Chapter 33
Alchera
Moving forward, I say, “Form a circle. My friend is going to take you to a safe place.”
The boy gives us a worried look, but he helps get the toddlers to hold hands.
I crouch in front of them. “Don’t let go of each other. Okay?”
They just nod, their cheeks covered with tear tracks.
I rise to my full height and look at the boy. “Give me the baby.”
He hesitates for a moment before handing her to me. I turn to Ares and hold her out to him. “Don’t let go of her.”
Even though he shakes his head, he takes the baby.
I grab the boy’s arm and force him to stand beside Ares. “Place your hand on him and hold one of the toddler’s hands.”
When they’re all linked, a thunderous noise fills the air, then Awo’s voice rumbles in the air. “A life for theirs.”
He’s not saying we can’t save them.
Not thinking twice about what this means for me, my eyes lock with Ares. “Go!”
“Alchera! Don’t you fucking dare,” Raighne shouts, his tone desperate and filled with fear. “Don’t do this to us.”
Ares shakes his head again, giving me a pained look. “This isn’t right, Alchera. I would follow you to the darkest pits of the shadowlands, but what you’re asking of me…”
With a pleading expression, I place my hand on his arm. “I forgive you, Ares. Do this for me. Take them to safety.”
He closes his eyes, intense heartache tightening his features. “You showed me how to be strong. You saved me.”
My throat closes up with emotion as I stare at Ares. “Go.”
“Please,” Raighne begs. “Ares, just grab her and come home.”
Ares shakes his head, the veins in his throat straining, then he opens his eyes and looks at me. He begins to fade, and I feel his cool breeze whisper through me as he tries to take me with them.
Then they’re gone.
Standing alone in the house while the thunderous noise around me grows, I let out a heavy sigh.
An explosion rocks the world, and I’m forced to my knees. The walls of the house shudder and crumble, and the ground quakes.
“Alchera,” Raighne groans, all his warmth pouring into me and giving me the strength I need to climb to my feet.
“I’m sorry,” I sob as I stagger out of the collapsing house.
The area to my left is engulfed in fire and black smoke, and above me, the sky is a dark inferno as the asteroid barrels toward the ground.
I run as fast as I can to get to Phoenix, and when I reach him, he slumps to his side. I fall to my knees and catch him in time to watch as he gasps for air, his eyes turning completely black.
“It’s okay,” I whisper. “You’re not alone.”
His eyes flutter closed, and I choke on a sob as I look up to where Thana is on fire.
A cry rips from me, and Raighne’s warmth engulfs me until my skin starts to shine as if a light is trying to break free from me.
“I love you,” Raighne whispers, his tone hoarse with heartache.
“I love you so much,” I sob. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t let them die.”
“I understand.”
“I wish…I wish…” I’m crying too hard to form a coherent thought.
“I’ll be with you until the end. I’m here. I love you, my little dreamer. ”
Hearing his words makes me realize Raighne will die with me, and it fills me with unthinkable fear.
“No!” My eyes widen, and Phoenix’s body slips out of my arms.
I climb to my feet, and lifting my head, I stare up at the destruction bearing down on me. With every ounce of strength I have, I try to force Raighne out of my mind.
“I reject our bond.”
“Don’t, Alchera!” he shouts and I swear I hear his words echo in the wind around me.
“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Be happy, Raighne.”
I close my eyes, and it takes everything I am as I let out a scream while trying to sever our bond.
I can feel Raighne fighting me, and desperate because I’m out of time, I cry, “Awo, spare him. Please!”
When I open my eyes, the asteroid’s shadow is all I can see as the sand and rocks lift from the ground and pressure squeezes the air from my lungs.
It will disintegrate Earth on impact. There will be nothing left of this world I once called home.
Sobs shudder through my body as I beg one last time, “Awo, save Raighne.”
Heat scorches my skin, and unable to suck in another breath, I feel a weird calmness settle over me.
