He shook his head, but the silence screamed louder than words. I had to reach him. I had to pull him from this nightmare. But themoment I fought back, my captors tightened their grip like a vice. Pain shot through my scalp as they yanked at my hair, threatening to tear it from my head. My struggles only tangled me further in their vicious snare, so I stilled myself, reopening my eyes to the unimaginable.
Something lurked behind Vidar.
Two hideous figures emerged from the suffocating shadows, their sharp spears glinting ominously in the dim light.
“No,” I strained. “No!”
“Dahlia,” Vidar finally spoke.
“Don’t touch him!” I pushed to my feet only to be slammed back down onto the ground. “Get away from him!”
“Dahlia, look at me!”
I planted my foot, pushing upward with all my might. I didn’t care if they broke my arm or ripped out my hair. I needed to get to Vidar. Twisting, I got a hold of one of the xhoth’s wrists and snapped it backwards. The other wrapped his big hand around my neck, lifting me off the ground. I kicked and swung my fists, driving my nails into his thick skin. My teeth grew from my gums, sharp and aching, thirsting to bite and rend. When I was thrown to the ground again, hands were on my head, forcing me to look at Vidar once more. He was tugging against his binds, careless of the blood pooling around him. He let out a beastly roar, fury driving him to fight his restraints, but I could see it was no use.
Tears stung my eyes, skewing my vision of him, and it enraged me. It enraged me that I was not strong enough to move. To stop it. To save him. I was a monster—hismonster—yet I was helpless.
“Vidar, fight!” I cried out, immobilized under the weight of my captors. My heart thundered painfully, my voice ripping my throat apart as I screamed. “Vidar, please!”
The xhoth moved closer to either side of him, raising their crude spears. Their teethy smiles widened, their throats bobbing with excitement as if they were readying for a meal. Vidar continued to fight his binds, his eyes fixed on me as if the beastswith spears did not concern him, but it was no use. None of it was. The more we fought to get to each other, the more force was used to keep us apart.
“Dahlia,” he finally said, his tone too calm for the situation at hand.
“No,” I said, sensing the acceptance in his voice. “No, Vidar. Please.”
I thrashed wildly against the hands that held me down, pouring every ounce of strength into kicking and battling them off.
“Dahlia, look at me!”
“No, Vidar, I need you! Not now. Please. Don’t give up now. You have to keep fighting.”
“Stop! Look at me, love. Just look at me.”
I sobbed, opening my eyes to see him slumping over himself, out of breath, most of his blood on the floor around him.
“I love you,” he said, breathless.
“Don’t. This isn’t real. This is a dream. It has to be.”
“No more dreams. We both know it. We came here to end it and you can still do that. I know you can.”
“Not without you. Please,” I wept, my whole body shaking with panic.
“This will ruin you.Useit. Your rage is your greatest strength.”
“I can’t.”
The spears rose up over Vidar’s back.
“I will look for you in every lifetime. In every body,” he said. “I will love you in all of them, until the last star burns out in the sky.” I stopped struggling for a breath to look him in his eyes and see his lips slant into a weak smile. “I will see you in your dreams.”
He fixed his jaw, taking a deep breath, his hands balling into tight fists.
The realization that I had no time hit me like a cannonball to my chest.
“No! I love you,” I rushed. “Vidar, I love you!”
“I know you do."
