Page 98 of Kiss the Dawn
“Ah…” she says, standing over Orina. “This I did not wish for you.” She reaches out to caress Orina’s cheek.
“Don’t touch her!” Merry cries, alerting the goddess to our presence.
She smiles, thin and cruel, and slowly raises her moon-bathed gaze to us. “You cared for her. Loved her even.” She cants her head. “You should join her, then.” She lifts her hand, ready to click her fingers, and I brace myself for death.
There’s a roll of thunder, and Loviator leaps away from Orina as a beam of white light lances down from the ceiling.
“NO!” she yells.
I catch sight of forms in the light. Winged beings.
“White wings,” Merry whispers. “Oh…Oh blessed be.”
The white wings attack Loviator, golden swords gleaming as they swipe and slash, forcing her back toward the light in the golem. Wounds open on her face and across her torso even though the swords don’t make contact.
“NO!” Loviator pushes her hands out, and the white wings are forced back into the light. “Not this time.” She spins, bringing her arm up in an arch, and shadows emerge to cloak her. The next moment she’s gone.
The white wings run for their shaft of light and propel themselves up into it, vanishing from sight.
All except one.
This one is different.
His wings aren’t pure white like the others, but speckled with gray, and I can’t help but feel I know him. But the light shining out of him is so bright I can’t make out any features.
He strides toward the thick beam of light through which the others have vanished but slows as he comes abreast of Orina’s broken body.
He stands, wings drooping, head bowed. The beam of light dims, his face is revealed, and shock punches me in the chest.
“Kaster?” Merry whimpers. “Oh…oh God.”
“Hey!” Holly shakes the bars. “Get us out.” Her voice is thick with emotion. “Get us out, dammit.”
He looks up at us then, his face a mask of despair, eyes dark pits of sorrow, and I don’t care how it’s possible for him to be who he is. I don’t care about the lies and the secrets. All I want to know is if he can bring her back.
“Please…” I swallow back a sob. “Can you help her?”
He slowly reaches out to touch her cheek. His shoulders shake with grief, and the last of my hope dies.
The beam of light brightens, and his head whips up to stare at it as it pulses. He shakes his head, but the light goes brighter. Insistent. I can feel his conflict as he wavers between the light and Orina, but in the end, he tears himself away from her and launches himself into the beam. He throws out a hand toward us a moment before he’s swallowed by the light, and the padlock on the cage falls away.
The room goes dark.
Silent.
Dead.
We climb out of the cage, one by one, dropping to the ground with a jarring impact, and approach our fallen friend.
Merry takes her hand. “She’s so cold.”
Holly checks for a pulse. “Nothing.”
We know it. We saw it. But we need to do something, anything, even if it means going through the motions.
A loud crack makes my ears pop and Ezekiel hurtles into the room through the wall, which happens to be on the other side of a black magical barrier.
He steadies himself, nostrils flaring, probably at the scent of blood. His gaze finds us first, irritation drawing his brows together because we aren’t why he’s here. I nudge Merry and nod at Holly.
