Page 102 of Zayrik

Through our bond, intense and overwhelming.

Pain, searing through my ribs.

A choke of breath.

The echo of her voice, muffled, cracking.

But still defiant.

Still refusing to break.

Suddenly, it was gone.

But it left something burning behind.

A raw edge I couldn’t shake.

A rage that threatened to turn me into something darker than a warrior.

She was still holding on.

Still trusting me to come.

And she was hurting.

Because I wasn’t fast enough.

Wasn’t there.

Five minutes was too long. Shedidn’t have five minutes.Wedidn’t have five minutes.

The image flashed in my mind. Nyla, bloodied. Broken. Gone.

Everything I feared.

Everything I couldn’t allow.

I stepped forward. Ready to paint the walls with Vask’s blood.

A hand caught my shoulder.

Human. Familiar. Unwelcome.

Cal.

The old merc who’d taught her to survive. Who’d failed to keep her safe then. Who was stopping me from protecting her now.

“You go in now,” he stated, his voice, deep and laden with experience I didn’t want to hear, “You die, she dies. And that bastard wins.”

I jerked away from him.

Fighting the urge to throw him across the bay.

“I can’t wait—”

Not when our bond pulsed with her pain. I could feel her fighting alone.

“You will,” Cal snapped. “Because the moment you go off-plan, Vask has exactly what he wants. Chaos, leverage and no one left to stop him.”

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