Page 16 of Upon Shattered Bonds

“KAIEN! Help her!”

Zeke’s hoarse yell served to jolt Nina’s twin from overwhelming shock, snapping him out of his trance to blink at the other man.

Kaien’s mouth opened in a soundless grimace before his knees hit the terrace beside them. Trembling hands immediately came to hover over his mate’s silent heart.

A choked cry strangled out of Zeke’s throat. “The gun … where is the gun?”

In his preoccupation, he hadn’t even taken stock of his surroundings, or confirmed they were now safe. Desperation compelled him into action, the predator within him assuming control as he scrutinized the immediate area.

Directly behind Kaien was the motionless form of an unknown Raeth, the intruder laying prone on the stone terrace. In his hand, the assassin gripped a black handgun that shined an eerie shade of purple obsidian where the light hit it. Even without picking it up, he could tell what it was.

“Merjha.”

The word was poison on Zeke’s lips, his hope in reviving his mate growing slimmer by the second. Snatching the gun from the intruder’s hand, Zeke fired a bullet into his brain, confirming the other Raeth was dead. As adrenaline continued to surge within him, he raced back to where Nina lay and pulled her into his lap.

“Heal her, Kaien!”

The barked demand didn’t register on Kaien’s face, but his hand continued floating above Nina’s wound. Power pulsed in the air around them, the heat of the other Raeth’s gift scrubbing abrasively at Zeke’s skin.

“Merjha wounds are different, Zeke.” Kaien’s voice quivered as he spoke, the utter absence of hope apparent in every word.

Feet slapped pavement in a chorus of sound, the belated arrivals shrieking onto the scene. Devastation was tangible on their minds, the emotion permeating Zeke barriers. Someone approached them, but Zeke’s focus was centered on Nina.

Her passive features were entirely too pale, her lips a bleached pink, with the corners painted crimson in a morbid blush.

Beside him, a vampire collapsed to his knees. The man’s shock was painted over his features as his hands came up to clutch at Nina’s shoulder, the action weak and tentative.

“Sire.”

Somewhere, Zeke heard a mournful wailing and a second person sobbing, the sorrow-filled noises echoing amid the quiet.

“What is there to be done?” Zeke heard himself say, his voice shaky and insecure.

“The bullets penetrated her heart. They ripped through her.”

“Heal her—”

“I’m trying!” Kaien snapped, but his rage was tinged with misery. “The muscle of her heart is shredded! Even if I could heal these wounds quickly, I can’t guarantee it’ll start beating again!”

Despite his words, Kaien’s efforts doubled, the lash of his strength electrifying the chill around them as he attempted to do the impossible.

“We have to try.”

Glancing up, he locked eyes with Blair, her sapphire eyes glossy and ringed in red. The vampire’s hand desperately grasped Kaien’s shoulder. All around them, Raeths and vampires had gathered in silence, a ring of her closest friends and family united in their grief.

That was when Kaien’s power fluctuated, the first signal of an impending recoil. The Raeth was pouring such an exorbitant amount of energy into his craft in the attempt to save his sister that he’d already begin to run dry.

Without a second thought, Zeke’s hand clenched around Kaien’s upper arm, instantly pulsing a portion of his own strength into the other man through his Amp ability. He was already doing the same for Nina, and his reservoir of psychic reserves registered the expansive transfer.

Kaien said nothing at the influx of energy, merely renewing his already remarkable efforts to heal the wounds in her heart. There had been no change in Nina since he’d found her, no sound or shred of energy escaping her.

Zeke merely stared at her, willing her to come back. In life, she’d never been so static. He hadn’t been the recipient of her smiles or kind words, but he’d observed them, like a hungry supplicant, from afar. Their sudden absence was so starkly obvious it threatened to consume him.

This couldn’t be how it ended for her. Zeke wouldn’t allow it.

Renewed in his determination, he glared at Kaien. “Restart her heart.”

A strangled sound came from Kaien’s throat. “I haven’t finished healing it; every beat would see it bleed out.”

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