6. Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Erik
T he silence was horrifying. Erik had expected for Janelle to sob or Thomas to scream, but instead, they just stood there. Frozen and in complete disbelief of what they had just witnessed.
Erik’s heart pounded, his blood rushing in his ears. Maybe Janelle had sobbed and Thomas had screamed, because he couldn’t hear anything past the rapid, thundering whoosh of his heartbeat.
Wake up. You have to wake up, he begged silently, unable to voice the words vibrating through his entire being. But neither of them moved, Lea’s body draped across Gray’s, her head resting on top of his body, her face relaxed as if sleeping. But the stillness was unnatural, so different from a peaceful slumber. Her chest didn’t rise and fall, and her eyes remained still behind half-closed lids.
Emma squirmed on the ground as the fire surrounding her faded away. She cried out in a moan of pain, and the trance holding them still and silent snapped. Just as he’d suspected, a sob burst from Janelle’s throat, and Thomas screamed so loud his voice went hoarse in an instant. But whether for Emma, or Lea—or both of them—Erik wasn’t sure.
From his periphery, Erik saw Thomas press two shaking fingers to Emma’s throat, but Erik didn’t listen to what he said. He knew she was still alive. He could hear the blood rushing through her veins, the slow thump of her heart. Irregular and weak, but still there . And as long as it was there, they had time.
“What do we do?” Janelle dropped to her knees next to Lea and Gray, her shaking hands hovering over their still bodies as if she wanted to help, but didn’t know where to start. “Erik! What do we do?”
“We wait.” Erik ordered, crossing his arms and planting his feet, his heart still thundering furiously.
“There’s no time!” Thomas's eyes darted between Emma and Lea, clearly torn between which woman to save. After a moment, a look of determination crossed his features, and he swallowed audibly as if choking down a mouthful of guilt and despair. “I’m saving Emma. I— If she dies, we lose them both. But I can still save her.”
“A few more moments,” Erik reiterated, never taking his eyes from his friends’ corpses. All he needed to see was the twitch of a finger, the rise of a chest, or the fluttering of eyes, and Emma could have the petal. The cure. He just needed something to indicate they were coming back, because they were coming back. They had to.
Emma spasmed, her body going rigid and her eyes rolling back in her head.
“I’m doing it.” Thomas began to pry Emma’s mouth open, but Erik shot a blast of fire directly into his hand, burning it so severely the smell of human flesh wafted to his nose. With the moonflower in his system, the burn healed instantly, but the threat was clear. Thomas would not be the one to decide when to give up on Lea and Gray.
“You will not ,” Erik snapped.
Thomas hissed in pain as he fell backward, his face going red with anger. But Erik could still hear Emma’s heart, the rasp of air as she inhaled and exhaled.
“Just a few more moments, Thomas,” Janelle pleaded, crawling on her hands and knees over to Emma and placing a bloody hand against her forehead. “Thirty more seconds. We have to give them a chance.” Janelle’s voice shook.
A chance. A chance for his king and queen to return to them. A chance for them to win this war, to find Alaric and defeat him.
Thump…
Thump…
A pause, far too long.
Thump…
Froth dribbled from Emma’s mouth along with another pause of her heart.
They were out of time. Vomit threatened to erupt from Erik’s stomach, his lungs stiffening as if refusing to inhale. Understanding crashed over him.
He was Gray’s second in command, a position he’d never wanted, but one he had agreed to, all the same. He’d made a vow to Gray, to this kingdom. He couldn’t allow their mission to fail because of a shred of hope that Gray and Lea would find a way back. Alaric had to be defeated. And there was no more time to waste.
“Do it,” Erik said, the words tiny razor blades slicing the muscles of his throat as he forced them out. His body felt heavy as he knelt next to his fallen brother, and with a shaking hand and a reverence he hoped Gray would feel beyond the veil, Erik slowly and gently closed Gray’s eyes.
The pain was unspeakable, but he shoved down the guilt surging through his chest and wrapping around his heart. At least, he tried. But it felt like nothing other than a betrayal.
He was giving up on his family. His oldest friend. But he couldn’t live with himself if Emma died, too. It would be a useless loss. A waste of life. Because if Emma was gone, so were Lea and Gray. He had given them time.
And they had failed.
Thomas didn’t waste a single second, grabbing the petal and shoving it between Emma’s lips. Erik watched intently, hoping that seeing the friend he did save would smooth the raw edges of his pain. He turned, but stopped suddenly. A cry left his throat as, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the abrupt clenching of Gray’s jaw, the sudden gasp of air that caused his chest to rise.
A chest that was healing so rapidly, it almost looked as if it had never been injured at all. There was no evidence of a fatal wound except for the blood coating his torso, the tattered tunic falling off of his shoulders, and the brutal, jagged scar where the mate bond had once been.
Erik surged forward, attempting to move Lea so that Gray could sit, but his friend’s arms wrapped around her tightly as a growl of primal rage rumbled from his throat. His eyes slowly opened, allowing tears to spill down his cheeks as he sat and then stood, holding onto Lea so tightly Erik wondered how she could even breathe. But…
The color drained from his face, and his joy evaporated as quickly as it had appeared at seeing his friend come back to life. While Gray’s skin was flushed with blood, and his injuries had healed, Lea was ashen, her eyes closed and her chest still—so still, he knew without a doubt there was no hint of life within her body.
A series of coughs and a gasp sounded from behind Erik, but he couldn’t pull his eyes away from his friend.
“You’re okay,” Thomas breathed, but his voice was shaky with sorrow and tears. “You’re okay,” he repeated.
The rustle of grass told Erik that Emma had sat up. That she had survived, but his eyes remained locked on his queen. On his king, who was holding onto his dead mate as if she were the only thing tethering him to this earth.
“Do you see her?” Gray rasped, his eyes locked on Emma, his voice shuddering with a pain so severe, Erik wondered if it would kill him all over again.
“See who?” Emma coughed, her voice weak.
Erik felt a stab of despair as he turned around. Emma’s eyes scanned the hill, her brows creased in confusion. She didn’t realize what Gray was asking. Didn’t know what had transpired while she’d been halfway between worlds.
And if she didn’t know who Gray was speaking of, then it looked like Gray had his answer. Gray had returned, but Lea had not followed him.
Gray’s eyes darkened as the shadows of the night pulsed with a terrifying might.
Gods save us all, Erik thought, dropping to his knees.
Lea was gone.