Chapter Forty-Nine
Rion
Everything had just—stopped.
His world.
His heart.
The very meaning of life itself.
Because the one thing more precious to him than breath—
Rion choked and crushed her body closer.
Arianna wasn't moving.
The very center of his universe wasn't breathing.
They’d finally gotten their bond. She’d smiled at him again. She’d run into his arms, and hope had flooded his entire body. He could have conquered universes.
But now—now—
Rion swallowed hard. He just held her, one hand over the many gushing wounds.
She couldn’t tell him that everything would be okay.
She couldn’t tell him they’d survive.
His body shook, noises escaping that he couldn’t restrain.
He needed her. Her bright spirit. Her unfailing heart. Arianna was the only thing that kept the darkness at bay. She was the only one who’d reached through his shadows and shown him life could be more.
Rion glanced down at her face and the dirt smearing it. She was still soaked from the pool in the forest. Rion wondered if she’d run the whole way. He knew she had. He’d felt everything she’d shoved down their bond.
She was his.
She was gone.
The Dark Fae growled behind them, but Rion couldn’t bring himself to care. In seconds, they’d tear him from the world, then he’d spend eternity without the other piece of his soul.
The world fell silent.
Brightened.
Maybe he was already dead.
Maybe the gods were giving him one final moment to see her before hell reached up to drag him beneath the surface.
Rion braced for the agony of the snapping bond. Any moment now he’d feel that overwhelming pain. It was worse than anything he’d experienced physically.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered to her, then let his body collapse over hers. They’d rip him to shreds first.
“A king’s place is not on his knees.” Rion jerked upright at the sound of a familiar ethereal voice. It carried a melodic note to its tone rather than the distant echo he’d experienced before, but still—
“Who are you?”