Page 84 of Shadow

“Shut up, Marinah, or so help me,” he growled, his voice cracking.

I heard his words, but we both knew the truth.

The poison was already taking me.

I was dying.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

King

Iwouldn’t let this happen. By will alone, I would keep her alive.

I crashed through the doors of the medical bay, cradling Marinah in my arms. The urgency pounding in my chest didn’t allow anything but action. I laid her on one of the beds and roared for Axel. He didn’t come.

I grabbed the antidote myself, my hands steady despite the storm raging inside me.

“It won’t help, King,” Axel’s voice came from behind me.

“It must!” I roared, injecting the antidote into Marinah’s bloodstream. I took her hand and pressed it to my cheek, desperate for a sign of life. “She’s my mate,” I said, my voice cracking. “Shecan’tdie. You need to cut the poison out!”

“King,” Axel said softly.

“No! Fuck you! Do something! Save her, you fucking prick.You can!”

“I can’t,” he said simply, his head dropping as he turned to leave.

He was leaving her to die.

The despair hit me like a hammer. I buried my face against Marinah’s trembling body, holding her because I refused to let go.

“Hold on, Marinah,” I whispered.

Her body jerked, and her eyes fluttered open. The pain in her gaze was unbearable to see.

“It hurts. My body hurts,” she cried, her voice trembling.

I searched for more bites but found nothing besides the one on her arm. My mind raced. Axel might have given up, but I wouldn’t. I scoured the drawers, throwing medical supplies aside until I found a scalpel.

If Axel wouldn’t cut the poison out,I would.

I pulled up the straps on the bed and secured them around her limbs. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

Marinah screamed when I made the first incision. The sound tore through me, but I pushed forward, digging into the wound ruthlessly. Blood pooled on the table and splattered onto my hands. Marinah’s breaths grew shallower, her cries interspersed with gasps for air.

Somewhere inside, I knew this was futile, that I was placing her in more pain before she died, but I couldn’t simply watch and do nothing. My world centered around her. How could I have been this stupid? The moment she fell at my feet, I knew there was something special about her. She was Church’s daughter, for God’s sake. I never gave an inch. I terrified her and allowed her to be placed in a hot room that almost killed her.

The desperation I felt was unraveling me as I continued slicing into her flesh.

Shecould have loved me.

I couldn’t take it.

“King,” Axel said, his voice coming from behind me.

I had to stop.

But I couldn’t.

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