Page 100 of Glass Hearts
Sylas nods and closes his eyes, wincing as Alec finishes his ministrations.
“Man, we really need to add a healer to our team!” Jax comments as he watches Alec with fascination.
Koi lands on the ground on his knees, still facing a headless Victor. “I-I killed three people today. I-I am the lover of our group. Not the damned fighter,” he mutters, still not looking at us. I go to my brother, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“Koi, you had to. For Arabella. This monster terrorized our girl, and those fuckers over there helped him try to usurp us. I am sorry I couldn’t take this burden for you. This will not turn you into your father. Your father would never kill for the people he loves.”
“I-I don’t regret it, brother. I would do it again. I… I am just processing.”
I nod as I squeeze his shoulder.
“Who are these men, Arch?” Bridgette asks, bow still pointed at his heart. Smith glares at her.
“They are a group of mercenaries. They had captured Arabella at first, but we hired them for theirparticular skills. Arabella does trust them, though,” I answer. This has her finally bringing down the bow.
“Jax, how did your time power not affect his counter power talisman?” Sylas inquires.
“You can’t spell against time.” Jax shrugs and yawns, looking ridiculously tired. “But that’s all you need to know, rock prince.” He winks and walks away.
His power could be really dangerous in the wrong hands. Sylas and I both look to each other, agreeing that we will need to keep an eye on the rogue group.
Koi is already getting up and leaving through the main door. “I am going to go find my love and my brother.”
The other mercenary better have kept his end of the bargain.
Koi
I killed three people. My hands are now stained with blood. Part of me feels like I should feel different. That my sunny disposition will now be dimmed, the beginning of my demise. Not sure how I will feel when reality fully sets in. Will I relish the feeling? Will it cause me to become heartless like my father?
First and foremost, I need to find my sunshine in all this darkness.
Petra flies past with a piercing squawk—I break out in a run following her. I don’t have my girl’s ability, but I know a distressed crow when I hear one. My brothers and the other mercenaries are behind me.
Jax mentioned the Dragon Gardens. Which means nothing good could have come from the location Clarsef portaled them to. We don’t even go around those gardens. So many spirits of blood magic spells gone wrong roam there. Plus, it’s just downright creepy.
From a distance, I can’t see any people, just Max’s large furry shape. That’s when I hear the heartbreaking sobs from Arabella. Archer and Sylas must hear it too, so we sprint.
Lying in a pool of blood, Arabella is crying over Grayer. She looks to me, heartbreak in her eyes.
“Koi, I am so sorry. He-he took the dagger for me when Bernice lunged. I-I couldn’t stop it. It’s all my fault,” she cries.
I drop to my knees beside my brother.
“No. Gray, come on, dude, wake up. This isn’t funny.” I push on his torso; his whole body is immobile, like stone. His chest isn’t rising. I am unable to hold back my tears. For so long, I tried to protect him, and I constantly failed him.
Archer comes up and cradles a sobbing Arabella while Sylas rests his hand on my shoulders.
“Yikes. You princes are sooo dramatic.” Elliah saunters out from the bushes.
“Where the fuck have you been, prick?! You said you would protect Arabella and, by extension, Grayer!” Sylas roars as he wraps Elliah into a rock formation.
“Re-lease me. I- can… Fix him…” The mercenary wheezes. Jax and Smith look relaxed, as if their partner isn’t about to get crushed by boulders. Sylas releases the rock formations, and he falls to the ground.
“Fuckin’ touchy. This is why I don’t like to deal with royals and people in power. Always so quick to jump to using your magic against usNulls.” Elliah dusts off his clothes before taking out a syringe from his satchel. He uses two rocks to grind a leaf from his pocket along with a few other ingredients. He crouches down to Grayer. “If you must know, I could tell by the way the bloke fell that he was spelled. It’s the oldest trick in the book. It renders the stabbed to be formed into stone. He may look dead, but he very much is alive.”
“Is he conscious?” I hear Bridgette ask. When did she and her parents get here?
“No idea. I have only seen this spell used a handful of times, and those fuckers are still stone.” Elliah snorts as he puts the mixture of the leaves with a vial of some other strange blue liquid substance into the syringe. He twirls the mixture.
