With a hefty thud, the alpha’s body flattened into the dirt in front of me, unchangeable in its state of death with various marks of magic inking its grey flesh.
For only an instant, everything around me felt completely peaceful. The stars lit up the sky, glimmering onto the fading glow of my own skin. There were no clanging swords or growling hybrids. The only sound I could make out was the bloodcurdling screams of Sawyer right beside me.
I snapped back into reality real quick.
“Pia!” Sebastian hollered her name over and over until she dropped to her knees in front of Sawyer.
My eyes raked down his torso, pausing at the hole in his shirt. Or should I say, hole in his stomach.
To the left of his navel, was a literal crater. A jagged pit delved into his abdomen, from the Hykah's jaw, by the looks of it. Blood so thick it appeared black oozed from the wound in a heavy stream. Some small clots rolled down the lines of Sawyer’s abdomen, showcasing their failed attempts to dam the injury.
“No. No.No.” My voice quivered, increasing into a scream of my own.
He had jumped in front of me. He had moved me out of the way and took the force of the Hykah all for himself.
He without a doubt saved my life, but at what cost? His own?
“Oh my gods,” I repeated a few times in a panic. Layers of muscle and shredded fat dripped out the sides of the incision. A literal chunk of his body was missing. I had never seen anything like it, and if it weren't for the adrenaline coursing through me, I may have blacked out.
I crawled to Sawyer’s side, gripping his face in my hands. His eyes were sunken and nearly lifeless, though he still blinked every few seconds.
“Sawyer. You do not get to die on me. Not today,” I growled, shaking his face in my trembling palms. “Sawyer!” I cried out, putting my face closer to his.
Though it took him a moment, his emerald eyes found mine. His mouth parted and he pinched out a few coarse words. “I’m so sorry.”
Hair fell into my face as I shook my head, tears pouring out of me like a volcano had erupted. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
Tears welled in his eyes as a single drop of blood fled his lips.
My sight dropped to where Pia worked to stop the bleeding, but she hadn’t made any progress.
I looked up at her. “What’s going on?”
Her head shook solemnly, panic overwhelming her features. “I can’t do it.”
“What do you mean you can’t do it?” Sebastian shouted back.
She held her bloody palms up for him to see. “I mean, I can't do it! It's too much. Too much blood and too big of a wound for just me to heal.”
“Am I going to die?” Sawyer rasped.
I put my full attention back on him. “No. You’re not going to die. Keep your eyes open. Focus on me. Breathe.”
“Maeve—” Pia began, the tone of her voice implying to prepare for the worst.
“No.” I shook my head. “No!” I yelled, pushing up to my feet. “Is anyone else here a healer? Anyone?”
No one budged.
I looked to my father. “You must have something in the infirmary ward that can help. Venay must have left some sort of enchanted salve. Go get it. Please! Get more healers!”
Though he looked about as optimistic as a plague, he ran off as swiftly as his aged legs could take him.
I dropped back down to my knees, ripping a mumbled groan from Sawyer's lips as I pressed my wet palms into his wound, trying to stop the bleeding from being so brisk.
It wasn’t enough.
I leaned over, putting my entire upper arm and shoulder into the wound, covering his bleeding body with my own.
