Page 17 of Upon Shattered Bonds

“You’re seconds away from recoil,” Zeke growled. “If her heart doesn’t restart now, it never will.”

What went unsaid was the truth behind the words. Already it’d been too long for the woman to be without a heartbeat, and every second she lingered between here and the afterlife was a second too long. If they waited any longer, Kaien’s healing would waver, and Nina’s failing flesh would reject any further attempt.

Swallowing harshly, Kaien frowned. “Mere, can you still tap into her electricity?”

“I can try.”

The stoic response from somewhere in the crowd had bodies shuffling to part for Nina’s lieutenant. Drake retreated to allow for his access, disappearing somewhere. Leaning forward, Mere’s hands sparked with a lick of electricity, the white-blue streaks circling his palms.

“Five seconds, Mere,” Kaien snarled. “I need to knit her heart muscle further.”

Mere stilled and Kaien swayed forward in exhaustion. Though Zeke continued to pump energy into the healer, a recoil was looming. Behind him, Blair was doing her best to steady him. Less than five seconds later, Kaien retreated, and Mere’s hands came to press against her breastbone. The shock that followed jolted through her. Zeke felt the burn of electricity against his skin.

Nina’s heart didn’t restart.

“Again!” Zeke bellowed.

If this didn’t work, the most beautiful soul he’d ever encountered would vanish entirely from this world. He’d have lost his chance to show her the depth of his feelings and apologize for his sins against her.

Despondent, he glowered at Mere, his teeth bared in a feral sneer. As commanded, Mere’s hands came to rest against Nina’s chest once more, the electricity shooting through her.

There was still no sign of life from the woman in his arms.

Nina couldn’t be dead.

She couldn’t be gone.

His mate.

Everything inside of him revolted, nausea sweeping through him, leaving him unable to even scream his frustration and anger. The agony of it pressed into his chest like a thousand-pound anvil, the silent mating bond between them spiraling into nothingness.

“Give it everything, Mere,” came a whisper. “You can’t hurt her.”

For a half second, Mere didn’t move. Just when Zeke was certain he’d given up, the other male shifted, resting his hands against Nina’s form once more. He took a single breath, and then the electrical charge in his hands manifested as a vibrant pulse of white light.

Though Zeke bore the second-hand brunt of current, he never moved. His every ounce of focus was trained on the shattered organ within Nina’s chest, willing it to life once more.

Anxiety-ridden seconds passed immediately following the effort. Closing his eyes, Zeke fought against the urge to succumb to the grief that clouded the back of his mind.

And then, hope sounded in the form of an arhythmical pulse.

The sorrowful audience went supernaturally still. Within Nina’s battered chest, her heartbeat sounded once more, then again.

Zeke had never heard anything so wonderful.

In his soul, the ghosting mating bond realigned, but it was weak, a bare wisp of connection that was as transparent and impermanent as smoke.

The Raeth in his arms didn’t wake.

“Go—go get help!” Zeke shouted, frenzied. “Get another healer! Stop standing around—do something!”

A flurry of movement followed, shouts sounding as he continued to hold his mate. Zeke paid them no mind, his attention transfixed on the woman in his care.

For the first time in his life, he realized just how powerless he was. He had no way to help his fallen mate. He was wholly dependent on others to heal her. Regardless of his strength and abilities, nothing in his arsenal could help Nina survive. Here, sitting on a terrace swarming with Nina’s loved ones, he was useless.

His eyes shuttered as he begged the Fates to save her life. There had been so much wasted time between them. Centuries filled with petty squabbling had passed while they remained apart, and he’d let it happen. Had he been here, he could’ve saved her.

The heavens opened only moments later. Thick sheets of icy cold rain pelted his skin, and all at once, Zeke snapped.

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