Page 166 of Symphony for Lies

Blood poured out, staining her dress. Bleeding out.

The world ceased to exist.

“No…” My voice was hoarse, barely more than a broken breath.“No, no, no. Fuck! No!”

I pressed my palm to the wound, desperate to stop the bleeding, but the warmth only spread.

More blood.

Too much.

Too fucking much.

“Hold on, baby. Please, hold on.”

Tears burned in my eyes, hot and blinding, as I kissed her forehead, cheeks, and lips. I dropped more frantic, trembling kisses as if I could breathe life back into her.

She was so cold.

“Stay with me,” I pleaded.“Stay-’’

There was a deafening explosion, and the earth shook.

A shockwave ripped through the night, knocking us off balance and hitting me like a sucker punch.

Smoke.

Flames.

Suffocating heat.

I wrapped myself around Amelia, shielding her and holding her so tight I could barely breathe, as everything behind us went up in fire.

Chapter 34

Zane's

My breath was erratic, my chest rising and falling in a frantic rhythm that mirrored Amelia’s, but hers was shallower. Weaker.

She was slipping.

We crashed into the flowerbed as the burning remains of the labyrinth cast eerie shadows across the night. The air was thick with smoke and the sharp, metallic scent of blood.

“Zane! Amelia!”Spencer yelled for us, but it was nothing more than a distant echo to me. A muted sound drowned beneath the roaring panic in my head.

My skull throbbed, and my vision blurred. The world seemed to twist and turn like everything around me was collapsing.

A sharp gasp. Amelia.

My body moved before my brain could catch up, instincts overriding everything else as I clung to her. I pulled her onto my lap, pressing down on the stomach wound with shaking hands.

“We’re here!”My voice was raw with desperation. “We need a medic!Now!”

Despite my own injuries, my grip remained steady and firm as if, by sheer force, I could hold her together.

My girl’s eyelids fluttered.

“Amelia, stay with me!”

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