27
My magic was utterly depleted, and I couldn’t even pull on it to push myself faster on the battlefield. When I dipped into the well of magic in my core, I felt nothing.
Blood and dirt smeared my face despite the driving rain my storm had brought on. My hair was wet and tangled, plastered to my face as I followed Tess, Nik, and Isaac back into the battle. Puck was somewhere among the fray, as were Liss, Warrick, Zion, Saanvi, and Kenna.
The battle was a mixture of Nightshade’s shifted into their animal form and those that preferred the sword and dagger. Everywhere I searched there was a new sight, whether it was a jaguar, wolf, bear, or tiger. Nik remained in his human form as he fought back-to-back with me, a second wind hitting me as I gripped Stormslayer in my fist.
These people were risking their lives for me and for the promise of a better future for Istmere, and they would not defeat us so easily. I was thankful that Donika had chosen not to join this battle, and her Noctani and Araneoch were nowhere to be seen, either. Corian was noticeably absent as well.
I didn’t recognize any of the other soldiers as I cut them down, my mind numb with the chaos of battle. I felt like a robot as I went through the motions, pure adrenaline driving me.
We needed to survive this.
All of us.
We had been fighting for hours, but darkness still blanketed Prins, the sunrise nowhere in sight.
I wiped sweat from my brow with the back of my hand as we fought on, my eyes always searching to make sure Nik and Tess were safe. Isaac and Puck had drifted off into the melee of the battle, and I had lost sight of them quite some time ago. I prayed that they were safe, and that we would all make it out of this alive.
My thoughts kept traveling back to the witches I had killed, back to Tyr. But I shook my head to try to clear my thoughts and focus.
I would have time later to grieve.
To process.
Right now, I simply needed to move.
“Behind you!” Tess called as the Nightshade before her fell to his knees beneath her blade.
I whirled around and ducked as a soldier’s sword swung over my head. One moment later, and it would have separated my head from the rest of my body. I ducked under the soldier’s arm, jabbing him in the back with my dagger. His sword fell to the ground as he turned, his hand reaching out fast enough that I couldn’t stop it before it closed around my throat.
I sliced through his forearm with Stormslayer, and he withdrew with a hiss, stepping backwards right into Nik’s sword. He fell to his knees as Nik slid his sword free and the soldier fell among the rubble.
“Teamwork makes the dream work,” Tess called out, and I couldn’t help but shake my head and indulge her a little. Leave it to Tess to find a lick of humor in a situation such as this.
It was short-lived as another soldier stormed forwards, his sword raised against Nik. I turned to guard his back and realized the battlefield was…empty.
All the soldiers that had flooded this part of the street had either been killed already or fled.
Nik quickly dispatched the soldier, and I bent over, my hands on my knees to catch my breath. I had no idea how long we had been fighting for, but every ounce of energy had been sapped from my body, leaving me exhausted through and through.
“We have to go find the others,” Tess announced, joining us.
I nodded, swallowing. “Agreed.”
We could still hear scuffling from further down the street, the clang of swords sounding further off in the distance. The view was obscured by the smoke that still rose from the rubble of the burning buildings. They had been reduced to ruins as Siraleth had, but my storm had stopped the fire from spreading further than this block and the next.
As we moved down the street, the sight of the bodies strewn about the rubble had bile rising in my throat. I recognized faces from our own resistance, mingled with those of the Nightshade army we had taken down.
We would need to sift through the dead—to give those of us who stood against Donika a proper burial. I would need to ensure Tyr was treated with the respect he deserved. Everyone had thought he turned on us, but he had given his life to save mine in the end, and I would never forget it. Guilt rose within me, so heavy it felt as if it was physically weighing down my every step.
I did my best to swallow back those emotions, though they threatened to destroy me. I reminded myself—not for the first time during this long night—that the time for grieving would come later. For now, we needed to find the others and count our numbers, determining who had survived this ambush and regroup.
Anger bubbled inside me that Donika hadn’t even bothered to show up. I worried if her numbers were truly so large that the soldiers she sent here today were indispensable to her.
After a few minutes of walking, we found Isaac, Zion, and Puck in a group they could easily dispatch if we joined them. We jogged down the street, dodging the bodies and the fallen debris to engage in the fight with them.
It was almost over.
Almost.
I crept up behind the Shade that Puck fought with, easily sliding Stormslayer between his shoulder blades. He let out a shocked gasp, falling to his knees before he had a chance to turn and see who had come up behind him. I slid Stormslayer free as we moved onto the next Shade. A few of the Nightshades took one look at our group and took off, realizing the remainder of their army had either scattered or were slain in the battle.
Nik took on a Shade double his size, using his smaller frame and agility to evade him. Despite his size, the larger Shade was equally as fast. Puck joined him, and I turned my attention towards Isaac who was outnumbered, circled by three Shades at once.
