Chapter 55 Roman
I coughed and it hurt. The entire first and second floor of the abbey’s east wing had collapsed on top of me. And Blaise.
Where was Blaise?
Pure anger fed my soul as I dug my way out from underneath the rubble.
Time was lost to me and I had no idea how many minutes had passed since the first attack.
I berated myself for not staying with Katarina.
Was she okay? Was she still alive? I took a breath and reached out through our bond, afraid of what I might find.
But there she was, still kicking and screaming and I smiled when I shoved the last giant piece of stone floor off my legs.
Everything hurt. My bones were broken and although I was a fast healer, I would require fresh blood to help speed up the process.
But first, I needed to find my crew. With a tentative push, I sent my senses searching over our vast property.
Aiden was somewhere nearby, and I could definitely feel Dorian and Katarina in the same room but in a different wing.
Good. That was good. They could protect each other.
I sucked in some air and reached out to Blaise. Feeling nothing at first, I pushed harder. It wasn’t until I sensed a weak heartbeat stretch across our bond that I finally took a breath. He was injured. And Aiden was scared.
If Aiden was afraid, I needed to get the rest of us back together so we could pull on the power we’d been practicing so hard to master. But what about Aiden and Blaise? Could I leave them? Should I?
Slowly pushing to my feet, my legs buckled underneath the pain of my femur reforming itself.
Son of a bitch, I hated broken bones. I stumbled through the basement tunnels, knowing that there was an exit through the storm cellar just a few rooms away.
Hating that I couldn’t run any faster, I did my best to focus on getting out of here more than the frustration of moving at a snail’s pace.
The abbey shook again with some other kind of attack. Murielle would die for this. It was a suicide mission for her, I’d make sure of it. No one was going to talk me out of it. Not even Katarina.
I reached the cold root cellar door and slammed into it.
My shoulder burned with the pressure, but the old iron door hadn’t been opened in years and it protested loudly.
Pressing both hands against the monstrosity, I pushed with everything I had.
Finally, the door groaned beneath my hands and opened wide enough for me to snake through.
And as soon as I did, I grabbed an old board once used for shelving off the floor and threw it at the hatch nested just above ground level.
The much newer and much weaker double doors flew open, letting in a rush of fiery orange light and toxic smoke.
Running at full speed now, I left the east wing cellar and rushed to the other side of our home before anyone could see me.
I knew the witches were out there waiting for us, but I decided to find the others before engaging.
Katarina had been right the other night when she made us promise that we would stick together during the fight with the coven.
She knew we should be with each other to maximize our power.
And although I sensed that Blaise and Aiden needed us, I made the hard choice to run to her. I hoped I wouldn’t regret it.
Within seconds, I was standing outside of Katarina’s bedroom next to an anxious Grim. He was barking his head off, drool dripping from his snarling jowls. His hackles were raised, and when he didn’t flinch as I slid to a stop next to him, fear clenched at my heart with her dark and sinewy fingers.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him, banging on the door.
“Roman!” Katarina shouted from inside. “The doors won’t open!”
I grabbed the handles and shook, sure she’d probably already been doing the same with no result. Grim barked and Dorian howled. Wait! She had Dorian.
“Katarina, you need to siphon Dorian’s power—”
“I can’t,” she cut me off.
“Yes, you can! You’re ready. Take a breath, connect with Dorian, and blow the shit out of these doors.” I swear I heard her chuckle beneath the breaths she was sucking in.
“Okay. Okay,” she said. “Yeah. I’ve got this.” Her voice trailed off as she presumably stepped back and away from the doors. “You two stay clear!”
I whistled at Grim who immediately glared at me.
“Come on, Grim. You heard her.” He reluctantly trotted to my side, where I’d retreated down the hallway a few steps.
There were noises coming from her bedroom, but I couldn’t figure out what she was saying.
Maybe Dorian had shifted back to help her. Or maybe—”
The two oversized wooden doors flew off their hinges, slammed into the opposite wall, and shattered into splinters before they hit the ground.
Grim and I cowered, the slivers of wood raining down on us seemingly from all sides.
Katarina ran across the threshold, followed by Dorian, still in his wolf form.
She jogged straight to me and into my outstretched arms.
“You’re safe,” she breathed against my face, her lips caressing my ear.
I had lifted her without realizing it. Funny how one woman could change everything in me. I had never been one to show much outward affection, but man was I glad to hold her in my arms right now. And Dorian. He was safe and snapping at us both as a reminder that we had to keep moving.
“Dorian’s right,” I said as I set her down. “We need to go.”
“Blaise and Aiden?” she asked as I grabbed her hand and started running.
“We’re going to them,” I said, hoping it wasn’t a lie. We needed to face the coven and right now, the coven was somewhere near the east wing.
Once we ran down the stairs and out the back entrance, I scooped Katarina up in my arms and hit the gas.
Dorian and Grim could keep up, but Katarina’s human body still didn’t have enough speed to match mine.
She didn’t protest, and when we reached the other side of the property in seconds, she thanked me.
“Oh my god. Where are they?” she asked, assessing the damaged building.
“They are here.” Somewhere.
Dorian barked at me and took off. He jumped up onto the crumbled building and started making his way to the other side where the coven was waiting. I’d purposely dropped us off in the back courtyard, hoping that Blaise would be here. I didn’t want to think about what it meant if he wasn’t.
Grim and Katarina started following Dorian. Two brave warriors. No matter how this day ended, I would be forever proud of her and grateful that we’d found each other.
“Roman!” she screamed. “They have Aiden!”
I scrambled up over the rubble and stood beside her as quickly as I could. She was shaking and out of breath, but her face contorted with rage when she looked up at me. “I knew something was wrong,” she admonished herself. “What are they doing to him?”
I didn’t answer her question. Instead, I traced across the courtyard and ran up to the line of witches chanting their spells. Barely noticing the bubble they’d cocooned our abbey under, I searched the army of hooded coven members, hunting for the one I really wanted.
“Murielle!” I yelled. “Did I get the date wrong?” I asked with a sneer.
I could feel Katarina and Dorian behind me, that tendril of power silently snaking between the three of us.
She was siphoning the magic of our beasts and channeling it back to me with even more power.
I’d never radiated with so much strength.
“Murielle, show yourself!” I shouted again, ready to end this ridiculous charade.
There were five rows of witches with at least fifty in each line.
How the hell did she manage to bring in so many?
She would have had to promise them more than just the city to gain their trust. And my suspicions were confirmed when Murielle stepped through the wall of witches and lowered her black hood.
Her eyes scanned the rubble behind me, searching for something.
Searching for Blaise.
“Oh shoot,” she cooed. “Did we accidentally kill him?”
Having no patience for chit-chat, I pounced. But somehow, she was quicker, and the second before I reached her so I could rip out her throat, she shoved a silver stake straight into my heart.
Excruciating pain radiated to my toes. My throat burned and my chest seized. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t even scream. And then my heart beat just two more times before stopping altogether.