Page 114 of Shadow & Stars
What was it up to?
Margarite dropped the gun, struggling for breath.
“Your Majesty?”
“My heart…” She collapsed into the wall at the exact same time a series of agonizing twinges rocked my chest
“Oh my God…” I breathed, falling to my knees.
“Roman!” Xavier cried.
Breaking. Ending. The device… Shit. It began to decay, telling me the time had come to say goodbye. The power inside it leaked like battery acid, burning in my veins, set on ending my life.
If the device couldn’t be the device, it would end, dragging its host with it.
I should’ve asked Butterfly to show me the small print before he died.
At least he’d stay dead now. That was a good price to pay. Not so good that I’d be dead soon. I guess there were always consequences to these things.
“Shit…” I collapsed into Xavier’s arms, the world blurring out of focus, everything inching toward darkness.
Man, I’d really hoped for a second chance at a brighter future. But the thing in my chest left my soul soaked in too much blood after all the chaos it generated. If this had to be my time, I’d rather die in the arms of the demon I loved than in some gutter.
“Hold on, Roman…” Xavier lifted me up, charging for the exit.
Darkness dragged me under within less than a minute.
Going.
Going.
Goodbye…
39
DARCY
Back to being a rat in the London flat—I checked my small, furry body to be sure.
Back to the past, my memories intact.
I’d killed Butterfly.
I’d been killed…sort of.
Butterfly. The creep. Yuck. As if I would ever go with a scumbag like him.
Christ on a bike! It wouldn’t be long after this that Queen Margarite would come through the front door to kidnap me.
“Stop her, bestie!” I squeaked, scurrying from my cage onto Roman’s armchair.
He needed to park his backside in this seat once again to make good on all the promises for a movie day, to sip chamomile tea while filling in his crossword books. The good, warm things performed in this flat we’d lost during these horrible days.
Thosehorrible days…
“Please, Roman. Please…”
Eventually, the door did burst open. But it wasn’t the queen.
