Before either of them could say another word, a bellow cut through the chaos, raw and filled with anguish.
“JEWEL!”
Myanin’s head snapped toward the sound, her heart lurching as she saw Dalton standing near theNushtonia.His broad shoulders heaved, and his eyes were wide with panic as he looked down past Raja’s massive form. His voice broke as he shouted again, his hands clenched into fists. “Where is she? Where’s Jewel? Why did Fane, Heather, and Andora come out but not my Jewel?”
Something in Myanin shifted. The red haze of her anger toward Shade cleared just enough for her to focus on something other than her rage at the male. Without a second thought, she shoved Shade aside, her strength sending him stumbling back a step, and moved to Dalton’s side.
“What is it?” she demanded, her sharp gaze following his line of sight. And then she saw it.
Far below, down in the fissure that had opened like a wound in the book, Jewel stood. The healer’s face was pale, her emerald eyes wide with terror as she looked up at them. The light from the fissure bathed her in a golden glow, making her look otherworldly, fragile. She was trapped, teetering on the edge of something far worse than death.
“Why is it always the damn healers?” Myanin muttered and rolled her eyes.
Behind her, voices rose in a chorus of confusion and anger. Fane’s deep, commanding voice rang out above the others as he turned his glare on Raja. “Why hasn’t she been let go?” he demanded. “You threw the others out. Why is she still down there? You’re free. Let her go.”
Raja’s laughter rumbled through the clearing, low and menacing. “You know why, wolf.” His voice dripped with mockery. His massive, smoky form twisted slightly, his glowing eyes narrowing as he looked down at Fane. “It was only hours ago that I explained it. Surely, you haven’t forgotten already. A sacrifice must be made.”
Fane’s face twisted in fury, his fists clenching at his sides. “She’s innocent! She’s a healer—ahealer!She doesn’t deserve this!”
“Nobody is innocent. And deserving has nothing to do with it,” Raja replied, his tone cold and final. “Her light is the key.Sheis the key. Her light is bound to my darkness. If she leaves, I will be free.”
Behind Myanin, the voices of the others rose, fierce and determined.
“Not happening,” Jen snapped. “We’ve already lost too much. You don’t get to take her, too.”
“Damn right.” Kara’s voice trembled with anger as she stepped forward. “We’ve fought too hard for too long. We’re not losing anyone else.”
Stella crossed her arms, her brown eyes blazing. “You’re not taking her. Not while we’re still breathing.”
“And you sure as hell aren’t taking her while I’m around,” Heather growled, her sightless eyes narrowing. “Blind or not, I’ll find a way to take you down.”
Myanin barely heard them. She locked her gaze on Raja, her mind racing as his words settled over her like a suffocating blanket. A sacrifice. Always a damn sacrifice. It was the same story, over and over again. In her long, long life, she had seen it countless times. But there was always an exception. Always a loophole.
Her eyes narrowed as she studied Raja, her sharp mind piecing together what he wasn’t saying. He was trying to work around it, trying to avoid the one thing he didn’t want to admit. But she had seen enough, lived enough, to know the truth.
The ultimate sacrifice wasn’t about power. It wasn’t about light or darkness. It was about love. It was about laying down one’s life for another. Right?
She turned to look at the group around her, at the faces of the people she had come to care for. Gerick, her mate, and the best man she’d ever known. Tenia, her best friend who, for some reason, tolerated her. Torion, a weird kid, but one she cared for nonetheless. Even Skender with all his baggage. She cared for all of them. These were her people now, and she couldn’t let them lose someone else. Not Jewel.
Her decision was made before Raja could even see it coming.
He roared as he realized what she was about to do, his massive form twisting violently, but Myanin was faster. With a burst of speed, she shoved Dalton out of the way “Get the hell out of the way, you idiotic wolf.” She dove toward theNushtoniaas though it were an ocean, her lithe body twisting in the air before she disappeared into the book.
The world around her shifted violently, and she landed hard on the ground beside Jewel. The healer’s wide, terrified eyes met hers, but Myanin didn’t hesitate. She grabbed Jewel, her muscles burning as she lifted the smaller woman.
“Great Luna, give me strength,” she whispered in desperation.
And then she threw Jewel upward, Myanin’s prayer had been answered because she no longer had supernatural strength, but she was able to propel the healer out of the fissure.
The last thing Myanin saw was another figure tumbling down, and then the light vanished, the fissure snapping shut. But the ruler of the Realm of the Dead did not join her. He hadn’t been trapped back in like she’d thought would surely happen as soon as she took Jewel’s place. As soon as Myanin became the sacrifice—because that’s what Raja had said was needed, a sacrifice—he shouldn’t have been freed. Right? It should have worked. “What the hell?” Myanin bit out through her teeth as a thud landed beside her. She looked over to see Shade land beside her, his dark eyes meeting hers.
“Why the hell areyouhere and not that damn evil thing you let loose?” Myanin narrowed her eyes on him.
Shade shook his head with silent, humorless, laughter. “You’re still as impulsive and impertinent as you always have been.”
“Impulsive, yes, but I amnotimpertinent.” Myanin ground her teeth as she glared at him.
“Right.” Shade chuckled. “Because killing a djinn elder is completely sane and respectful.”
