Page 58 of The Missing Sentinel
Ducarius was grateful that Adney’s bedroom was close. Another loud boom ricocheted through the castle. A wave of energy knocked Ducarius forward. He cursed as his forehead painfully met rock.
A fresh wave of terror swept Ducarius. This time he wasn’t sure if it was his emotion or Drexley’s. Perhaps a bit of both. Shuffling forward again, they made it to Adney’s door. Drexley kicked it in. Ducarius shouted his mate’s name as Drexley rushed into the bedroom, heedless of whatever danger awaited him.
Turning the corner on shaky legs thanks to the rocking of the floor, Ducarius found a sobbing Drexley crawling to Adney’s bed. Ducarius braced himself and followed Drexley into the trashed space. Like their own, Adney’s room was a mixture of broken shit and vanishing sections.
Drexley made it to Adney’s side first. On his knees, Drexley grabbed Adney’s frail hand and pressed it to his cheek. Ducarius hustled to Drexley’s side. But there was nothing he could do. Drexley was heartbroken, and his devastation was nearly too much for Ducarius to bear.
Adney was crossing the veil. Despite his desire to set aside everything that made him a sentinel, Drexley could not turn off the abilities granted to him at his creation. He was sobbing as they watched Adney’s soul gently lift from his body.
Never in his life had Ducarius been so helpless. Desperate to do something to soothe his other half, Ducarius rested his palm on Drexley’s back. Ducarius would have given anything to give Drexley comfort. But his instincts were urging him to find some measure of safety.
Nausea curled in Ducarius’s belly as the floor dropped slightly and rotated. Ducarius refused to give in to the urge to be sick. Instead, he focused on mustering every bit of comfort in his soul and sending it through his link to his mate.
The higher Adney’s soul rose, the more precarious their safety became. Ducarius’s gaze whipped up as what was left of the roof vanished. Above them, the world was a deep, endless void.
It was horrifying.
Ducarius’s heart thumped in his chest. The future was suddenly terrifying. But he could not panic. Not now anyway.
“He’s gone, Ducarius. Adney’s gone.” Drexley’s weepy, shattered voice filtered through Ducarius’s mind, and he ached so badly for his other half.
The sounds of destruction stopped abruptly. Ducarius took a breath, and it was loud in the sudden silence. Beneath him, the floor vanished. He had no time even to scream as he was hurled away from Drexley.
Making the mistake of glancing below him, Ducarius found another vast abyss. And he was rapidly falling through it. So was Drexley. But he was too far away to grab. What remained of the castle and its realm dissolved into nothing.
Whatever magical force was left forced Ducarius and Drexley into endless circles as if a funnel had formed beneath them. Ducarius squeezed his eyes shut to keep from vomiting. It did not help his dizziness dissipate.
“Drexley,” Ducarius shouted through their mindlink as they sank quicker through the inky blackness.
“Ducarius,” Drexley yelled, offering Ducarius a touch of relief. It did not last long since he had no idea where they were headed or if this was their destiny. To fall endlessly through nothing.
Ducarius desperately racked his brain for alternatives to being dragged through a void in gut-wrenching circles. Teleportation. It could work. Anywhere in the Council would do. But Ducarius had no cell phone. No picture to show his mate. And there was no way he was fucking leaving Drexley.
Something shifted. Ducarius was hurled ass over head. His body crashed into something solid. The crunch of bones echoed sickeningly through his head. At first, Ducarius noticed only that he was no longer moving.
Then the pain hit. And it was unrelenting.
Even worse, he could sense Drexley’s suffering.
“Love, where are you?” Ducarius asked. It took more than one try to gather the words. Ducarius was sure he had broken everything. His organs did not function fully for several heartbeats. Breathing was torturous, and he lacked the ability to move. Opening his eyes made no difference. His vision was too blurry to be of any use.
“I do not know. I cannot see.”
Unbridled relief surged through Ducarius’s battered frame. He was a sentinel. Everything was already healing. The important thing was that Drexley had to be close. With his pain slowly receding, Ducarius could feel Drexley’s distress and heartbreak again.
“Rest, I will find you,” Ducarius vowed. He tried to wiggle his hips and immediately regretted it. He needed at least another minute to mend. It was both revolting and a relief to feel his bones knitting together again. Some of his muscles had liquefied, and they tensed into tight balls the second they reformed.
The agony was indescribable.
Something brushed his hand. A surge of love filled him.
“I told you to rest,” Ducarius chided gently as Drexley grabbed at his fingers.
“How could I rest without knowing if you are well?”
Relieved that his sight was clearing, Ducarius turned his head. Drexley was at his side. His robe was dirty. His hair was disheveled. Tears stained his cheeks. But he had never been more beautiful.
Ducarius had regained the use of his limbs, and he was grateful to be a sentinel. While Ducarius had no clue how far he had fallen or where the hell he was, it was rewarding to mend from such horrible injuries so swiftly.
