I would sacrifice anything, including my own life to save her.
We just had to hope that the ruby fields didn't reject us outright. All I needed was a chance.
Josephina opened the doorway this time, getting us right to the large slab of ruby that made up the fields. No other creature could have done that, but Josephina was guardian of the gold.
Place her on that large stone there,Josephina directed me, and I gently released my mate. I was already praying to the gods … to the land of Faerie itself.
And to the ruby stones, their ancient energy as old as this world itself.
Save her. Please. I will forever be in your debt.
Josephina hovered over the tomb, her scaled body glistening, despite the dark sky. There was a light of power glowing around her, strong enough to send shudders across my body.
I'm going to release her now. Then we must have faith that the stones will save their princess.
As much as it killed me to not stand right at her side, I moved back and gave Justice room to be with her gems.
The glow increased around Josephina. My dragon wanted to thrash at the sensation of that much magic coating us, but we knew better than to move. The peak was a bright burst of illumination, making everything look eerily red.
It's done.
Josephina stepped back, and I barely stopped myself from rushing toward the prone form of my mate.
This was it. Our one chance.
40
Justice Winter
Iwas trapped in a prison.
Unconscious, even as my mind remained alert, the ruby held me in stasis, stopping me from passing on to the next world. No matter how much I begged the stones to release me, they would not.
Dying would have been better than being contained this way.
As I drifted, I felt Jacob near me. I felt power, the rubies, my parents…
I felt them all and could touch none of them.
Stay with us.
That was the first whisper of a voice, tinged with the strong power of the ruby fields.
Join with us and protect your lands.
The supe side of my brain, the small sliver still functioning, didn't really comprehend what they were asking. It took forever of their whispers for me to finally understand.
Forever a ruby.
Oh, okay. Uh … how to politely decline…?
I’m not a ruby. I’m a part of the greater, and that greater includes the stones, but that is not all I am. You don't own me. I don't own you. We are not one and the same. We are partners.
I sent these messages back, fighting against their pull for me to join them. Whatever was happening, I was teetering on the edge of being lost forever.
Jacob Compass.
No!I snapped, finding life and clarity I hadn't had a second ago.He is mine. I will never let him go, and he will not be a sacrifice in this war. We have sacrificed enough.
