Chapter Forty-Two
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URZRA MENTALLY BERATED himself for letting his guard slip.
He’d been so caught up in their kiss that he hadn’t realized they were in danger.
His lapse could cost both his cambion and himself their lives.
Rage when Bria had been shot in the side fueled him.
He cut down the marauders at the front of the house without suffering any injuries, then raced to the back of the building.
Part of his attention remained on his female.
He detected several opponents approaching her, but their numbers swiftly began to fall when gunfire sounded.
His relief that she was handling the problem turned to terror when the final gunshot sounded.
He staggered back and looked down when he felt like he’d just been shot.
There were no signs of any injuries and dread suffused him.
He turned towards his cambion’s location only to be shot twice in the chest by the humans he was hunting. Urzra didn’t just feel rage this time. He went berserk and sliced his foes down with vicious swings of his sword.
Blood was pumping from his wounds that he knew were fatal. Bria was running towards him despite her grievous injury. She emerged from the trees as the final four humans closed in on Urzra. The cambion lifted both hands and sent a blast of power at them.
Urzra saw their eyes glaze over and didn’t give them the opportunity to kill each other. His sword flashed into action and he pierced their bodies, then lopped off their heads.
His female collapsed to her knees, sucking in deep breaths. Urzra was beside her an instant later. His sword disappeared back to the Void he knew he would soon be returning to himself.
“I’m so sorry, my female,” the knight said as he sat down and cradled Bria on his lap.
“Worst timing ever,” she said weakly. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth and he wiped it away. “Why did they have to turn up just when I realized I’m falling for you?” she asked.
Tears had welled in her eyes and spilled over. His eyes were misty as well. “I guess Fate isn’t smiling on us today,” he said, feeling his strength fading as the blood continued to gush from his chest and back. Feeling dizzy, he shifted his female off his lap, then lay down beside her.
Bria reached out and he took her tiny hand in his. “I wish I hadn’t been so stubborn,” she said, voice fading in and out. “I wish I’d seen how perfect you were right from the start.”
“I’m not perfect, female,” Urzra denied. They’d turned their heads to face each other. He drank in her beauty, praying to Fate that she would grant them a miracle. He prayed they might be able to live through this somehow so they could be together.
“You’re perfect for me,” she said.
“Just as you’re perfect for me,” he agreed.
“Before we die, I need you to know how much I love you, Bria Janke.” She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“You don’t need to say it back to me,” he said.
“It’s enough for me that you’re here with me in our final moments.
” She sobbed and he felt her agony at the movement.
“I’ll never forget you, my cambion,” he said.
“No matter how many wars I engage in or how many eras I’ll continue to do battle, you’ll always be in my heart. ”
Bria mustered up a smile that was so beautiful, it shattered his heart. “I love you, too, Urzra,” she confessed. “I’m glad we’re going to die together. I wouldn’t want to live in this nightmare of a world without you.”
Urzra’s pulse began to slow, but he clung to consciousness.
Bria’s eyelids fluttered shut, then she let out her final breath.
Pain unlike anything he’d ever experienced before made the Knight of Order howl in reaction.
His misery was so intense that he didn’t even realize he was no longer alone.
Then four people raced over and dropped to their knees next to him and his cambion.
“It’s okay, brother,” Amaros said, taking Urzra’s hand. “You’re not alone.”
“My female is gone,” Urzra said in desolation as tears spilled from his eyes.
“Not on my watch,” a beautiful blonde woman said grimly. “Hit her, Tor,” she said.
Another female with smooth brown skin and curly black hair put her hand on Bria’s chest. Power emanated from her and electricity flowed into the cambion. Bria let out a gasp, then sucked in a breath as Urzra felt like he’d just been electrocuted with ten thousand volts.
The blonde female took over and put her hands on Bria. Magic poured into her again and the bullet wounds on her chest and side healed.
“How?” Urzra asked as wild hope that this wasn’t just a hallucination surged through him.
“My mate is a healer, brother,” Kochab said.
Realizing the female was a cambion, Urzra felt a small amount of alarm when she put her hands on him next. Her magic infused him and the gaping wounds in his chest and back healed instantly. The bullet was expelled from his side and that wound vanished as well.
“I used my ability to wield lightning to restart her heart,” the pretty female with black hair said.
Bria was unconscious, but he sensed her pain was gone. “I owe you, females,” Urzra said to the blonde healer and her friend. “Anything you ever want or need is yours. You just need to ask.”
“Let’s get you two home,” Amaros said as he helped Urzra to his feet.
Kochab went to pick Bria up, but Urzra intercepted him. “I’ve got her,” he said.
His brother held his hands up in surrender with a wry grin. “I’d feel exactly the same way if it was Qiana lying there,” he said.
They huddled together, then Amaros teleported them to their base.
“Am I the last knight to arrive?” Urzra asked, placing his female on an examination bed in the center of a large infirmary.
“We officially have half of our squad here now that you’ve arrived,” Amaros said. “It’s a long story,” he added wryly. “We’ll wait for your female to recover before we fill you in.”
“I’m Dr. Qiana Forgan,” the blonde cambion said. “Your mate will be fine. She lost a lot of blood, but she’s already recovering. I’m sure she’ll wake up soon.”
Feeling suddenly weary, Urzra nodded his thanks. “Can someone stay with Bria while I get washed up?” he asked. “I don’t want her to see me covered in blood when she wakes up.”
“Grace?” Amaros asked, raising his voice only slightly.
A tiny female who was even smaller than Bria opened one of the doors a moment later. Blonde, green-eyed and with a pointed chin, she looked like a pixie. “You called, boss?” she asked.
“This is Urzra,” the commander said. “He’d like you to stay with Bria for a few minutes.”
“No problem, Urz,” Grace said. “I’ll look after Bri while you’re gone.”
“Grace gives us all nicknames,” Kochab said when his brother lifted both eyebrows. “I’m Koach and my mate is Qi.”
“What does Grace call you?” Urzra asked his leader.
“Amaros,” his boss said with a smirk.
“Am or Ama just doesn’t suit him,” the teen said, wrinkling her pert nose. “Go on now,” she said, flapping her hands at Urzra. “Bri will be fine until you get back.”
Anxious at leaving his female behind, Urzra followed Amaros to a huge bathroom. Camriel loped down the hallway with a bundle of items in his arms. “Hey, brother,” he said in greeting with a grin. “You’ll need these,” he said.
“Thanks, Camriel,” Urzra said, giving his brother a brief hug.
He took the towel, washcloth and toiletries, then chose one of the showers.
It was in a cubicle for privacy. He quickly washed away the blood and grime, then dried himself off.
He sensed Bria’s sudden confusion and figured she’d just woken up.
Grace seemed like a good kid despite her gray soul.
All of the cambions’ souls had been gray so far.
He detected several more were gathered in another room, along with a human.
One thing was immediately obvious; it was bound to be interesting living in a base with of a mixture of several different species.