This is where I belong.
Just as everything explodes around me and the Earth shudders and roars, everything lights up so bright I have to shut my eyes.
“Alchera,” I hear Raighne groan, sounding a million miles away from me.
And as I face my end, I whisper, “I love you, Raighne.”
Raighne
On my knees in the middle of the castle’s foyer, I focus everything I am to hold onto Alchera.
Brenna’s holding their mother, who’s sobbing as they stare at me, and Finian stands beside them, his face pale.
“Raighne,” Brenna whispers, her tone drenched in heartache while she stares at me in horror.
I glance down and see the essence of my soul shining through the cracks in my skin.
Alchera is dying.
No.
Closing my eyes, I use all my strength to hold onto her and groan, “Alchera.”
“I love you, Raighne.” Her words are faint, barely a whisper that trickles to me from afar.
Then the unspeakable happens, and I feel our bond snap with an intensity that slams me backward, sending me skidding across the floor.
“No!” I roar, despair ripping through me.
“Dear Awo,” Brenna gasps before uncontrollable sobs overwhelm her.
“No,” Queen Mya weeps. “Not Alchera as well.”
Lying on my back, I have zero strength to move as I stare at the ceiling. A horrible emptiness fills the hole left by the half of my soul that’s been ripped away, and I’m barely able to breathe.
Finian crouches beside me, his expression torn with worry. “Brother?”
“She’s gone,” I gasp, my heart cracking wide open until it feels as if my very soul is hemorrhaging.
Finian grabs my shoulders and holds me as tight as he can. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
I grab his arm as my body shudders through the devastation hitting me with merciless blows.
Alchera is dead. I failed her .
No!
The emptiness grows, threatening to drag me to the shadowlands where all hope and love are lost. Darkness creeps around the corners of my vision as I struggle to take a breath.
Suddenly a bright light fills the entrance hall, blinding us all, and then Awo’s voice echoes around us. “There’s no need to weep. A selfless act will not be punished with death.”
Stunned out of my mind, I somehow manage to push Finian away and struggle to my feet, but the moment Alchera starts to appear in the middle of the light, strength returns to my body, and I shoot forward.
When my arms wrap around her, new life is breathed into my soul, and I feel our bond tie us together once again.
My body shudders from the intense relief flooding me, and I can’t stop myself from gripping her as tight as possible.
“Alchera’s destiny isn’t over,” Awo informs us. “She’s been given the talent of visions and dreams. With her new destiny comes the responsibility for everyone’s dreams. At night, she will bring peace to those who sleep.”
Alchera stands frozen in my arms, and when I take hold of her chin, to look at her face, I see her eyes are shut as if she’s caught in a deep sleep.
“Be blessed,” Awo says before his light fades, and the moment he’s gone, Alchera gasps as she sucks in a desperate breath of air, her eyes snapping open.
Her irises are no longer emerald green but the softest shade of blue, almost like the blue lace agate stone that brings tranquillity and calm.
And there are no signs of the shadows that tormented her the past week.
She stares at me for a moment before she throws her arms around my neck, relief and happiness bursting in her chest.
I lift her from her feet, squashing the living fuck out of her. “Don’t ever do that to me again,” I growl, my entire being so fucking thankful I didn’t lose her. “I can’t exist without you.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers by my ear. “Did Ares save the children?”
“You just came back from death, and that’s your first thought?” I ask, letting out an incredulous chuckle because it amazes me how selfless the woman I love is.
“They’re safe,” Ares’ voice sounds up as he suddenly appears before it’s followed by the sound of a baby crying.
I ease my hold on Alchera, and we glance at Ares, who’s surrounded by a teenager, three children, and a baby.
“Dear Awo,” Brenna gasps before she and Queen Mya rush to the children.
Ares quickly hands the baby over to Queen Mya, then he glances at Alchera.
