Page 139 of Shattered Stars
Blood rushes to my head. I sway on my feet. I think of my brother. My dead brother. His blood sunken deep into the earth.
Is he dead too? Tristan dead? So full of life. So strong. So powerful. And if he is dead then …
No, it can’t be! I rush towards him, barreling through men charging at me, throwing them over my shoulder, smashing my magic through their bodies, and then I’m sinking to my knees beside him.
At first I don’t want to touch him, nausea and panic and fear swirling through me. If I touch him, then I’ll know for sure. Thenthere’s no more maybe, no doubt, no possibilities. If he’s dead, he’ll be dead, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
I steel myself and reach out and take my friend’s body in my arms.
He’s warm, barely, but he is, and his brow furrows ever so slightly as I move him.
Relief rushes through me with such force, I let out a laugh, loud and crazy sounding among all the groans and moans of dying men.
“Tristan?” I say, “Tristan, can you hear me?”
I’ve always been able to feel his magic, feel how powerful and forceful it was, like an aura hovering around him. I close my eyes and feel for it now. It’s there, feeble, faint, waning.
There’s a gaping wound in the center of his chest, blood bubbling from it. I furrow my brows, grit my teeth and hover my hand above it, willing my magic to heal the wound, to seal the broken flesh. But I can’t. It’s a curse, deep and dark, seeping into his veins, and his magic fades that little bit more.
I need to get him to a healer, to a hospital.
I lift him and carry him out of the hall, away from the fierce battle, out into the night, deflecting all the magic fired in our direction.
As I emerge onto the path, gaze swinging desperately from side to side, seeking someone who can help us, the enforcer comes hurtling towards me.
“Rhianna?” he asks, his eyes wild, his breath coming in ragged pants, his heavy shoulders rising and falling rapidly. His own arm is injured, hanging limp by his side, his jacket missing, his shirt torn, his face and hands bloody.
I shake my head. “She was with Tristan.”
The enforcer’s eyes fall to the body I’m carrying in my arms and he jolts with alarm. Then his face cracks, devastation racinglike raindrops all over his face. He reaches out to touch him. His mouth quivers.
“He’s dead–”
“No, alive, but barely,” I tell him. “He needs help.”
The enforcer’s body sags in relief. He closes his eyes and exhales. “Take him to his father’s house.”
“His father’s? I’ll take him to the hospital–”
“The whole city is under attack. The council has fallen.”
“Wh-wh-what?”
“Take him to my uncle’s,” the enforcer says, pushing at my shoulder. “To his mother.”
I shake my head, not understanding. “It’ll be safe there,” he explains, pushing me forcefully now. “Go!”
I stand staring at him in bewilderment and Professor Stone and two of Rhianna’s friends come racing towards us.
“We can’t find her anywhere!” the professor says, his eyes as wild as the enforcer. “Nowhere! Where the hell is she? I can’t feel her close by, Az! I can’t feel her!”
I look at the enforcer. His shoulders have stiffened, his jaw hardened. “She’s gone.”
“What?!” I cry. “Gone? Have they taken her?”
The girl’s friend whimpers, clinging to the boy beside her. They’re all as disheveled and injured as the enforcer.
The beast roars inside me. He wants to tear the world down.