An arrow sang through the air and hit the rubble a few feet from me, skittering against the rocks and missing its target. I turned, searching for the archer and where the arrow might have come from. Another arrow shot forwards, which Isaac dodged with his sword. His eyes narrowed.
My gaze scanned the buildings still standing in this part of the city. Was there an archer in one of these windows?
There, my sight snagged on a flash of light in the window of a fourth story town house.
“Isaac!” I called out, pointing Stormslayer. “There!”
“I’ve got it!” He called back.
That left Tess, Zion, and me to handle the rest.
Another arrow sang from the window, whispering through the air. This one didn’t hit the rubble as the others had. There was no dull sound of the arrow burying itself in the rocks. I heard a wet, fleshy sound that twisted my stomach into knots.
Cold dread settled over me as I turned, my mouth dry.
My eyes searched our group quickly. Tess and Zion had already taken care of the three Shades that had circled Isaac, and Isaac was climbing the stairs of the partially destroyed townhouse to dispatch the archer.
And Nik…Nik was still battling the larger Nightshade soldier.
But…something wasn’t right.
Nik’s face was chalky, a bright red spot blooming against the shoulder of his tunic. He glanced up at the soldier as he fell to his knees. The Nightshade raised his sword high as the realization dawned on me.
There was an arrow protruding from Nik’s shoulder.
I abandoned Tess and Zion, running towards Nik as fast as I could. I pumped my arms hard at my sides, using a boulder to launch myself up to the height of the Nightshade, burying Stormslayer into the side of his neck before he could bring his sword down.
He pushed me off with a grunt, and I realized I hadn’t buried it nearly deep enough to take him down. I fell to the ground beside him, my head cracking against a rock, my vision going dark for a moment.
But one moment was all it took.
All it took for the Shade to raise his sword.
And bury it in Nik’s gut.
He slid his blade free and Nik doubled over. His hand immediately went to cover the wound, the arrow still protruding from his shoulder. Blood bubbled to his lips as our eyes met, and for a moment, all I thought was that this was what hell must feel like. This must have been how Nik felt earlier, when I was the one who had been injured. My heart still beat in my chest, but it was as if it had been cleaved in two.
But my injury…it wasn’t…it didn’t…
He fell to his side, his breathing shallow. I wanted to run to him, to heal him, but as I pulled on my magic, there was nothing.
My vision went red, and I swept Stormslayer out, slicing the Shade in the back of the knees hard enough for him to fall. I stepped up behind him and, without hesitation, ran Stormslayer across his throat.
I let his body slump to the ground and stepped over it, my heart beating so hard it felt as if it were in my throat. That it might beat right out of my chest.
“Nik!”
I could hear a struggle in the townhouse, and a moment later Isaac shoved the archer out the window, his body joining the others in a cloud of dust.
I ran to Nik’s side, pulling his head into my lap. His eyes were closed, his breathing heavy and labored. The laceration in his abdomen bled through his fingers, making the wound from the arrow the least of our problems.
“Nik, open your eyes,” I commanded, giving him a gentle shake. “Nik, can you hear me? Stay with me, Nik.”
Hadn’t he said the same thing to me mere hours ago? When Fletcher had wounded me? His eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks and when his eyes met mine, I had to swallow back my terror.
His eyes were a dull, lifeless blue.
“Poison,” he whispered, blood trickling from the corners of his lips.
I shook my head violently, tears streaming down my face.
No.
If it weren’t for that archer, the Shade never would have gotten the upper hand. Never would have had the opportunity to pierce him with his sword.
I couldn’t lose Nik. I couldn’t.
I blinked back the tears as they blurred my vision, wiping my face with my blood and dirt-stained shirt.
“Liss,” I whispered back, searching frantically around us.
The only faces that met mine were that of Tess, Puck, and Zion, their expressions somber.
“Where is Liss?” I asked, my voice cracking.
“I haven’t seen her,” Zion’s voice was sad as he crouched next to us.
“Isaac!” I screamed, gripping Nik’s hand tightly in my own. I could not lose another person I loved. I wouldn’t. “Isaac, I need you!”
I tried to focus, to dip into the well of my magic again. But again…I felt nothing.
“Dammit,” I ground out through my teeth in frustration. I tried again and again.
There was nothing there. Absolutely nothing.
I could hear when Isaac joined us, cursing under his breath.
“He said it’s poison,” I told him, searching his gaze. “We need Liss. She is the most skilled healer.”
“How did you heal your own wound before?” Isaac asked, his eyes searching mine.
“I used my storm magic…but there isn’t any left. I depleted it. I can’t feel any of my fucking magic. Please, you need to help him.”
I could hear the panic in my own voice, and the calm soberness of those around me only made me want to scream at the top of my lungs.
Why wasn’t anyone doing anything?
“I don’t know where she is,” Isaac replied, his hand covering Nik’s over the wound on his abdomen. One of my hands was buried in his hair, the other gripping his shoulder tight. “We can’t take the arrow out right now. He is too weak from the loss of blood as it is. We need to move him.”
