—Sparkles? You up—
—Yeah, I’m in with Wes—
—Any change?—
—No—
There’s a pause. I don’t reply.
Wes needs my full attention.
Still leaning against his torso, I take each of his hands in mine. “Fight, Wes. Fucking fight.” And I have to fight too. I can’t let the Lumina behave like this.
The spark at my core heats. The fire of magic inside me is demanding the gift of Amirene to do its job. It’s…intense.
An internal battle that twists my guts and hurts my heart. I push and shove, trying to tear a hole through the sticky dark magic that covers him.
Then pain hits me. A jagged, searing heat rips through my chest, and my back arches as the Lumina recoils.
The inside of Wes is too much—too poisonous.
My grip on his hands falters, and I collapse back into the chair, tasting blood in my mouth. Shit.
I bit my tongue.
The monitors next to the bed show no sign of the frenzied struggle Wes and I have just been through.
The regular beep, beep, beep continues on.
“Why?” I look upwards, imploring someone, something, to help me.
The door to the infirmary clicks shut, and I instantly swivel around.
Maximus.
He’s across the room in three long strides, taking in my twisted body and tear-stained face. “Sparkles, you're white as a sheet,” he mutters, scooping me out of the chair and settling me firmly in his lap.
I bury my face in his neck and cry hot tears into his blazer. “I’m failing him, I can't get in,” I sob. “I'm not strong enough.”
Max is rubbing soothing circles on my back. “Listen, Princess. You are plenty strong, but you’re having to carry so much of this load by yourself. If I could give my life blood to save Wes, then I would, but unfortunately that’s not what he needs.”
My heart squeezes at the thought of Maximus bleeding out. I couldn’t…couldn’t bear that.
“Listen to me, Theodora Wilson. You are not alone, and together we’ll find a way to win all the battles.”
He brushes a stray hair from my forehead, his thumb lingering on my temple. "I love you. Do you hear me? Not because you’re filled with divine essence, or destined for me because of that 'True Bond' shit Lexi talks about. It’s because you are you. Youmake me want to be more than a second-rate pseudo-royal who scrabbles together cash through get-rich-quick schemes and pit-fighting because he’s a disgrace to the family name.”
Max pit fights?
Max is royalty?
Wait… Max loves me?
My battered heart feels like it’s expanding enough to crack my ribs. "Max... you love me?”
He grins. “Well, never having been in love before, I’m guessing that’s what this crazy sensation is. And the fact I want to spend every second with you, and will dedicate my life to making yours better.”
Maximus draws me slightly away from his body, then tilts my chin up to look at him. “You are the center of my world, Princess Divine Sparkles Goddess. And you’re never going to be rid of me. Are you OK with that?”
