57. Simon
The moment Tálstrom sees Catherine pointing the gun toward Isobel’s fleeing back, he launches us toward our mate before retreating to leave me in control. We both recognize the type of gun Catherine is wielding, and whatever those darts contain, we don’t want them anywhere near Isobel or Arina.
I ignore the agony of my flesh being torn from my body as I turn my back on Corbin and L?nnberg, my focus purely on reaching and protecting my girls before Catherine can harm them. I push away the pain, desperation lending me the strength to knock the two hybrids aside as I sprint across the yard.
The world moves in slow-motion as Catherine moves to aim the gun she’s holding, the muscles in her forearm and hand flexing beneath the skin as she squeezes the trigger. My heart is pounding in my chest, my lungs gasping for air as I push my body harder, faster, determined to intercept whatever is about to be fired from the barrel into Isobel’s back.
I leap.
Time speeds back up the moment my fingers brush against Isobel’s skin. I wrap my arms around her and Arina, shielding them with my body, and grunt as darts thump into my mangled flesh. My veins burn with searing ruination from the chemicals pumping into my bloodstream from the serum-filled projectiles, the torment unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Not even on my worst day at Vieux Sang was I forced to endure such devastation and harrowing trauma, not even when I was conscious during vivisection.
Not even when they killed me.
Tálstrom is writhing inside me, his own agony tearing away the last vestiges of lucidity and control. I manage to roll when I land, cradling Isobel and Arina safely against my chest as my nerve endings light up and then burn out, dead or dying. My bonds ignite, their flames phosphorescently bright as they burn to nothing but ashes. One by one, they all wink out of existence, and it’s too much for either Tálstrom or me to bear.
My back arches as my throat shreds in a silent scream, blood spattering from my mouth as I gasp for air. It’s to no avail.
I’m drowning in blood, burning alive, and my one salvation is fading before my very eyes.
My bonds are gone.