“To where?” I asked, my voice raw. “The safe house is gone. I don’t have any supplies in the town house. What do we do?”
Isaac stood, searching the surrounding buildings until his gaze landed on one further down the street. He nodded to himself, turning to help Zion lift Nik.
“Where are we going?” I asked, stepping back so they could lift him, but reaching for Nik’s hand.
His cold hand.
“I had a friend who lived in this district. She married a doctor. They should have some supplies in their house to stop this bleeding until we can find Liss,” Isaac replied tightly.
I nodded, following them down the street through the smoke, away from the wreckage and into the darkness.
I swallowed back salty tears, my throat thick.
Where was Liss? Saanvi? Kenna? Warrick? I almost emptied the contents of my stomach when the thought hit me—that Liss might not have made it through the battle at all. That she might be dead.
Isaac shouldered open the doorway, and I had to let go of Nik’s hand as we passed through. Tess and Puck were close on my heels. Isaac and Zion laid Nik across a table in the dining room, and I helped shove everything from the table onto the floor.
Nik grunted as he tried to sit up, and I took that as a good sign…that he had enough energy to even try. I remained at his side, his hand in mine as Isaac sent Zion and Puck to search for Liss. Tess clasped my shoulder with her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
My eyes met hers, and they were filled with unshed tears.
I shook my head, turning back towards Nik.
“He’s going to be fine.” I shook my head again. As if I could will it into existence. “He has to.”
“Firecracker.” His voice was hoarse, and as he coughed, he spat up more blood. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Whatever it is, it can wait. You need to save your strength right now,” I told him, a faux smile gracing my lips as I glanced down at him.
I blinked, and a tear escaped my eye, landing on his cheek and rolling off. It left a trail through the dried blood in its wake.
“You don’t understand,” his voice was quiet as he struggled to keep his eyes open, trained on me.
“I don’t need to. Shhh. You need to keep your strength.” I pushed the hair back, out of his face.
“Diana—” His voice cut off as a coughing fit took him, his whole body racking with the effort.
The blood was seeping from his wound at an alarming rate and Tess had found towels for us to press against it in an attempt to slow or staunch the bleeding. He was pale, his pulse slow and thready.
I gave his hand a squeeze as he closed his eyes.
“Nik?”
Nothing.
“Nik, can you hear me?” My voice was fragile and broke as if it were glass as I tried to force it out.
Nothing.
“God dammit, Nikolai, squeeze my hand if you can hear me.”
Nothing.
My eyes flew to Tess’ and she had her hand on his wrist, her expression grim.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “No, he is going to be fine. I can’t lose him. I won’t. Nik? Nik, can you hear me?”
Nothing.
He couldn’t be. He just couldn’t be.
I wouldn’t allow it.
I dipped into my magic again, forcefully. There was only a small ember. It was infinitesimal…but it was there. I dragged that scrap of magic to my core, bringing it through my fingertips as I placed my hands against his chest.
“Diana, what are you doing?” Tess asked, moving into my field of vision across the table from me. My eyes snapped open, meeting hers. “Diana, no. You’ve already depleted all your magic, there’s nothing left. Your eyes…”
“We don’t have another choice,” I ground out, my teeth clenched.
“There’s always another choice. Diana, there’s nothing left but your life force. You can’t do this.” Tess’ voice was panicked, but I could no longer see her. The only thing before my eyes was the swirling ember of magic as it flowed through my fingertips.
“Diana! Stop! If you give up your last ounce, it will be your life for his.”
Her words sounded far away, as if I was under water and she was desperately trying to reach me from shore.
“Diana! Diana! Diana!”
There were other voices now, but I couldn’t distinguish them. I felt hands clawing at mine, trying to scrape them away from Nik’s chest, but I held fast.
If it was my life for his, I would give it. I loved him.
Didn’t they understand?
Tears streamed down my cheeks in earnest, my hands glowing with amethyst magic where they connected with Nik’s skin. His eyes were open now, the vibrant blue searching mine. His lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear the words that were coming out of his mouth.
I smiled down at him, releasing one hand to run it through his blood-stained hair. He gripped my wrist tightly, and a surge of happiness swelled within me that he suddenly had the strength to do so.
It was working.
I would never recover if I didn’t save him. The sight of his lifeless, dirt-stained, blood-soaked body with an arrow protruding from it would plague me forever. The feeling of his lips on mine, his fingers exploring my skin. I would never be able to let him go.
Never.
I would forever be haunted by the memory of him. By the loss of him. By all the what-ifs and could’ve beens. Even if he didn’t feel the same.
I would never survive the loss of him.
Despite having pushed my feelings towards him down and down and down these past few months, they all came bubbling to the surface now. I loved him, and I wouldn’t let him go.
I wasn’t sure if the conscious part of me realized my strength was weakening as I pulled on that ember of magic, my knees buckling as I fell to the floor. My wrist was still tight in Nik’s grip.
All I could hear was my name, over and over again, as my vision went dark.