It’s so bright. It’s so hot. I can’t breathe. I can’t move. All I can feel is wave after wave of pain.
But then the light clears.
And I watch as Jaxon collapses to the ground.
Jaxon, I scream, only I’m too weak for the words to actually leave my mouth, so his name just resounds in my head, frantic, panicked.
I try to roll over, to claw my way to him, to save him, to protect him.
But as I roll over, I hear something splash against the sandstone beneath me.
I look down.
And see the blood pouring out of my chest.
I hear groans. I hear curses.
And as I look up, I watch as the man climbs to his feet. He looks at me with disgust. But he doesn’t come after me.
He turns, and he stalks toward Jaxon.
No, I scream, but something is wrong with my lungs. They feel like they’re full of liquid. I try to claw my way toward him, but the ground beneath me is growing warm and wet.
The woman climbs to her feet as well. She watches as the man hooks his hands under Jaxon’s armpits, and begins dragging him away.
I try to gather my shadows. I call for my darkling. I watch as the bones in my outstretched arm rearrange into an elongated limb.
But the pain washes over me in a massive wave.
Jaxon.
He is completely limp as the Kindred man drags him toward the car. Is he dead? He can’t be dead. He just exerted an enormous amount of power. He’s simply unconscious.
That’s what I tell myself.
The woman turns back to me. She reignites her hands.
“Katrina!” the man bellows. “She’s not worth it. I can hear the others. We have to go.”
Yes. Everyone else is coming.
They have to get here in time.
They can save Jaxon.
It’s too late for me. I can feel it.
I’m dying.
But they can save Jaxon.
The woman turns back to me, a look of absolute disgust and hatred in her eyes. As the man hauls Jaxon into the busted-up car, she steps toward me.
She extinguishes her light.
But she takes a step closer. And then she swings her booted foot.
I feel it connect with my jaw, and instantly, the world ceases to exist.
Chapter Nineteen
Holy hell, everything hurts.
I can’t breathe. My entire torso is on fire and the rest of me feels as if it was hit by a speeding train.
I gasp as my eyes flash open.
The ceiling above me is blinding white. Ceiling panels are speeding by, and every fifth one is a rectangular shape of light.
I hear the sound of wheels beneath me. As I blink against the searing light, other sounds penetrate my ears, and faces above mine begin to come into focus.
“Serena,” a muddy voice says above me.
I blink again. “Ren,” I say, my voice sounding hoarse. The pain in my chest doubles as I try to speak.
“You have to put her back under,” another voice says, and it sounds absolutely panicked. “She can’t…you can’t let her see this.”
It’s Davorian’s voice. His panic is laced with anger.
“Where…” I breathe out and then cough. It feels as if a white-hot blade slices up my middle, cutting me in half. “Where is Jaxon?”
His name stirs my conscious. I want to sit up. I have to sit up. I need to see him. I need to make sure he’s okay.
“You have to stay down,” another voice says. It’s a woman, and she’s dressed in hospital scrubs. “You’re going to make it worse.”
“What?” I ask. My head is swimming. The pain is overwhelming. Everything feels fuzzy.
“She’s going in for surgery anyway,” Davorian growls. “There’s a damn hole in her chest. Put her out, now!”
My hand whips out as another face comes into focus. Ascelin.
His brows are furrowed. There’s so much pain and anger on his face. There’s blood on his hands, and a smear of it going up the side of his neck.
I think it might be my blood.
“Where’s Jaxon?” I grind out as I glare at him, using every ounce of strength I have left in me.
Something sharp pricks my arm but it’s not even enough to register as pain in my brain right now.
The look in Ascelin’s eyes grows dark and regretful. He squeezes his eyes closed for a moment and curses under his breath. But finally, he opens his eyes again, and looks me straight in the eye.
“They took him, Serena,” he condemns. “The Kindred, they took him.”
Everything in me dies then.
They took him.
I failed to protect him. I failed to keep him safe.
Jaxon tried to save me, protect me. To keep the Kindred from killing me.
But he drained himself in the process. Spent every ounce of energy he had. And left himself defenseless. To save me.
“No,” the word breathes over my lips as the world begins to blur. “No.”
I feel heavy now. Maybe I’m drowning. Maybe the earth is swallowing me up, because I claimed to love Jaxon, and I let this happen to him anyway.
I deserve this. I deserve every second of pain.
They took him.
The gatekeeper.
An ultralight.
The man I love.
My equal.
The Kindred took Jaxon.
“I’m sorry,” I breathe out. And the darkness comes to swallow me whole.
* * *
THE END OF BOOK THREE
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Also by Keary Taylor
PARALLEL VERSE GUARDIANS
A Shadow in the Light
A Glimmer in the Night
A Spark in the Ash
* * *
RESURRECTING MAGIC SERIES
Rise of the Mage
Keeper of the Lost
Shadow of the Locked
Academy of the Found
* * *
THE BLOOD DESCENDANTS UNIVERSE
House of Royals Saga
House of Royals
House of Pawns
House of Kings
House of Judges
House of Ravens
Garden of Thorns Trilogy