30. CHAPTER 30 #2
The dungeon stank of stagnant water and fear. My boots splashed through puddles as we rounded the corner. That was when I saw her: slumped in chains, head down, unmoving. Something inside me went cold.
The first guard stepped forward. I didn’t slow down.
My blade punched into his chest, steel grinding bone, before I yanked it free.
He dropped without a sound. Lili was on the next, dagger flashing under his ribs.
Eli’s sword caught another across the throat—a clean, wet slice that left him gurgling.
A shout came from behind the cell block, and three more males charged.
Alex cut down the lead before his sword cleared its scabbard.
I slammed my shoulder into the next, driving him into the wall hard enough to crack stone before plunging my knife into his gut.
The third lunged at Eli, only to take Lili’s blade to the back of the neck.
Three more came from the top, and another two came from down the hall. Lili and I pressed our backs against each other. I felt her power between icy rage. My body calling it, wanting it, needing it. I put up a block, no one could see that, not here, not now.
The four of them came at us rapidly, swords swinging.
Alex threw out flames, incinerating two of them in seconds.
Lili was summoning the standing water, throwing ice throughout.
Our bodies still in contact, calling her power, a little bit steeped in turning my blade icy.
I swung endlessly, slicing the male’s head clean off his shoulders.
I quickly tossed the icy sword, hoping no one saw.
I put distance between us, looking all around.
Thirteen. That was all of them. None left breathing.
I shoved the last body aside and stepped into Auri’s cell. Her wrists were raw and bleeding from the shackles, her face pale and still. I cut the chains in one brutal swing, catching her before she hit the stone.
“She’s breathing,” I managed, though my voice was tight. “We’re getting her out—now.”
No one argued. We left the bodies where they fell, blood seeping through the cracks. The stairs were slick with it on our way out.
Outside, dragons waited, wings shifting restlessly. I lifted Auri into my arms—her weight frighteningly limp—and vaulted onto Veyra’s back, uncertain if she’d survive the ride but unwilling to wait.
“Let’s go!” I shouted, and the world dropped away as we shot skyward, leaving the dead and their stinking pit behind.
The cold air lashed my face. Lili leaned forward over the pommel, wind tangling her hair, but my focus was on the silent weight in my arms. Auri’s head rested on my shoulder, her hair whipping in the wind. She was so pale—too pale—and I watched for every shallow, irregular breath.
Ahead, Korven’s grey scales glinted in the sun as Alex rode, with Eli and Oliver just above. We kept a tight formation. By now, the campus would be locked down. They’d know the moment we arrived.
Lili’s voice cut through the wind. “We’re pushing her as fast as she’ll go!”
I didn’t answer. Every second between here and the college was a threat.
The dungeon’s stink filled my nose, Auri’s limp body pressed to my chest—a constant, gut-twisting reminder that I was too late to stop whatever happened.
Roving a long distance with someone who was near death wasn’t a risk I wanted to take.
My father taught me it was something that should only be done if there were no other choices.
“You’re not dying on me,” I muttered for only her to hear. “Not now. Not ever.”
The Watchtowers came into view. Veyra caught an updraft, and I pulled Auri closer, shielding her from the wind .
Beside us, Alex caught my eye across the distance and gave a sharp nod. No words—just that silent promise. We'd get her home.
“Almost there,” Lili called back, but my jaw stayed set. Almost wasn’t enough. She had to make it all the way.
“Land on the admin side, next to the infirmary. I can rove from there.”
Lili banked Veyra hard toward the admin side, heading for the flat stretch beyond the infirmary courtyard.
As we touched down hard, Veyra folded her wings tight.
I leaped down with Auri in my arms, boots hitting the stone.
Her limpness made my heart hammer—no flinch, no murmur, only a faint breath I kept checking for.
“I’ve got her,” I said to Lili, though it was as much to myself. She dismounted, and Veyra launched skyward.
Alex and the others touched down, but I didn’t slow. I roved us through the field in three strides, magic rippling around us, pulling us forward. In the next instant, we were in the infirmary, air sharp with herbs and steel.
Healers dropped what they were doing the moment they saw her. Hands reached out, voices overlapping—questions about her pulse, her injuries, how long she’d been gone. I didn’t let go until a calm, steady senior Healer met my eyes and said, “We’ll take her now. You stay close.”
Like hell I’d be anywhere else.
The menders took her from my arms the moment we crossed the threshold, their hands already glowing with pale gold light.
One began working immediately, magic threading into Auri’s skin in fine, deliberate pulses, searching for damage beneath the surface.
Two Healers followed close behind, arms full of warming stones, salves, and clean bandages.
While the menders worked on what magic could repair, the Healers tended to the rest—wrapping her wrists, checking for fractures, coaxing warmth back into her chilled body.
The air smelled of crushed herbs, hot stone, and the faint metallic tang of magic at work.
Minutes in, one of the menders went still, eyes narrowing.
“There’s intracranial bleeding,” she said, voice clipped but calm.
“Likely from a blow to the head.” Her glow flared brighter, sinking deeper into Auri’s temple.
“You're lucky you found her when you did…” She flicked a glance at me, her tone heavier. “She wouldn’t have seen the next sunrise.”
My jaw locked. The urge to turn around and hunt down anyone tied to this was so intense I could taste it, but I forced myself to stay. “Then fix her,” I said, my voice low and sharp. “Now.”
They did. For hours, magic hummed through the room, weaving in slow, measured waves as the bleeding stopped and pressure eased.
The Healers worked in tandem—cool cloth on her forehead, careful hands checking for other injuries.
Little by little, the gray left her skin. Her breathing grew deeper. Steadier.
When the menders finally stepped back, the glow in their hands faded. “She’ll be weak,” one said.
“She needs rest. But she’ll live.”
I pulled a chair right up beside the cot, my hand wrapping around hers. “You’re safe now,” I murmured, thumb brushing over her knuckles. “And when you wake up, I’ll still be here.”
I didn’t leave her side for the rest of the night.
Warm sunlight filtered in through the infirmary shutters, spilling across the cot in broken stripes. I stirred the moment I felt the faintest movement beneath my hand.
Her lashes fluttered first, a small sound escaping her throat as she shifted. “Zane…?”
I was on my feet before she could even try to sit up, one hand braced on her shoulder, the other gently cradling her head. “No. Don’t move yet.”
She blinked slowly, groggy from the menders’ magic. “I feel… heavy.”
“You had a brain bleed,” I said, thumb brushing across her temple, wishing I could erase it. “If I’d been a few hours later—” I broke off, the words clawing too close to what I couldn’t bear to imagine.
Her brows knit, a faint crease forming. “You found me.”
“Damn right I did,” I murmured. My voice caught. “And I’ll always find you, Auri. No matter where you are, no matter who tries to take you from me.”
Her gaze caught mine, still fogged from sleep, but sharper now. “ Zane…”
I didn’t let her look away. “I need you to hear this while you’re awake enough to remember it. I love you.”
Her breath hitched, joy flickering over her face.
“I’m not saying it because you almost died,” I continued, leaning in until my forehead rested against hers. “I’m saying it because it’s been true for a long time. I was afraid to scare you away. I’ve loved you from the moment I met you. I love you, Auriella.”
Her fingers twitched weakly against mine, and though there was no strength to pull me closer, I went to her anyway, careful not to jar her as I pressed my lips to her temple.
“You don’t have to say anything now,” I whispered. “Just rest. I’ll be here when you wake up again.”
Her eyes drifted closed, but the faintest smile touched her lips before sleep claimed her. I stayed right there, hand wrapped around hers, steady as a promise.