Chapter Forty-Three
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Theo
I rise from the waves after wrestling shadow monsters who apparently don’t drown but can be torn apart. If I didn’t have the extra strength from mating magic, they would’ve dragged me to the bottom of the ocean. My lungs burn, and my heart beats as though it’ll burst through my ribs.
The kraken’s pirate ship fires cannons at the shadow monsters moving over the water. I can’t worry about them right now.
Not when Gilly has my mate.
The world above flashes white.
Val .
I teleport to her. She lies on the ground, covered in blood, with Montejanus keening next to her in his dragon form. He pushes at her shoulder with his snout, but she doesn’t move.
No, I can’t be too late.
“Come on, Vicious.” I pull her into my arms, but blood pours from her middle. Red blood. Hers . I wrap my tail around her to staunch the blood flow. “Stay with me.” Her breathing’s there, shallow but there. I can feel it beneath my touch.
Nic lands next to us. “Oh no.”
I don’t let my sister grieve. No one’s grieving because I’m not letting Val go.
Slicing my vein, I plaster it to my mate’s mouth, willing my venom into her.
A shadow streaks past us.
“The portals,” I bark at Nic. “Get them closed. Run.”
She sprints into the house, disappearing through the front door.
Gods damned cursed house. It won’t burn. It can’t be destroyed. And I would give anything for a little of that magic to share with Val.
“Ora,” I bellow. “Healing. Now.”
The dwarf races as fast as her stout legs will carry her. “Your Highness.” Her voice cracks, sorrow filling it.
“Heal her,” I snap.
“I think she’s?—”
“Don’t say it,” I order. “Don’t even think it.”
The Infernal Army has gone silent. The crackle of my Brimstone fire and the distant boom of cannons from the pirate ship seem deafening.
“Even mating magic couldn’t heal her now,” Ora whispers.
Montejanus breathes smoke at me.
“Not now,” I tell the dragon. “Unless you can heal her, I don’t want?—”
He puffs fire, and I shield Val from the flame with my wings. The pain is excruciating. “Gods damn it, soul guardian, if you—” I bite off my reprimand when he blinks at me as if willing me to figure it out. “My fire could kill her,” I tell him.
“Or maybe save her,” Ora argues. “Look, sire, she’s not burned. Her magic didn’t destroy her.”
The dwarf’s right. Hell, I don’t spot a single blister on Val’s skin. “What about the poison?”
“What more do you have to lose?” Ora asks, and I don’t answer because Val is absolutely everything .
Montejanus flutters his wings, flying at me to rap his claws against my horns.
I swat him away. “If you’re wrong, soul guardian, I’ll hate you forever.”
He huffs more smoke as if he doesn’t give a damn about my feelings. Get on with it already , his infernal screech seems to say.
I hold Val as tightly as I dare, letting Brimstone fire lick over us both in the shelter of my wings. Pushing the smoke away from her as much as possible, I focus the flames on her wounds.
“I love you, Vicious,” I whisper. The purple of my fire plays over her skin, a kiss without burns. “Don’t you die on me.” I dial up the magic. “You have a kingdom to claim. We know how you’ll love being queen.” Forcing more flames, I shake her. “I will drag you out of the After Worlds and back to hell, damn it. Those pretty chains you escaped from will be nothing compared to the industrial-strength ones I’ll wrap you in.”
She frowns, her eyes still closed, and I want to cheer at the movement.
“That’s it,” I say. “Don’t you dare leave me with this damn dragon. Wake the fuck up.”
The frown turns to a scowl. “Hate,” she rasps, licking her lips. “Hate you. But love you, too.” She makes love sound like the worst possible thing that could happen to her.
A dark chuckle escapes me, all of my hope and fucking worry rolled into one.
Only my mate could hate to love me. I’ll spend the rest of our long lives convincing her our love is worth it.
It’s worth more than all the kingdoms in all the realms.