Page 37 of The Eternal Choice

I gently press his head back on and wait for the skin to heal. The part where it’s still connected to his body is small. My heart stutters inside my chest and it’s getting hard to breathe when I realize he’s not healing.

“Don’t you dare leave me, Tino,” I croak and place my hand over his injured neck, willing it to heal.

Still nothing happens. My emotions are all over the place. Why the hell could I heal Nario and not Ernestino? My mate is the one who deserves to be healed while the one who killed him didn’t deserve it.

“Please,” I desperately cry while I watch the crimson seep through my fingers.

Still nothing. My touch should be able to heal. He can’t be too far gone. Yet, deep down I know the injury is too severe. Doesn’t matter; I’m not willing to give up. I should have never stopped using the ability to bring butterflies back to life. Maybe if I trained it, I would know how to bring Ernestino back.

I swallow hard and remove my hands, only to see the injury hasn’t started healing.

Fear hits me when I realize his dragon side might self-destruct when he realizes they are past healing. “Don’t you dare detonate, Ernestino.”

No response.

I close my eyes and press my lips against his.

“Please,” I breathe as I open my eyes.

My heart skips a beat when I see the sparks of light dancing on my breath. I remember placing the butterflies on the palm of my hand and breathing the life into them with one sigh. I move down and breathe on the gaping wound. The flesh starts to connect and melt into smooth and healed skin. I breathe once more and pull back to take his face in my hand and wait for his eyes to open.

“Come on, darlin’, look at me,” I muse. “Come on.”

Still nothing. The skin is healed, but there’s no life in him. Why isn’t he waking up? Panic hits me. Did I only heal the injury and lose him anyway?

I grab the front of his bloody shirt and shake him. “You owe me a lifetime together. How dare you leave me? Leave the baby inside my belly? We need you. I didn’t even have a chanceto get to know you and now you won’t even get to see or meet your own freaking child?”

My hand turns into a fist and I bring it down hard against his heart, making the night light up with a burst of golden twinkles. I can feel my eyes widen and I quickly place both my hands on top of his heart. The golden glow intensifies and I can feel the warmth seep from my body into Ernestino’s.

Hope blooms inside my veins while it’s still caged in by the fear of the lack of life in his body.

– ERNESTINO –

Darkness is a heavy blanket, keeping me immobile.

“You owe me a lifetime together. How dare you leave me? Leave the baby inside my belly? We need you. I didn’t even have a chance to get to know you and now you won’t even get to see or meet your own freaking child?” Her voice is torn, the emotion is pulling at my heartstrings and yet I can’t move or utter a single sound.

I want to promise her all will be okay, that I want nothing more than to spend a lifetime with her. Show her the beauty of sharing time together day in, day out. To pamper her, love her, annoy her, worship her body, work together, making sure she has everything she needs. I still can’t believe I threw away the first two weeks together as mates by locking her up to keep her safe.

If only I could have more time with her…even if it’s a single minute. I would let her know how many lifetimes I would need to make sure she feels the love she deserves over and over, and fucking over again.

My heart explodes with warmth, giving a jolt of electricity through my veins. I can feel her warmth, her love, her essence merging with mine. I gasp for my next breath and finally am able to fill my lungs and make my body work as my eyes fly open and connect with my mate’s.

“Lilliana,” I croak.

“Tino,” she cries.

Muted screams sound from above us. It sounds like someone is calling out for Lilliana. Both of us ignore it as we stare at one another.

“You were right.” I clear my throat and try to sit up with her help.

She frowns adorably when she states, “About what?”

“I do owe you a lifetime together,” I vow, and add on a grumble, “I wasn’t planning on leaving you.”

Anger mixed with sadness takes over her face. “I’m sorry about your brothers.”

Brothers…as in both. To be clear I ask, “About Leandro?”

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