She leans down and kisses Anders on his head. Then, she pushes herself to her feet.
I follow her every move with the barrel of my gun. I hear the click of a safety. My eyes shift slightly to find Toothless aiminganother gun at her. No! Without thought, I turn and shoot him between the eyes.
A forceful wind pushes me back as a chorus of gunshots bang throughout the room. I fall back. I feel pain everywhere. A memory of the girl standing inches from me enters my head. A beautiful white light surrounds her, and a gentle wind ruffles her long, pale blond hair. Tiny lightning bolts dance within her aura. She laughs, and her ice-blue eyes shine with adoration in my vision. I want to touch her, kiss her, and make promises for our future.
I reach for her. “Princess.”
Chapter 76
No Longer Mine
JESSICA
Six Years Ago
Anders picks up a gun on the floor and aims it at Tyler. I push him back with wind magic, but I'm not fast enough. Gunshots fire in the tiny room. A bullet hits me in the shoulder. Another one hits me in the side.
I pull a dagger from my vest and throw it at Byron, infusing magic to forcefully embed it in his throat, pinning him to the wall behind him. I fall to the ground.
The sound of a roaring ocean fills my ears, and a disoriented feeling warps my vision. I fight my way through it and army crawl over to Tyler. There is so much blood, his blood, covering his entire body. I slap my hand over a wound in his abdomen and scream for Skunk and Sodie.
His eyes glaze over, staring at the ceiling. “Princess,” he whispers.
“You’re okay. We’re here. I’m here.”
“Princess.”
Skunk arrives first. He hovers over Tyler. Sodie crouches over Anders, and I immediately see the soft glow of his healing magic. Their faces are both grim in concentration.
Tyler tries to raise his arm. I reach for it and place his palm against my cheek. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.”
His lips twitch. He exhales a single shuddering breath. His limp hand slips out of my grasp.
“No!” I scream. “No!” Large hands grab me from behind, pulling me away. Bodies push past Sodie. I squirm against the restraints. “I need to be there! I need to help!” I cry.
“Give them space. They’re helping him,” Chris murmurs in my ear from behind me.
Sodie hovers over his body and pumps his chest.
I shake my head. “He can’t die.”
Chris pulls me close into his strong frame, and I bury my face into his chest. Uncontrollable sobs rack my body. His arms tighten around me. I hear his own sobs as his tears fall on my skin.
Time moves infinitely slow and fast in the same stretch. Chris brings me over to sit next to Anders, and I wrap my arms around him. He’s shaking, barely able to hold himself upright.
“I had to do it. I had to,” he whimpers. “It was you or him.”
“Come on, dammit! Come on!” Skunk shouts as he pumps Tyler’s chest.
“He can’t leave me,” I whisper.
“Switch!” someone shouts.
Liam resumes chest compressions. It feels like an eternity without any change. I see the looks that they give one another. Chris hangs his head. Elias slams his fist into a wall.
A glimmer of movement above the group trying to save Tyler catches my eye. “No!” I shriek. Everyone jumps and turns to me.I rush forward and drop next to Tyler. “No! You can’t leave me, not like this!” I shout up to the ceiling.
Toby’s soul looks down at me. His face no longer has the burns that once marred the side of his face. His dark blue eyes fill with sadness. His head swivels to the side, where Tyler’s soul hovers over his body. A chain tethers his ethereal body to his physical one.
