What about her?"
"I'm here." She leaned over so her beautiful face filled my vision. She looked a little rough for wear, but we all did. "Just be still. We can talk this out later. I promise." She dropped back to my side and pressed more against the edges of my wound. I inwardly hissed, barely able to breathe through the pain.
I hated seeing her making a promise I knew she couldn't keep. The way this poison had already taken over, I had no doubt I was on nothing but borrowed time. So I had to use it to make it clear to Isaac that he had to keep her safe.
I turned back to my stupid brother and implored him to see what I wanted to say. If we were truly born of the same blood, then he would understand what I needed to communicate to him. I managed a growl that caught his dragon's attention as his eyes flared to yellow and then quickly back to green.
"What?" he asked.
I glanced back and forth between him and Rose several times until he finally lifted his gaze to my mate. "She's fine. Unhurt as far as I can see."
I growled again and raked my ragged nails against his wrist. His eyes flashed yellow again and this time they stayed focused on mine. I had no faith in telepathy between us at this point, but if his dragon took a moment to breathe, he'd know exactly what it was that had me panicked.
"I scent it now." His nostrils flared and his face morphed slightly more to the dragon and the man. I was supposed to be gratefulthat he'd finally picked up on what I was so worried about, but now the urge to stab him fought for space in my mind.
"Safe." I said on another croaked whisper. “You know what needs to be done, you asshole.” He frowned as if he'd either heard me or didn't understand. But I knew that was impossible. He had a mate and knew exactly how I would feel about mine being in danger without me.
"Done. I'll make sure she's safe. Now will you shut up and let us take care of this shit?"
"Who's safe," Rose asked.
Isaac could have answered her, but he chose to change the subject. "I think the guards are right. We need to get him out of here. Not only is this room not safe, but it's not exactly sanitary either if you know what I mean. I don't trust any of the lingering magic to help his cause."
I tried to groan, sliding my eyes shut. Clearly he'd spent far too much time with humans.
"He's not going anywhere. He killed our king."
"Your king was a piece of shit," Rose spat.
"You have no say here, you are nothing but a hu?—"
There was a lull in the mindless posturing of the guards, but I could see nothing. I was pretty sure my eyes were open, but there was nothing but darkness. Fuck. Not now. Not yet. I could feel the danger shimmering in the air and the scent hit me hard a moment before someone said the worst.
"What the fuck? She's dark fae!"
Chapter
Forty-Four
Rose
There was a lot of chaos,and I was struggling to focus. The blood coming from Magnus's side was so much worse than I realized and I had no idea how anyone could survive it, even if he was a strong dragon shifter made of magic.
As tears welled in my eyes I wanted to scream. I should have known. Revenge was a dicey pursuit at best, no matter how much it needed to be done.
A hand suddenly landed softly on my shoulder, and I turned, ready to bite it off. I didn't care what these people thought. Not a single one of these guards was going to get near my mate. Not again.
But it was Kitra standing behind me, not the king's men. "Are you okay?"
"No," I spat through gritted teeth.
