Jes’s body lurched forward onto the ground, the arrow lodged in her back.
Where it came from, Adalia did not know, but she was grateful all the same
Turning her focus back to Matthias, adrenaline overtook her as she pulled at the prince, dragging him so his head was cradled in her lap, his blue wings unmoving against his body. She broke out into fresh sobs and fondly touched his peaceful face, running her fingertips ever so softly over his eyelids.
As she gently stroked his cheek, tears dripped onto his face like tiny shards of broken glass.
“Come back to me,” she whispered.
She drew in a breath at the vibrant blue of his newly covered wings and gently touched the silken feathers. Deep down she’d known that every time he’d stepped through the Veil into Lucius that his wings would change colour, just slightly. At the time she thought she was crazy, but seeing them now, bright against the brown earth, it brought another anguished cry to her lips.
The earth rumbled beside her and before she could protest; she was enveloped in powerful arms that held her. They rocked her back and forth as her cries ebbed and flowed. Exhaustion bore down on her, and all Adalia wanted to do was to lie down beside Matthias and stay there forever.
“I’m so sorry, Ada . . . so sorry. I wish I had been here sooner,” Nikolas whispered close to her ear. He’d placed his bow on the ground beside them and held her body tightly against his own.
Hearing her brother’s tender words brought forth another wave of salty tears.
The trio huddled together on the ground. Adalia not letting go of her love, and Nikolas not letting go of his sister. Chaos swirled around them, but they remained untouched, as if an invisible dome of protection sealed them from the rest of the world.
Who knows how long they stayed this way?
“ENOUGH!” the king shouted with a deep rumbling authority. “Sinfonia, King of Darkness . . . stop this at once!”
Adalia looked up as the Light King’s voice echoed against the roar of battle. The King of Oscuro was on his knees in front of the king of Light, a blade against his throat—a picture of light against dark.
The entire battlefield ceased to move at the sound of the king’s voice. All became still and quiet.
“Nikolas, bring the prince to me.” The King of Lucius called across the dense atmosphere.
The chestnut-haired male with the blood red wings stirred beside her, and Adalia reluctantly allowed her brother to take Matthias’slifeless form from her arms. Nikolas gently pulled Matthias and lifted him from the ground, one arm under the prince’s neck and the other under his knees. Bright-blue wings dragged across the field as they walked.
Stumbling along behind, Adalia wept silently. A body came to stand beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist. Shiloh squeezed her tight, and Adalia breathed a sigh of relief. True Death had not touched her.
Reaching the king, Adalia watched as Nikolas laid Matthias gently at his feet.
“See what you have done?” the King of Light said firmly as he looked at the cowering man before him. “Because of you . . . your son is dead.”
The King of Oscuro lifted the corner of his mouth in a snarl, no form of remorse shone from his eyes. Adalia’s heart broke all over again.
Lifting his empty, open hand towards Matthias as if reaching for him, the King of Light spoke gently. “Matthias, son of Sinfonia, get up.”
As the world became quiet, Adalia held her breath. Nothing but the wind whispered through the pillars of bodies surrounding her.
Was it too late? Would the king be able to bring him back?
Not a soul dared to breathe in the moments following the king’s command.
Seconds ticked by into what felt like hours. Nikolas and Shiloh stood on either side of her and held her hand. Closing her eyes, she travelled back to the moment she’d first laid her eyes on the prince. The moment she had found him in the woods for the first time. His constant, playful banter. The first time he’d kissed her . . . every memory they shared was as precious as the next.
The crowd murmured and her eyes flew open.
Matthias was gasping for air. Pulling away from the comforting grip of her brother and Shiloh, Adalia dropped to the prince’s side and flung herself upon him, sobbing. The prince slowly and shakily lifted his hand and placed it on the back of her hair, stroking it with adoration. She lifted her head and smiled at him through tears.
“Hello, little dove,” he whispered.
“Hello, beast.”
Matthias smiled and then groaned as moved. Nikolas hurried to help the prince into a sitting position. Adalia’s eyes roamed over the prince’s figure. The wound in his chest was completely gone, the only reminder–blood stained fabric. How the king had brought him back to life was an absolute, unexplainable miracle, one that Adalia would ask him about at a later time.
