Chapter Twenty Four （Part 3 - Dax's POV）
Dax's POV
Kiera's body hadn't moved in ten minutes.
She lay too pale on the stone ground, her cheeks drained of colour, her pink lips bloodless. The fire that always simmered underneath her skin had gone out.
She was just still.
The band around my chest constricted tighter as the healer pressed her hands against Kiera's sternum with furrowed brows and a low pulse of magic.
Nothing.
My fingers twitched, the sting from the cuts of jagged metal so far in the back of my mind I could barely feel the dull, thumping pain.
All I could see was her. The way her eyes had glazed over and her body swayed. The sickening thud when she hit the floor. The soft, bleary smile she'd given me when she breathed my name like it was special.
I didn't deserve to be special to her. Especially not when I couldn't protect her from a threat right under my nose.
"She's stable," the jaguar finally said but her face was anything but calm. "Whatever it was, it drained her. Maybe she could have fought it if she didn't have the collar but the silver stopped her."
I nodded stiffly, not trusting my voice. The panic still trembled in my chest but I had to be strong. For her.
"What the fuck happened her?" Lucien asked from next to me, his voice hushed. His usual smirk was nowhere in sight. He just looked at Kiera like she could disappear if he blinked.
Any other time, I would have cared but he was the one person I knew I could trust right now with her safety.
"I don't know."
It killed me to admit. It twisted a knife in my chest. Left me bleeding.
I should have seen it coming. I'd been too careful. I played politics and tried to get the Council to see reason instead of snapping that collar in two when I had the chance. Now she was hurt and it was my fault.
Again.
"She'll need rest." The healer stood, her face grave. "Lots of real rest. If you want her alive, you'll need to give her space to recover. And not another collar."
My heart sank at the sharpness in her eyes, my teeth grinding together.
"Never again," I agreed, my voice low and firm. "We'll leave within the hour."
Lucien snorted, sneering as he glared at me. "Oh yeah, drag her back to your gilded cage. That's gonna help."
I ignored him. I leaned down next to her. Fresh snow and fir, it was distant. Barely there. Like even her scent had been drained from her. I brushed a strand of white blonde hair from her forehead with the backs of my fingers.
She was always so composed, so strong, her presence larger than her body. But seeing her like this, her slight frame looked fragile and delicate. Like she really could be broken.
Lucien was watching. I could feel his eyes scrutinising. I didn't care.
I hooked my arms under her back and legs, lifting her against my chest as I stood.
"Get the cars ready. We leave now."
Surprise! It's short but a little insight into Dax's mind after Kiera's been poisoned.
What do you think?
I still plan to post a full chapter today so stay tuned x