Page 91 of These Eternal Bones
His eyes widen too, his voice cracked when he speaks again. “You forgive me?”
My voice shakes. “Of course, Cartiel. It was an accident.”
He chokes back a sound as my back meets the railing, pressing into it roughly. His hot grip on me is like steel as madness erupts in the clearing. I try to turn my head to look, but suddenly the world pivots, a scream leaving my throat as the ground beneath my feet drops away.
“Thank you,” he whispers, his golden eyes red with tears as he lets go.
Elric…I’m sorry. Oh god, I’m sorry.
My mate’s guttural roar precedes the sensation of his agony. It’s the last thing I feel before I hit the ground.
43
The Beast of Port Clyde
Péal
My eyes flutter open at the sound of my master’s screams, the agony in my stomach nothing compared to the one that sound brings. My mind is hazy and aching as the world catches back up. A flash of gold, a blast of light, then nothing. My own muffled sobs jar the broken parts of me as I fist the entryway rug, the suds from my cleaning bucket soaked into my hair. Master bellows again, and I know that sound. I know I failed my mistress, I failed Molly.
Something is happening outside, something terrible. I need to find her, to take care of her, but the whipping, pulsating magic batters the castle walls. The feeling of it is all wrong. Acidic and rotten. Her mate needs my help now. A scream chokes me as I struggle to my feet, my body shaking as I fall back into the slick entryway.
I am sorry, mistress.
I sniffle, dragging myself to the open front doors. The sound of footsteps, of heaving breath, follows before the Cartiel steps around me, his boot crunching my hair as I tug myself out further. “What have you done?” I grunt.
His eyes are wide with fear and horror when he turns to me. “The witch is going to end this. She said she can. We’ll be free from it.”
My chest feels hot, smoldering, as my arms tremble, trying to push myself up. “If you believe that, then you are far dumber than I once thought. You killed her, didn’t you?”
His steps falter. The sound of wicked laughter sounding just out of my line of sight. “She’s not doing it. She’s not doing the spell.”
“There is no spell that can stop this!” I scream, pushing power into my voice. The soapy water around me forms like needles, turning to him before flying, slicing into his flesh. He doesn’t react, dropping to his knees as the chaos outside doubles. A broken sound leaves him as he turns to me, lifting his arm, a ball of his white hot power welling in his palm. “I’m sorry.”
Elric
The world around me is loud, raging, but I can see nothing outside of the bloody copper curls underneath my hand. The pale flesh shaking and marred with lilac in the worst way. My chest is a chasm, empty and cold as I grip her, bellowing my pain.
Tien drops to all fours again, racing toward the witch. Her power erupts from her, spilling her familiar blood into the air. Her words nearly lost to me.
“Come now, Tien, after you went through all that trouble of saving me?”
My mind is a blank, throbbing wound as she lances his shoulder, pinning him to the ground with something unseen.
“I hadn’t a clue the corrupted thing you’d grow into,” he growls.
“But youdid. When I returned to Port Clyde, you saw it, sawme. Youknew.” She laughs again. My next bellow is cut off as I stare at my mate.
Did she move?
Her eyelids…just a little?
“Syringa?”
I listen hard, my power swelling, raging inside me with nowhere to go.
I counted the last beats of her heart; there are no more to hear.
My forehead falls to hers so I can breathe her in, trying to keep my horrid, blackened tears from marring her face. The witch's voice grates on my ears, my tendrils lashing out, but they can’t connect; I need to focus. I hug her tighter, smoothing her matted hair. My voice is raw, cracking as I hum.
