My dragon who is thrilled as shit to be lying next to his mate in her dragon form despite our current predicament.
Go do what you were born to do, sugar. Defend your clan, avenge them, protect your people. Do what you were born to do, Kai, and do it with all my love supporting you.
I get to my feet, my dragon nuzzling hers because he has to and when Posey takes a deep breath, sighs through her nose, I spin just in time to see Cyril's ugly beast break whatever hold was put over him.
We circle each other, each of us holding back our troops; my brothers on the ready, his men much the same.
A surge of power shoots through me and I glance back at my mate, finding her still lying on the ground, watching me and when she snorts, nods her gorgeous head, I channel a power that comes straight from her.
I enclose Cyril and I in a ring of black and red flames, flames that separate us from everyone else because this is my fight, my fight to prove I am the king they need, my fight to prove I am the king they deserve.
Then I lunge, lunge at the bastard that has made my life hell since I was a boy and when I feel the satisfying dig of my talons into his scales, the way I'm able to pop them free and expose raw flesh, I grin.
This is the power Henrich spoke of, the extra power gifted to me by my beloved mate.
The fight commences outside the ring of fire but I remain focused, stay steadfast in my revenge and within minutes I have Cyril pinned to the ground, his throat in my mouth.
For Bozidar the Great. For my mother, sisters, my family, and clan. For my people that were mercilessly slaughtered along with them,I think as my fangs sink deeper into his flesh.And for my mate, for my beloved and all the pain you have caused her. I take your head now as tribute to those we love, those we lost and the future you can no longer destroy.
With one quick twist of my jaw, Cyril lets out a shrill scream as his head pops from his body as easily as a dandelion from the stem.
I shuffle back a few steps, watch until his body stops twitching and once it does, my circle of fire dies down and rolls back into my body as if it were never there to begin with.
The remaining Molnarva are retreating, countless bodies litter the valley but when I look around I don't see what I was expecting.
No, quite the opposite.
Our clan, our people as well as my brothers all huddle together in their human forms around something, most of them bleeding, injured. Poor Grace actually seems to be almost missing an eye but I instantly know that is not why she cries.
I shift back to my human form immediately then muscle my way through our clan only to have all the air knocked out of me before I drop to my knees.
Posey, my Josephine, lies in her human form, her body unmoving save for the way her chest pumps frantically to draw breath.
Her head is in Hank's lap, resting on a backpack, the one she was supposed to be carrying with the sawed-off attached.
He is crying, stroking her hair, his tears mixing with blood as they roll down his cheeks.
And my beautiful mate, her eyes are closed, her golden tan skin an ashen almost gray color.
That's when the pain sets in.
The pain I felt before she forced me to shift.
The pain that was excruciating before I went into shock and I can feel that now coursing through my mate.
So I scan her body and have to choke back a sob at what I see.
A huge, gaping wound is in her side, the placement the same as it was on mine, the point of entry black as well as the veins surrounding it and I can actually see the poison as it travels toward her heart.
"No..." I drop further to my hands and crawl over to her. "No, no, I will not allow this, Josephine. I will not allow you to take on my pain, my wound just so I may live without you." I grip her neck, feeling how faint her pulse is. "I will not allow you to leave me, Josephine! I forbid it!"
Her eyes flutter, struggle to open. "It's too late, sugar, I'm already gone."
"No!" I scream as I pull her from Hank's lap, cradling her to my chest and wrap her in my arms. "No! I forbid it! I forbid you, as your king, as your mate, I forbid you from leaving me!"
Posey's eyes finally open and connect with mine immediately, eyes that are still white with the faintest touch of green. "I love you, Kasimir. Yesterday, today, and always."
"No, Josephine, please," I sob. "Please do not go, do not leave me." I lean down and press a kiss to her lips, my heart breaking as she barely kisses me back. "I need you, beloved, need you with me. I love you, please, please don't go."
