Needing to confirm it, I placed two fingers against his neck. The second person I’d had to feel for a pulse in the last twenty minutes.Nothing.I pressed harder, moving my hand around.Still nothing.
“Do you have a pulse like humans?” I choked out to Chase, who had finally fallen silent, his head lowered.
“Yes…” His tone was flat. “We are compatible with your species. We don’t have the exact same internal structure, but it is similar.”
The slightest vibration of fury shook in those last words.
“Can you get a message to Daniel and the others?” I asked, not ready to give up yet.
Chase’s chest heaved as he stood, lifting his face, which was back to its normal model-beauty. He stared out toward the glowing light ball. “As soon as I realized this was an ambush, I sent word. But they’re on Earth and have to get to a transporter. I expect they will be back any moment.”
A moment too late, were his unspoken words. I knew we were both thinking it. Marsil might not have been as close to Daniel and Chase as Lexen was, but he was still someone they obviously knew and respected. He was the brother of their best friend, and they would grieve for Lexen.
My eyes settled on what was left of the resistance. I hadn’t realized that Chase had killed a few; their bodies lay sprawled in tangled limbs and pools of blood, close to where the others were still secured to the trees. Fire rose in my blood and veins; I only just managed to stop myself from blasting out and incinerating the entire lot.
“We need to interrogate them,” Chase said, steel in his voice. “Learn everything we can about Laous, his plan, and who else is in this resistance. We have traitors in our houses, and if we don’t ferret them out soon, Marsil’s will not be the only death.”
His message was clear:Don’t burn them yet.
I dropped back to my knees and picked up Marsil’s hand. I wanted him to know he was not alone, that we were here with him. I had never been religious, but I was spiritual. I believed in fate. I believed there was more to this life than what we could see. So even if his heart was no longer beating, his spirit might still be around. And I would be with him. I would not leave him alone.
Closing my eyes, I held on, ignoring every ache and pain in my body. This moment was about a man who had protected me, who had held all of the Daelighters back when I had my little breakdown. He was a true hero, and I would honor him as such.
16
The next thing I registered was my name being called by a voice that had my heart twisting and stomach turning. Through my grief, there was a spark of hope, a spark of life again. Sitting with Marsil, my eyes closed as I held his limp hand, I had been in darkness. Not the same as when I was stuck in that tank of goo, but another sort, a sorrow and depression that pressed into my chest and sucked everything good from the world. I couldn’t feel hope, I couldn’t feel happiness.
If today had taught me anything, it was that true darkness was not the absence of light. It was the absence of hope. Hope that things could get better one day. Hope that the light would return.
I opened my eyes to find Chase across from me, Marsil’s other hand in his. He had sat with me the entire time, the two of us staying with Marsil until the very end.
“You honored him well,” he told me, voice rough.
With a shake of my head, I turned to where Daniel was storming across the platform toward us.
“We failed him,” I murmured.
Before another word could be said, Daniel was standing in front of me. Literal fire burned in his eyes, and the sight of that chased away more of the darkness inside. Sorrow held me still, but I was clawing my way back. Piece by piece.
“Are you okay?” His worry was palpable, slamming into me. He hadn’t touched me yet, but his hands were hovering at his sides like he was stopping himself from doing so.
“I’m fine,” I said, my voice breaking. “Marsil is the one who has paid the price for everything this day.” My heart squeezed, and I willed back the tears.
Daniel lost his battle with his hands, reaching out and sweeping me against his body. His chest shook as he held me, and I realized just how close he was to losing control. “Every time I turn my back,” he said, “someone is trying to kill you.”
It was true. Daniel had only known me for a short time, and already he’d saved my life, had me abducted out from under him, found me almost without memory in a pool of goo, and now I was sitting next to the corpse of one of his friends. It could have been me, we all knew that. Even if Laous wanted me alive, there were no guarantees in war. Accidents happened.
Lexen’s guttural roar ripped through the air and the platform did that shaky thing again. His energy rocked the huge metal disc on its foundation.
“Emma?” He was not looking at me, but I answered.
“She was hurt, but she’s okay. Star took her back to House of Darken.”
Scales appeared across his forehead and cheeks and everyone took a step back.
Lexen dropped down at his brother’s side, absolute devastation creasing his features, a pain so deep there was permanence to it. Lexen would never be the same again. From this day on, his very being would be altered.
He reached out with both hands, pressing them to Marsil’s chest.
