Page 124 of Wrath

And most importantly, we fought for Z.

We might not have won the war yet, but the tides were turning. It was only a matter of time until we claimed thethrones that none of us wanted to sit on but needed to for the good of our people.

All we needed to do was remove a bitch-sized thorn in our side.

Aaliyah, we’re coming for you. This time with an army.

And you won’t make it out alive.

FORTY-THREE

Z

Iplaced my hand over Ryland’s still one.

It was cold to the touch.

When we arrived back at the camp, we discovered that an entire day had passed—enough time for the battle to have ended and Aaliyah’s remaining forces to retreat.

We’d lost over one hundred soldiers.

Aaliyah had lost twice as many.

Now all that was left to do was bury our dead.

Ryland, we discovered, had not completely healed from his stab wounds, though the gaping hole in my hand had disappeared. We’d deduced that any injuries that occurred in Lilith’s realm healed, while those that happened outside it did not.

His wound, however, was less severe than it had been before. Almost as if…

I dismissed the thought.

There was no way Lilith healed Ryland enough to survive, was there?

“He’s going to be just fine, Z.” Jolene squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. “Your shadow is a fighter.”

I offered her a frail smile.

Though Jolene had survived the battle, she didn’t escape it unscathed. The human she’d tossed aside survived but sustained severe injuries. It would be a miracle if he could ever walk again. I could see the toll that knowledge had on the gentle healer. Prominent shadows marred the skin beneath both of her eyes.

“Is Davia still on her way?” I asked.

As soon as the battle ended, Dair got in touch with Davia and explained the situation. She, along with Paco and B, was arriving with reinforcements. It was apparent that the war had begun in earnest. Our fighters could no longer sit on the sidelines or hide away in camps. They needed to fight if we had any hope of winning.

The bitter taste of guilt refused to leave my mouth. I knew, logically, that everything wasn’t my fault. This war had been brewing for centuries now, since the nightmares had first suppressed humans. However, I couldn’t help but think thatAaliyahwas my fault. She was after me. Only me.

Maybe I should just hand myself over…

My fingers flexed around Ryland’s hand instinctively.

No. I couldn’t do that. That would mean giving up, something I swore I would never do. As long as I had breath in my lungs, I would keep fighting. Even still, my anxiety spiked, and I felt cold all over.

Ryland was recovering from a nearly fatal stab wound.

Lupe, Killian, and Bash were doing who the hell knew what.

Axel and Atta were attempting to regain control of the capital and deal with my angelic birth father…who still had yet to make his move.

And my other mates? They were trying to survive, the only way they knew how.

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