I attempted to shake my head and move from under him, but his knee only pushed against my armor more, making me grit my teeth at the pinch of pain from the pressure pressing down on me.
“Your time to save yourself is running out,” Lazarus sang as his steps drew closer. He stilled when he stood to my right, giving him a close up of the agony that was sure to come.
It’s the only way. I have lived a long life, Kyella, and there is nothing I would rather do than give my life for you to bring peace to the empires.
His kind words only served to further tear me apart inside. How could someone so good and selfless be meant to meet such a horrible fate?
His grip loosened slightly, and hope filled me for a blind moment. For a short second, I believed that I could break away from him and gain the space I needed to breathe properly and attack Lazarus…until I felt the cold bite of steel pressing against my throat in place of the hand that had been there half a second before.
Malice radiated in his gaze as he bore his fangs with a hiss.
He was going to slit my throat—Lazarus was going to make him slit my throat.
“If you don’t fight him back, I will make him use your own weapon against you, love,” Lazarus taunted, glee dripping from each word as he watched how distraught this situation he’d put us in made me. Crouching down to be closer to my level, he reached out to brush a strand of my hair behind my ear.
I wanted to cut his fucking hand off.
Risking the blade against my throat, I snapped my head to the side in an attempt to bite his hand as I had done Malakai, but searing pain bloomed as the blade cut into my skin, deep enough for blood to pour across my neck, soaking into my hair.
Lazarus tsked at me as he yanked his hand back and pushed to his feet. “Ah, ah. That’s not the way to earn my love, Kyella.” His eyes narrowed to slits as he sneered down at me. “Truly, I’ve given you too many chances to prove your loyalty. Make your choice, now.”
Tears blurred my vision as dire reality set in. I couldn’t lay here and refuse to fight or do anything, any longer, but I couldn’t bring myself to hurt Barnabus or accept that he needed to ingest the Evathrina.
There had to be another way, I just needed more time to figure it out.
I knew the wound on my neck would heal. I could tell that the blade hadn’t nicked anything vital as the blood flow was already staunched, and I could feel the skin beginning to stitch back together.
Prepare yourself…I’m going to focus all the energy I have left into one moment to break free. I will not hurt you anymore. I simply cannot bear it.
My chest squeezed at his words. How could he expect me to just accept this?
“Please, no,” I pleaded hoarsely. Each word I forced out felt like choking on a rock with the way the delicate skin felt raw and bruised.
I knew Lazarus would think I was talking to him, but my words were for my companion. The friend who had steadfastly stood by my side and convinced me that I could accomplish the dream he, Myrin, and I had stood for.
While we hadn’t had the chance to spend many of our days together, in the short time I’d been gifted the ability to communicate with him, he’d become so dear to me. He saved my life multiple times, and he thought now I would be able to watch as he ended his own?
I couldn’t picture a world in which the dream ended in not having him and Myrin by my side. My heart couldn’t bear losing another friend.
But time wasn’t on my side, and just as helplessness washed over me at the crossroads I faced, Barnabus’ gaze cleared of all the anger Lazarus had forced upon him. My old friend offered me a soft smile before he moved like lightning, dropping the dagger near my hand and hurling himself away from me.
It was as if I watched in slow motion as he pulled the Evathrina from his pocket in midair and put it in his mouth before he crashed to the ground on his side, staring directly at me with that same smile on his face.
I watched his throat bob as he swallowed.
A frenzied clap echoed through the room as Lazarus let out a maniacal laugh, “So, the trash took itself out. Splendid.”
No.
No.
No!
“Barnabus!” I screamed, not caring about the pain flaring through my throat as I struggled to push myself up.
Nor did I care about Lazarus at that moment. All I cared about was getting to my friend's side as I stumbled to my feet and closed the distance between us. I collapsed on my knees in front of him, hands shaking as I reached for him. His body was completely still, as if he was paralyzed from the toxin before he began to spasm.
I rushed to cradle his head as it started to bang against the floor harshly, his body beginning to convulse. “Barnabus! No!” A sob hitched in my throat, nearly hyperventilating as I tried to think of all the ways to remove the flower from his system. “Tell me what to do! How do I fix this?! You can’t die!”