“Next time you pull a stunt like that, I’m staying behind with you,” I hear him tell her.
“Thank you for everything, Ares,” she replies, her tone soft and grateful.
He nods before disappearing again.
I feel a twinge of pity in my chest for my cousin because I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to find his way back to the light.
Queen Mya comes to place her hand on Alchera’s shoulder, then says, “Go with Raighne, sweetheart. We’ll talk once you’ve had time to get settled.”
Alchera nods, her features tightening, and I feel as everything she’s experienced today overwhelms her.
Wrapping my arm around Alchera’s shoulders, I guide her out of the castle, and every time one of the villagers notices her, I shake my head at them so they won’t approach us.
She needs time to recover before I’ll allow her to interact with anyone, and after almost losing her, I also need to be alone with her because the echo of despair still clings to me.
I wish I could shimmer like Ares.
Walking is taking too long for my liking, and I stop to sweep her up into my arms. The moment she holds onto me, I begin to run, and not even a minute later, I storm through our front door and kick it shut behind us.
Sinking to my knees, I engulf Alchera with my body that’s shuddering from the hell I experienced when she severed our bond and died .
“I’m so sorry,” she cries as she clings to me. “I couldn’t let you die.”
Unable to speak, I enter her mind and force my way through her until I find her soul.
I engulf her entire being until there’s nothing between us and let out a groan from how good it feels to be one with her again.
Blindly, my mouth finds hers, and the kiss is filled with overpowering love and need.
“Never again,” I growl as I climb to my feet and carry her to the bedroom.
She nods as she desperately kisses me back, and once we’re in the bedroom, I let her stand on her feet so I can hurriedly strip her of her clothes.
We move with desperation, and when we fall onto the bed, the need to be inside her has my cock entering her with a single hard thrust.
The moment I feel her discomfort, I take it from her, and my body starts to move, the pace feverish and rough.
A light begins to shine between us, and I can sense the moment Alchera’s able to hear my thoughts and feel what I feel.
The kiss is out of control and wild, my hips moving fast and hard.
Completely connected, our souls and bodies fused as one, I say, “Without you, there’s no me.”
“I’ll never risk us again,” she promises, her nails digging into my back as I keep hammering into her. “Us. Forever.”
I rest my forearms on either side of her, framing her face with my hands as I continue to make love to her with an intense need only she can satisfy.
My mouth devours hers, and I get drunk on the taste of my woman, the pleasure too powerful to fully process as it seizes our bodies.
Even though my pace slows down as our orgasms tear through us, I can’t stop thrusting inside her.
Our kisses turn from wild to deep and soulful, and as day turns to night, I can’t bring myself to stop loving her for a single second.
I have no idea how much time has passed when Alchera breaks the kiss to breathlessly say, “We need to get up. ”
“No,” I mutter, pressing kisses to her jaw and down her throat.
“I’m thirsty,” she complains before chuckling.
Letting out a playful growl, I pull out of her before I climb off the bed.
While I walk to the kitchen, I hear the water start to run in the shower, and it feels so damn good to hear Alchera moving around in my house.
I quickly fill a glass of water for Alchera and find her where she’s holding her hand beneath the spray in the shower, checking the temperature.
“Here you go,” I say, handing the glass to her.
While she downs the cool liquid, I step into the shower and grab the soap. I work it until my hands are covered in suds, and once Alchera joins me, I begin to wash her body.
She also rubs the soap in her hands before her palms brush over my shoulders.
When our eyes lock, I say, “If we’re ever faced with a life-threatening situation again, don’t break our bond. Promise me that we’ll live and die together. The pain of losing you is too unbearable and the worst torture I can be subjected to.”
She presses a kiss to my left peck, then nods. “I promise.”
I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly to my chest where the echo of loss still ghosts through my heart. I don’t think it will ever completely fade.
The blow I was dealt left a scar on my soul, and it will always serve as a reminder of how important Alchera is to me.