38. Az
Az
“NO!” I roar, scrambling over the bodies of my foes. “No, no, no! Lois!!!”
I’m screaming. I’m screaming while I’m slaying all those that come near me, trying to stop me from getting to her.
And… somewhere in my mind, I know it can’t possibly be her.
I do know that. I haven’t lost all my sanity.
But what if-
She left the Lords’ Gallery.
What if she somehow made her way into the arena?
And does it even matter if she’s real or not? The sight of what I just saw? Her body hanging limp and lifeless in the arms of a monster?
Rage is burning up inside of me. A sorrow so deep, all the known planets could never fill it. All because I was shown this image.
I exact quick use of a dagger to the throat of the monster who holds Lois. Her body thuds to the floor in a sound that makes me want to throw up.
“No, no, no!” I cradle her.
She feels so real. The weight of her. The softness.
What if?
Without hesitation, I sink my fangs into her throat and pump out my active healing venom.
“Come on, Lois. Come on!” I say, going back to give her more – giving her so much that the taste of my venom floods my mouth.
Distantly, I hear the crowd’s collective gasp.
I don’t give a shit.
It’s not doing anything! It’s not-
My Lois melts in my arms. Not like she does when she allows me to hold her in a cuddle, either – she literally, physically, melts until there’s no longer any of her left for me to hold.
She is no longer smiles and snark, no longer curves and softness. She isn’t even an eye-roll hiding a smirk she doesn’t want me to see.
She’s nothing but terrain cells. Melted back into the play of the arena.
I look up to find Pax, and I know what I have to do.
Judging by the fear of Nex I see in his eyes, he does, too.