“Of course, it is,” Dominic muttered, though he knew his words fell on deaf ears, occupied by the urgency of an attack.
He lifted his head. His eyes fell on the rope tightly wrapped around his wrist. He needed to escape while Adara distracted them. As much as it pained him, he gritted his teeth and rotated his wrist in an attempt to slip out of his bonds. He twisted and pulled every which way, but the ropes wouldn’t budge. The taste of copper filled his mouth as he bit his lip, wrists stinging. Blood dripped down his arms, but he’d long since lost feeling in them. His fingers tingled with tiny pinpricks, barely able to move. Magic surged beneath his skin, but it would not be released with these creatures stifling his power. That was no doubt why Adara attacked with blades instead of fire.
Noticing Dominic’s movements, his father whirled in his direction . . . and didn’t hesitate to hurl a knife into his good leg. Dominic cried out. Blood spurted from his thigh, and his knees buckled beneath him. Pain shot through his wrists, his shoulders, as the only thing that held him upright were the ropes searing into his skin. Tears welled in his eyes. Black faded in and out of his vision.
The darkness swept in as Dominic collapsed.
Chapter 40
Gods,shehatedhim.Adara hated him so much. Hated that he could lie and cheat and toy with her so easily. Hated how her heart hammered relentlessly at the sight of him. Hated that after all they’d been through, he could so easily turn back into his cold, heartless self and leave her alone to die.
But what she hated most was how she still ran to him after being left to die in the middle of this cursed desert. His key was the only reason she was after him. If she didn’t need his key, if she didn’t need his knowledge of the Realm Fracturer, she’d leave him for dead.
Yet that thought hadn’t even occurred to her until she was upon the human-like monsters circling him.
Blood spattered on her face as Adara savagely cut her way through the fray. Sword slashing throats, stabbing hearts, cutting through flesh and bone. Adara didn’t bat an eye. She only kept her gaze straight ahead—where Dominic barely stood, with his frail body hanging limply from the ropes that held him tied to the trees—and continued her massacre, determined to reach him.
What had they done to him?
Fury ignited inside her heart. Fire flooded her veins, a thirst she could not quench. It wanted out—all of it—but the Ruins would not allow it. Those creatures had sucked all life and magic from this place the deeper into the desert they went.
The scar on her hand burned in response, as if the gods were reminding her of the Hel they’d rain down upon her if she broke her blood oath to Dominic. That sole reason was what she kept repeating to herself. She was doing this because she made a promise to keep him alive until this war of hearts was won.
When her eyes met his, panic seized Adara’s lungs, making breathing painful and sporadic as she assessed the damage. Dominic’s hands were bound tightly by ropes hanging high above him, his wrists red and bleeding. His body slumped toward the ground, only held aloft by the ropes binding him. Blood coated him—so much blood that Adara couldn’t tell where his wounds were. Crimson ran down his temples, his lips. One of his eyes was black and swollen shut. A knife protruded from his left leg.
Her heart raced. Each thundering beat like a hammer inside her chest. Magic wasn’t working here. He couldn’t heal himself.
They’ll pay for this, she vowed as she savagely cut her way across the sand. Adara barely processed what she was doing as she slaughtered her way through the chaos, sending headsrolling, limbs falling, and blood spraying. Her only thought was of him, Dominic, bleeding and weak and hurt. Her eyes fixed on him, and she swore she saw a slight upward turn at the corners of his lips. His eyes were alight with relief and something else she couldn’t recognize. Something like hope.
Adara’s only response was running between the monsters, slashing at anyone who neared as she approached Dominic. A few feet from him, she paused, eyes trained on him. Finally seeing him, face to face, without wrath flowing freely between the two of them, struck Adara like a physical blow. It took a moment to catch her breath at the alluring sight of him, despite the gore coating him.
He stared back at her with a feverish glisten in his eyes she couldn’t wholly decipher. She found herself frozen for a moment, remembering his betrayal. How he left her unconscious and tied to a tree mere hours ago. How he had every intention of breaking her. How any kindness he’d shown to her was merely deception to win her key.
Dominic’s face fell. His eyes searched her own as his lips drooped in a frown. “Adara, untie me,” he demanded, a hint of worry in his exhausted voice. As if he thought her hesitation was final, that she enjoyed the sight of him in pain and had decided to watch him meet his demise.
A smirk curled her lips, relishing the power she held over him. She casually swung her sword up onto her shoulder, an expression of contemplation on her face. “In a moment, I’m enjoying the sight of this,” she teased.
Dominic let out a breath of relief followed by a hoarse chuckle. “Of course you are.” He rolled his eyes, trying and failing to keep the grin off his face. A feeble finger pointed to the ropes. “We can talk about how you enjoy the sight of me tied up later when we’re not on the brink of death.”
Adara stepped toward him, slicing cleanly through the ropes. Dominic fell forward with a groan, and she lunged to catch him. His weight pressed against her, causing her to step back, adjusting her stance to support him. Quickly, she lowered him to the ground and began untying the ropes from his wrists.
He reached for the knife in his leg. Adara smacked his hand away. “Leave it or you’ll bleed out in seconds,” she scolded.
A haunting chitter echoed through the night. Those creatures prowled closer, circling them, predators going for a slow, torturous kill.
“You have to get out of here,” Adara urged him. Placing her arms under his, she carefully hoisted him upward, lightly setting him on his feet.
He leaned heavily on her, staggering.
Dominic blinked slowly, as if in a daze. “No,” he said and shook his head. His eyes fixed on her, gleaming with distress. “You came all this way for me,” he said roughly. “I’m not leaving you.” His breaths came out shallow and labored between blood-crusted lips. His fingers dug into her shoulder, clinging to her for support.
Adara’s pulse quickened, dread settling heavily in the pit of her stomach. “Dom, you idiot, you can’t fight. You have toleave.”
Dominic’s hand roughly grasped hers, their fingers laced together. Something sparked between their palms—between their matching scars of the blood oath. “We made a promise!” His other hand tangled in the knots of her hair, cupping the nape of her neck. His emerald eyes scanned her, dark circles beneath them. Fear showed brightly in them as his gaze landed upon the skin of her shoulder, shredded from the creatures that attacked after Dominic had disappeared.
“I’m not leaving you again,” he breathed, his voice wavering hysterically.
She pulled away from his gentle touches that made her heart flutter, shifting her position so she could still support his weight but avoid the way he grasped onto her like she was his lifeline. “I’m keeping that promise to protect you!” Adara countered. “You need to get out of here!” She didn’t want to even fathom what his death would mean for her.
