Elysian gave another nod, and vanished.
“Look at me,” Ronan murmured, too gentle for even him. “I need you to stay awake. Do you hear me? You don’t get to leave, not like this.” His voice became swallowed by the cavity rising in me.
The world tilted, my body sinking further into the black. A light flickered above, hidden in the clouds. The sun, maybe. Though its radiance gleamed like a star.
A secret one, seen only by me.
I swallowed. Slower, heavier, tasteless now. I swore I felt a tug of clawing fire writhing, pleading from Ronan’s direction. His power, his soul even, reaching for me.
It wasn’t enough. The curse seeped in, gliding over my skin, my head. I watched it from inside my own mind. Black veins protruding over cracks in my skin, oil spilling from them, as though I’d already shattered.
Light leaked from the breaks and without warning, I was weightless again, drifting, up toward the gleaming star…gone—
The Viper lunged.
A gasp ripped from me, my lungs sucking in air through a breath that overwhelmed me. The world was clearer again, sharper, but my limbs remained numb.
Had I just…died?
“The land, Ronan.” Killian murmured from above. “The Bale is too close. No one can replenish their magic quickly enough. Especially her.”
His words cut like truth, and I hated them for it.
He was right. No wonder the soldiers hadn’t returned after Ronan landed. The Bale had drained the marrow from the world itself here.
“You’re dying.” Magic crackled at Ronan’s fingertips. “I can save you. But I need you to stay awake. I need your consent.”
Ronan, the deadly Wraith, wanted to save the cursed demise of Selvarra?What a fool, I thought.
But I didn’t say that. Instead, I said, “Death sounds peaceful.”
And gods, it did. That moment when my soul slipped loose, unburdened for what felt like my last heartbeat, the worries had drifted away with it.
A growl tore from him, close enough that his canines brushed my ear. “It isnotyour time. Not even close. Say yes.” His knuckle dragged across the scar on my cheek. “Say yes so I can fucking save you.”
The darkness I kept had dragged me back from the edge, but my body still bled out beneath his hands as my heart slowed beat by beat. Oblivion beckoned, soft and sweet. Too easy.
“Look at me,” he said. “Focus on me.” His whisper enveloped itself through me, desperate and aching. “I need to save you, Verena.”
My lips twitched into a broken smile. It sounded so beautiful coming off his tongue. My name. Like it was everything.
If only because he demanded it to be.
“Look at me,” he begged.
A spark burned inside me. Faint, fragile, but there. His voice had lit it when he said my name, reviving it from everything that had weighed it down. From his mouth, it wasn’t doom. It was a reminder of promise.
Maybe in another life.
A single shriek split the air, followed then by frantic screams. “Verena, no—”
Elva. She shoved Ronan aside, dropping to the ground, her hands frantically cradling my face.
I couldn’t feel them. That I would miss. Her tunic was streaked with mud, only mud. Killian hadn’t lied. Elysian had kept her safe.
“Save her.” Elva’s finger stabbed the air toward me, looking at Callum, at Ronan, her voice iron-willed. “Now.”
Oh, so she could be assertive. Way to save it for when I’m dying.
