Page 101 of Soul of Thorns
“Caelynn,” Rev croaks, so close.
I fall to my knees beside his prison. His hand reaches out from between the branches holding him. I blink but turn my attention to my betrayer.
“If he dies by your hand,” the Night Terror continues, eyes pinned to Darren, “I will consider our bargain complete. Act. Now.”
I stand between my mate and my ancestor, chest heaving, lips trembling.
For a moment, only a moment, the wraith hesitates. Then, horror warps his expression, and he leaps at me, claws flying, teeth bared.
Rev screams.
I barely know what’s happening when in the next instant, I am on my knees, sharp pressure on my back. Agony explodes in my chest, warmth spreading slowly.
My eyes drift down to my torso where a clawed wraith hand, inky grey smoke wafting and sizzling, has plunged out from my chest.
“I’m doing this for him,” a voice so much like Rev’s, and yet not at all, whispers in my ear. “It’s what he wanted but was too cowardly to take. He will thank me when it’s all over.”
My heart sinks, breaking all over again.
Crimson blood with streaks of black pour from the wound, and I crumple to the harsh ground.
Death would be a mercy,another voice tells me.
Rev
One moment Caelynnis standing over me, facing my would-be attacker with fierce protectiveness. The next, my brother is on her. He carves into her back with clawed fingers.
Something inside of me shatters as she falls to the ground face first. The warmth in my pocket burns like fire but flickers with ice-cold emptiness.
Through tear-streaked eyes, I watch Reahgan pull his hand from Caelynn’s chest, his smoking hand dripping in blood.
Caelynn’s wraith friend leaps at him, roaring in rage. “No!” he screams.
I grip my prison of branches with both hands burning hot with magic I can’t control. White-hot power blasts my cage open, and the Night Terror hisses but then rumbles with laughter. “It’s too late, boy.”
I scramble to Caelynn’s side and violently flip her limp body over. I can’t feel anything but the panic now. My head and heart pulse together, roaring booms through my mind.
