My heart hamred in my chest, practically breaking my rib cage. I raced across the lawn toward her.
Sothing whizzed past my ear and sunk into the ground. An arrow.
I heard the sounds of whizzing in the air behind . It sounded like hundreds of arrows descending on us all at once. Any second, they’d rain down and we wouldn’t be able to dodge them all!
How had I let myself underestimate the king and his own penchant for cruelty? I’d hoped it died with Sebastian, but I should have known that Dylan ca from the sa ruthless blood!
I dodged arrows as they plunged at .
Mila and Helen used their vines and roots to fend off the incoming projectiles. They created their own shield wall, for the ti being.
“Your Majesty, are you really going to go against your blood oath!?” Mila cried over the sound of pelting arrows.
Blood oath? When did that happen?
If Dylan was about to violate a blood oath, maybe I hadn’t underestimated him at all. He was just dumb!
The king laughed loud enough to be heard over the arrows.
“How am I breaking my blood oath? I agreed to help Poni pack and leave Poni alone. I will honor that. But you... you so graciously gave away your ties to that pack. And I did not make a vow not to kill you!”
“Mila, just run! You can’t reason with him,” I shouted.
I waved my arms, trying to move her and Helen along.
Of course, the king would want to take her life. She knew his secret. She had the Blade of Souls, and she was the only one that could do the soul exchange. He couldn’t let her live!
“Co on, Soren. I’m not leaving without you!” she motioned for to get behind the plant shield.
She opened a crack in the shield wall and I moved to the opening.
Click. Click. Click.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw three crossbow bolts flying right at Mila’s heart.
By opening the shield, she’d exposed herself! Crossbow bolts moved much faster than regular arrows. There was no ti for her to dodge or close the shield in ti.
When I looked back at Mila, I saw the terror in her eyes.
I threw myself across the opening, all three bolts lodging in my chest.
White hot, searing pain tore through . It felt like my insides were being ripped apart. One of the arrows shattered my ribs, another went through my stomach.
My heart clenched and warm blood soaked through my shirt instantly. One of them must have grazed my heart as it beat in a rapid, panicked rhythm.
For a mont, ti stopped. I felt like I was suspended in midair, laughing at myself as I felt the pain of a real “broken heart.”
The real agony ca when I twisted and saw Mila’s face. Horror reflected in her big, blue eyes. Her mouth was open in a silent scream.
Vines and roots burst from the ground around . They encased and pulled behind the shield wall, protecting from any more harm.
“Soren, what...” Mila dropped to her knees beside , pushing the roots away.
I looked up into her eyes, seeing tears streaking her face. Her eyes were red and puffy. She grabbed my hands but already my fingers were numb and I could barely feel anything.
Except for the agonizing pain!
“Soren, look at . Stay with ,” Mila pleaded. She turned my face to stay focused on her.
I wanted to stay with her but I knew I was dying. No matter how much I fought, no matter how much I wanted to stay with her, I couldn’t fight off death...
I tried to smile and pushed the hairpin toward her.
Mila sobbed and threw herself across my chest. Her tears mixed with my blood, soaking my shirt through. She gripped the torn fabric, tears streaming down her beautiful face.
“I don’t want it! I don’t care anymore. I only need you. I love you, Soren. Please, don’t leave . Don’t leave us... You can’t leave and the baby.”
Her words broke my heart for a second ti. But I knew there was no recovering from these wounds. My insides were too damaged.
Forcing myself to use my numb arm, and using all the strength I had left, I put my hand on the back of her head. Her hair was soft and silky, slipping through my fingers.
My sweet, beautiful, strong Mila... I loved her more than anything in this world, or any other.
She was my mate and my life, and inside her, was our precious baby. How I wished I could have t our child...
She shuddered against , crying even harder.
I wanted to tell her how much she ant to and how much I loved her, but if I did that, when I died, she would live her life in sorrow. She’d be haunted by my mory, she’d be alone.
Thus, I couldn’t tell her my true feelings.
I couldn’t let my love beco her burden. I couldn’t so selfishly bind her to my death. I couldn’t let her spend her life mourning and I wouldn’t allow our child to grow up without a father.
I had to do sothing...
“Mila...”
“Shh. Don’t speak! You need to rest.”
“Soon enough... I will rest... Mila... listen...”
She lifted her watery eyes to mine, sniffling.
“You are a wonderful woman but I need to be honest before I go...”
“Soren, stop talking!” she urged, shaking her head.
“I’m sorry...but you’re not my type...I’ve been lying to you... because one day... if I survive this... I will have to go back to my realm... I need to go back to her...”
Mila’s eyes widened and she went dead quiet for a mont, staring at in complete disbelief.
“You deserve soone... better... younger... more handso... and most importantly... soone who treats you with a true heart.”
“Soren...”
“Your child needs a father. But I’m... I’m not the right one...”
I could barely force the words out, and not just because my energy was fading fast. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her and break her heart, but if I did this now, hopefully, she would be upset with , angry at , and after so ti, move on from ...
“Shut up!” she snapped. “I’m not listening to that crap.”
“You should go...Leave now and go.”
“No!”
Sighing, darkness clouded the edges of my vision. My consciousness was slipping.
“Mila!” Helen gasped, perking awake. “They are burning the forest!”
I tried to fight the wave of fatigue that gripped , like little hands reaching up from the underworld, grabbing and dragging down, but I couldn’t resist the cold numbness that took over my body.
Helen’s voice rang again in my head. I couldn’t understand what she was saying and it took a mont for to realize that was because she was speaking another language.
