She leaps.
My friend easily clears the ten-foot fencing and lands, easy as a bird, on the arena floor. She rolls to the side, circling Thresher.
The crowd is screaming. I can hear the announcer saying something, and I know that this can’t be legal, but… nothing about this is legal.
Ember lunges forward. She’s like a whirlwind. Everywhere the croc turns, she’s there, punching and pummeling. Finally, she jumps, using the croc’s body as a ladder. She lunges forward and stabs him neatly in the eyes.
The larger man bellows, his hands clapping over his eyes. He turns and runs for the gate that I assume leads to some kind of locker room.
The crowd boos, but I don’t care. I need to get to Rylan.
“Terra?”
Thorne is behind me. I don’t see Chet anywhere, but I don’t care.
“Get me down there, Thorne,” I gasp.
Thorne nods. He takes my hand and pulls me through the crowd until we find yet another bouncer. “That’s her mate,” he barks.
The bouncer, begrudgingly, lets us through.
We walk through a locker room that’s a health hazard before I smell the blood and sand of the arena again. When we’re finally there, I run to my mate. Ember’s crouched over him, too, and she’s tugging at her clothes to strip them off for bandages.
Rylan’s breath is shallow.
“Em,” I say to my friend, my voice tight. “What’s happening?”
“He’s… he’s alive.” There’s a distinct hitch in her voice. A pause that I know, in the very bottom of my heart, means that there’s a “for now” added to the end of her assessment.
“What…” My voice trails off.
I was going to ask her what was wrong, but I can see with my own eyes.
His hand is broken. His fingers are there, but at a strange angle. There’s a laceration on his torso that goes from his neck to his belly button. The space above his heart is juicy, and I can see white ribs poking through…
“Terra?” Rylan wheezes.
That is not a good sound.
I fall to my knees and gently move his hair out of his face. “I’m here,” I whisper.
He can’t open his eyes. His lips move like he’s trying to say something. Rylan takes in a deep, sucking breath, and I hear Ember make a small, sad sound behind me.
“No,” I sob. “You promised, Ry. You promised. No more leaving.”
The words feel like they’re being ripped from me.
Everything around us fades. All that exists, all that there is, is Rylan.
Bleeding. His heart is practically visible through the shredded remains of his shirt.
I throw myself over him. I don’t know what to do. There’s no potion for this. There’s no way to shift and have him recover.
He’s going to die.
I’m going to lose him. For real this time.
“No,” I cry. My face contorts as a scream of rage comes out of my body. “Rylan,” I scream. “No!”