Silence ensued, though it was clear that Bastian and Gabe understood what had happened. They wore twin grim expressions, ones that had quickly replaced the shocked looks they’d worn for half a second upon first seeing me.
My chest clenched and a wet cough forced itself through my throat as the world spun on its axis. Wetness coated my lips, and I knew without tasting the liquid that it was blood. The tangy tastes of copper and impending death tinged my tastebuds, and I couldn’t say that I was a fan of the flavor.
Kieran grabbed my hand, squeezing as she waited for me to settle before glancing back at Ronan. “ThisisNiz, Ronan. I saw him transform into this form at the very last moment before his wyvern form would have hit the ground.”
Ronan froze as he stared down at me, brows raised and head titled before he opened his mouth, likely to deny it once more. His mouth closed and opened again as he shook his head from side to side. After a moment, he finally muttered, “No…that…that isn’t possible…”
Bastian cut him off, walking to my side before dropping to rest on the balls of his feet. “You look like shit, bud.”
A strangled laugh turned into a choking cough, but I couldn’t help it. Bastian was definitely my favorite to fuck with in wyvern form, so I couldn’t blame him for doing it in return now that he had a chance.
Anger swirled in the depths of Kieran’s eyes and she reached out to swat his arm as she reprimanded, “Bastian! Read the room!”
“What, you don’t want to be my friend anymore?” I joked softly, intrigued as his swirling eyes settled into a pale blue.“Here I was thinking about giving in to your attempts, at long last.”
He turned his head up in indignation, showing off the crimson splatters soaked into his white hair on that side of his head. “It’s too late for that. You missed out on a good thing. Once you’re healed up, we’ll see who’s begging who to be friends. Mark my words, wyvern.”
“As…” Gabe began, seeming confused and struggling to find the words. His brows furrowed, lips pulling into a tight line as his chest heaved with a heavy breath. Couldn’t say I blamed him. “…touching,” he finally settled on with a heavy exhale, “as this is between you both, we need to get him to the medical center,now.”
“But how are we going to get him to the medical center through the battle?” Kieran questioned as she backed up, allowing Gabe the space to lean down at my side.
He grunted as he and Bastian worked as a unit, picking me up between them as gingerly as they could. “We managed to push them back to the edge of our territory, so there’s a small path of reprieve now.”
I gritted my teeth, hard, trying to not cry out in pain at the way my body jostled as they began to move. I had to give it to them, though, they didn’t even blink twice at carrying a naked man.
My heart plummeted as we passed Ronan. He stood, stoic, eyes glued to the spot where I had fallen, as if searching for the wyvern he loved.
“I’m right here, Ronan,” I whispered in confirmation, needing him to accept this truth before there wasn’t time left.
The silence was deafening as we left him behind, and the gaze I felt on the back of my head as the distance between us grew remained strong. He wasn’t coming with us. He wasn’t accepting this.
Suddenly the thought of him not being by my side in the end, alongside Kieran, made my chest seize, panic clawing at my mind.
“Kieran,” I whimpered as a fresh wave of pain crawled through my body, causing my eyes to flutter closed briefly. “I need him there. Please.”
While we didn’t have the usual bond between a Tamer and beast, due to my dual nature, the side of me that was pure beast yearned for him like a part of my pack. So, as I felt the distance between us grow physically and mentally, the wyvern inside of me cried out in pain.
Perhaps it was selfish of me to expect him to be with me—after keeping my identity a secret—but I’d thought our bond might still be strong enough for him to look past it, if just for these final moments.
“I’ll try,” she breathed out, eyes hardening in the split second she glanced around us. Her shoulders set into a straight line and her chin tilted slightly. The look on her face screamed determination, and she offered me a tight nod before turning on her heel. “But you better fucking hang on until I get his ass there. Promise me that, Niz.”
Swallowing down the bitter taste of my lie, I choked out, “I promise.”
With a deep breath and a nod that wasn’t convincing to either of us, she took off.
We both knew my ties to this life weren’t certain with the severity of my wounds. I wanted, desperately, to promise her everything in that moment, but I knewthatwasn’t something I had any control over.
2
KIERAN
Desperation and denialclawed at my chest as I sprinted back toward Ronan’s stubborn ass.
Absolute panic mounted inside of me, the frenzy demanding me to be back by Niz’s side—immediately.My chest threatened to explode as anxiety over his state rose within me, fear growing, but I tried to push it to the side. I refused to consider that this situation could result in any possible outcome other than Niz’s survival.
From early on I’d felt protective over the wyvern, despite his lethal abilities, and that instinct had only grown. I didn’t understand why he hid himself from us—from Ronan especially—but at the moment, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he lived.
While the battle had been pushed back to the edge of the territory, I could still hear it raging in the distance—the scent of blood soaked into the ground beneath my feet and the cries of fury and the clashing of swords filled the air around me. Even if we were victorious in our current battle, I had no doubt that there would be many who wouldn’t make it home tonight, on both sides.