Then, it all went silent.
“Soren!” Mila’s devastated scream pierced my ears.
I opened my mouth to speak. The words were so clear in my mind but I didn’t know if I actually spoke them.
“I’m sorry...”
Blackness consud .
***
*Mila*
My hands trembled as I put my palm on his chest and leaned over so my cheek was above his nose.
His heart was still.
No breath ca from his nose.
My heart shattered into a million pieces as fresh tears poured down my face.
I stopped caring that the king was getting closer and that he wanted to kill . The sounds of arrows pelting the plant shield faded into the background.
Soren was gone and I wanted to die with him!
The forest shook with small explosions. Each one got closer and closer, shaking the ground.
It was like the forest itself cried and protested the loss of my love.
Fire burned all around us. I could feel the flas but they weren’t hot. I should have been sweating, and burning, but all I felt was icy cold.
“I’ll fix this, Soren,” I whispered, rembering the tis I’d used magic to stop death. “Amina hasteth corro sinat, amina hasteth corro sinat.”
I started chanting,
“Amina hasteth corro sinat, amina hasteth corro sinat.”
“Mila, he is dead!” Helen ca to my side. She used one of her magical arms to try and pull away.
“No!” I wailed. I clung to Soren’s bloody, torn shirt. I could see his wounds clearly.
“Mila!”
“No, look!” I gasped, pointing to his chest. “The wound... it is healing.”
Helen stopped trying to push away. She leaned in closer, narrowing her eyes. “That’s...” she frowned.
“Amina hasteth corro sinat, amina hasteth corro sinat.”
“Dead bodies don’t heal, Mila.”
“Then he has to still be alive!”
Helen’s frown deepened. “Soren was blessed by the White Queen.”
“What does that an?” I asked. I couldn’t pull my eyes away. It was slow, but I could see his other wounds improving, too.
Helen sighed and shook her head. “It just ans that his body, his physical body, heals faster than normal people. Listen, Mila, your spell may heal his wounds, but it can’t raise him from the dead.”
I looked at Soren’s still form. “No! It has to work! He isn’t dead... he can’t die... he just can’t! Amina hasteth corro sinat, amina hasteth corro sinat. Amina hasteth corro sinat, amina hasteth–”
“Mila, stop!” Helen insisted, interrupting sharply. “You’re going to hurt your baby. You still have to live, Mila, for your child. That is how you keep Soren alive, through his child!”
It was like lightning struck and I was really hearing Helen’s words for the first ti.
She was right. There was a small, innocent life growing inside of . A part of Soren was still inside of . I couldn’t allow his bloodline to end. It was my responsibility and the aning of the rest of my life to see our child born and grown.
Tears still poured from my eyes but I lifted my head to look at Helen, but my heart sank more and I was terrified when I saw her face.
Helen had completely transford again. She looked like she’d aged over fifty years!
Her face was wrinkled, and her skin drawn tight over her bones. Her hair was gray and scraggly and she looked pale and weak.
“Aunt Helen!” I gasped.
“Mila, no ti to explain. Help ! Chant with . We are going to use the Sheath of Protection. You still have the artifact, right?”
I nodded dumbly, pulling out the artifact and handing it to Helen.
She shook her head and touched the sheath with one of her magical hands, so we were both touching it.
“Aborra covista nonat,” Helen chanted. “Mila, please, chant with . Aborra covista nonat”
I nodded and began chanting, copying Helen’s words.
The sheath began to glow. The light got brighter and bigger, creating a bubble around us. The bubble spread, keeping the fire, explosions, and heat at a safe distance from us. It couldn’t hurt us now.
“I’m not leaving Soren,” I insisted. I stood up and weaved a make-shift stretcher, dragging him along with us.
Helen sighed, but she didn’t stop .
The explosions and fire were devouring the entire forest and mountain and even with the protection from the Sheath, we couldn’t stay here for long.
We picked up our speed. Helen stumbled a little as she walked, her magical limbs shaking slightly.
“This barrier will shield us as we move but we’ve got to get sowhere safer,” she instructed.
The king had blown up an entire mountain in Norwind and tried to bury us alive. I shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d burned down an entire forest to kill us.
Luckily, no one could pursue us, for anyone else who set foot into the forest would be burned to death in just a few monts.
We hiked non-stop for at least three hours before finally making it to a cave that was in another well-covered forest. Looking back, the fire and smoke from the burning mountain could still be seen even from here, which was miles away.
“Let’s take shelter here tonight,” Helen suggested.
It was far enough that even if the royal clan decided to comb through every mountain and forest nearby to seek us, it would take them months to find us, let alone there shouldn’t be any reason for the king to believe we’d made it out alive.
I nodded my agreent and moved inside, laying Soren’s body down gently.
Then, behind , there was a horrible clatter.
Whipping around, I saw Helen in a heap on the ground. Her plant limbs were scattered around her and she looked like she’d aged even more.
She was just as injured and worn out as she’d been when I found her in the dungeon.
“Aunt Helen!” I ran to her, dropping to my knees beside her. “What happened to you?”
“Oh, Mila, I’m okay,” she smiled. “Listen to .”
But my recently dried eyes opened up again and more tears spilled out. She obviously was not okay and I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to hear what she was about to say.
“I took Devil’s Claw. It is... a powerful potion. For a short ti, it allowed to gather the peak of my strength and power and restored my youth and vitality, but it only works for 12 hours, or until it uses up the remainder of my life force. Whichever cos first,” she explained, “And it looks like...my ti is up.”
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