We breach the warehouse.
It's empty. But the smell hits me like a punch to the gut.
Blood.
And not just any blood.Herblood.
Dread coils so tight inside me that my whole body feels like a wound.
Across the cracked concrete, there's a pool of crimson, like a crime scene waiting for chalk outlines. But no body. No Sage.
"It could be another nymph," Asher says, but his voice is brittle. He doesn't believe it any more than I do.
My eyes catch a streak of red weaving out a side door. A trail.
We share another glance. Then we follow.
Outside—
She's there.
Her body slumped in the grass like a fallen angel, enormous red flowers blooming around her. Nature's morbid poetry. A supernatural Ophelia.
But I'm not letting this be her funeral. No way.
I'm at her side in seconds, dropping to my knees and hauling her into my arms.
"Sage," I whisper.
There's a heartbeat. Faint, but there. The wound in her abdomen is a gaping horror, blood still pulsing out. It makes me dizzy—the scent, the sight—but I force myself to stay steady.
No monster. Not now. Not with her.
"Sage," I say again, louder this time. My voice cracks.
Her eyes flutter open. They find me slowly, unfocused. Then she smiles.Smiles. And it guts me like nothing else ever has.
"You're gonna be all right," I choke out. "Okay? We're getting you to Eira—"
She shakes her head weakly.
"I love you, Kayden," she whispers. Her gaze flicks upward to Asher, frozen beside us, rigid as stone. "I love you too, Asher. I love you both. I'm… I'm sorry."
"No," I snap, but it comes out a plea. "No, you're not saying goodbye. I won't let you."
I turn to Asher, desperation bleeding through. "Snap out of it, Ash. We have to do something. You always know what to do!"
But he just stares at her, his frown deepening, hands curled into fists. I know that look. He's thinking he's about to loseanother life under his protection. Another soul slipping away. And for once, he's as lost as I am.
I clutch Sage tighter, as if I can anchor her here with me.
"Who did this to you?" I growl, but my voice trembles.
"Doesn't matter," she breathes, her gaze slipping in and out of focus.
"Why, Sage?" Asher's voice snaps like a whip. "Why did you come here alone?"
Her eyes lift to his, and I almost wish they didn't. They're so full of sorrow it feels like a blade in my gut. She's cold and fragile.
