Is this how it goes? Are we going to burn from the inside?
“Donovan,” she tries to call out, but her voice cracks. Her eyes flare with something I can’t explain.
The air becomes charged.
I wiggle like a jackass until I’m flush against her body.
“I’m here,” I whisper.
We’re not going out like this.
My gaze catches on the cut along her hairline. It’s stopped bleeding, but it’s deep enough that it wouldn’t take much to open the wound again.
I run my tongue over my bottom lip as an idea comes to mind. I’ve got to at least try.
“Look at me,” I say so low only she can hear. I see the emotions fighting in her eyes. She’s doing her best to control them. I hold her gaze as I press my forehead against hers. I can’t hold her hand, but at least this is some sort of connection between us. I don’t hesitate as I say the next words. “My heart is in your hands, and yours in mine. I will protect it and bring no harm to it.”
I’m taking a chance, hoping that since she said the words in the early hours of this morning, it will still work. It might be bordering on trickery, but I don’t fucking care at this point. It’s not just about saving our lives. Astra is mine, and I will make it so everyone fucking knows it.
She gasps, but I don’t stop to soak in her expression. I’ll probably regret that later when we make it out of this. I bite my bottom lip until I can taste the blood oozing from the split there.Then I press my lips against her forehead, licking her wound open. Her blood is sweet in my mouth.
I want to feel something as our blood mixes. I want to know it’s the end of this damn curse. But nothing changes.
Maybe I was wrong.
Fuck, I hate this.
Aubert’s laugh rings out in the background.
Astra is fading before me.
“Thank you,” she whispers with a weak smile.
“Don’t leave me. Don’t…” I choke back my emotions. “I love you.”
“You do?”
“I really fucking do. You’re mine, My Beauty. And this won’t be the end.”
I get to my feet, hating the fact that I have to leave her behind.
All my energy goes to pushing away the fire burning through my veins and the lines stretching out on my skin, which are starting to make everything feel tight.
Fabien’s eyes are wide as I come at him, but he snaps out of it at the last second and remembers the silent exchange we had not even five minutes ago.
I turn around, Fabien slices through the rope binding me, and a second later, my hand is wrapped around my blade. I’m surprised it plays out so smoothly. It’s almost a fucking miracle at this point.
Aubert stops laughing the moment he notices I’m on my feet and coming for him.
He puts his hand up, the flash of the red jewel of his pinky ring catching the light.
“The ring,” Fabien says the moment it clicks in my head.
Shots ring out behind me.
There’s a commotion, but strangely, it doesn’t sound like it’s coming for me. I don’t dare take my eyes off of Aubert, so I have no clue what’s going on.
A new sensation flows through me, and though I can’t fucking explain it, IknowAstra is okay. I canfeelher.
