Page 142 of The War of Wings
“Why did you do that?” I demanded, angry tears flooding my eyes. “Why did you try to kill him?Iwas supposed to kill him!”
“Because I knew it would kill you,” he choked out, dark brows furrowing over his eyes.
“But it didn’t!” I demanded.
“Liara told me it would kill you.” Liara? Saint of Hell?
“You went to Hell?”
“I was trying to get to the Darkness Beyond,” he croaked. Every word was a fight. “I took Keeperslight.”
What the hell was he talking about? “Keeperslight?”
“The imbued blade. I named it. I’m sorry. I was going to kill Malosym myself. But it didn’t work.” Another labored inhalewracked his body, and I shuddered at the sound. “You were strong enough.”
My tears spattered against his cheek, mingling with his own that spilled from the corners of his eyes to his temples. “Why did you do this, Cal?” I repeated. I didn’t dare look at where Malosym’s lifeless body lay behind me.
“I lived a life without you before and I’m too selfish to do it again. I won’t live in this world without you in it.” A smile finally managed to break through the claws of death that were closing around him, his dimple just visible. My heart cracked.
“She’s going to take your soul, Cal! I’ll never see you again!”
His eyes fluttered shut, as if he had to concentrate on speaking. “Then I’ll be grateful for the time I spent by your side.”
“No!” I shouted. “No, no, no!”
“You did it,” he breathed, and it sounded like there was gravel in his lungs. A rough cough wracked his body, and I gripped his shoulders tighter as if my physical grip could keep him here longer. “I want you to go on and live, Petra.”
The sobs were tearing through my body now, and my voice was shaky. “Not without you. We didn’t have enough time.”
His mouth quivered the slightest bit, and I saw the first flash of fear cross his features. “I love you, you know that? I love you. It’s always been you for me. Unceasingly you.”
Cal’s chest lowered and didn’t rise again. In the sand, surrounded by people weeping and celebrating and mourning, I held Cal’s body to mine. I screamed into his hair, inhaling the smoke and cedar scent that clung to him.
Hands closed around my shoulders and I pulled against them, roaring at whoever had touched me toget the fuck away. “So fucking stupid, Cal! So fucking stupid! Why would you do this to me?” I was vaguely aware of someone screaming my name, but I couldn’t hear over the sound of blood rushing in my ears. Whoever it was could fuck off if they thought they had any chance of dragging me away from Cal.
But suddenly Nell’s hands were on my cheeks, and the look of concern on her face was so severe that it broke through my grief. “Petra!” she shouted, her eyes moving back and forth between mine. “Miles is alive!”
Chapter 57
Petra
I saw nothing as Nell dragged me forward, leaving Cal in the sand. I was numb as we traversed the forest, but my eyes widened the moment we entered the clearing and I saw…
“Solise?” I asked, shock panging through me at the sight of her face. “What are you doing here?”
I threw my arms around her, reveling in the feel of her embrace. “Lots of healers here, dear,” she said, pulling away and giving me a quick smile before turning back to her task. “Riding on the back of a driva was terribly uncomfortable.”
She crossed the Widow’s Sea to get here. She must’ve come with Cal and Whit. “My mother?” I asked quickly.
Anyone else wouldn’t have noticed Solise’s momentary pause, but I couldn’t ignore it. “Let’s talk after.”
After…
All my questions about my mother withered on my tongue when my gaze landed on the man laying in the clearing. Miles was impossibly alive, though just barely.
How?
“This motherfucker refuses to die,” Nell mumbled under her breath as I crouched at Miles’ side. Her eyes surveyed the scene before she backed away. “I need to go check in with Whit. Don’t you fucking die, Landgrave.” She jabbed a finger in the direction of Miles. Her voice was harsh, but it quivered at the edges, like she was doing everything to hold back a sob. “This is our chance to restore the Penumbra.”
