Page 48 of Primal Call

Chapter twenty

Kyral's heart was pounding like a wardrum. The world was spinning around him, the world a blur of white snow and dark mountains.

He couldn't focus on anything except the sight in front of him.

Jasper was kneeling in the bloody snow, swaying. His hand was pressed to the cut on his arm, and as Kyral watched, a bead of blood welled up underneath his fingers, trailing down his pale skin.

Kyral had won the fight. He'd defeated Skarn, Vorat, and Zorax, all three of them, against impossible odds. He'd done it with the unknown warrior at his side, his blade flashing as he cut down his enemies.

But that didn't matter. None of it mattered. In the grand sweep of the universe, the details of Kyral's victory were nothing.

All that mattered was the sight of Jasper, hurt and swaying, in the aftermath of a fight that had nothing to do with him.

And Kyral had been too slow to protect him.

"Kyral…" Jasper said, his voice thin.

Kyral was already moving, striding across the bloody snow to reach him. He gripped Jasper's shoulders, trying to steady him. "Don't move. Don't put any more strain on yourself."

"I'm feeling a drop in blood pressure…" Jasper said, his voice professional. "Nausea coming in next — oh, and now dizziness…"

He trailed off, his blue eyes fixed on some distant point. Kyral could practically see the cool, detached medic's handbook flipping through his thoughts, the pages hiding the fear that Kyral knew was present.

Despite the chill in the air, sweat was beading on Jasper's pale forehead. Kyral had never seen a sight more ominous.

Skarn's poison had dropped him, a grown Borraq warrior, to his knees. He'd barely survived.

And Jasper was so much smaller…

Kyral's heart was pounding like a war drum, each beat resonating through his body with sheer terror. He cradled Jasper against his chest, holding him close as the human's slender frame trembled.

"Don't you dare leave me," Kyral growled, his voice a desperate rumble. He pressed his forehead against Jasper's, their faces inches apart.

Jasper's eyes fluttered open, his gaze locking with Kyral's. Despite the pain etched into his delicate features, a faint smile played across his lips. "It's okay," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "I'm… I'm happy now. I never thought I'd feel this way."

Those words pierced straight through Kyral's heart. He clutched Jasper tighter, wishing he could will his own life force into the human's failing body. "You're not going anywhere. I won't allow it."

But even as he spoke, Jasper's eyes were fluttering, his gaze growing hazy. The poison was working swiftly, its vile tendrils snaking through Jasper's veins.

Kyral had seen its effects before: the cold sweat, the delirium, the way life simply slipped away. Skarn's cowardly tactics had always sickened him. To strike from the shadows with such underhanded weapons… it was the mark of a dishonorable coward.

But that dishonorable coward had been able to take the only thing Kyral cared about in this desolate, war-torn world from him.

Hot tears burned in Kyral's eyes, his vision blurring. He wanted to roar his anguish to the uncaring heavens. How could the fates be so cruel as to let him find his mate, only to tear Jasper away?

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. They were supposed to have more time — to find their treasure and start a new life together, free from the shackles of war and hatred. Now that dream was crumbling to ashes before Kyral's eyes.

Kyral clutched Jasper, his heart shattering with every fading breath. He was vaguely aware of the two strange Borraq nearby, voices raised, but they meant nothing to him. Not now.

Finally, the uninjured warrior rudely shoved past Kyral. Before Kyral could react, the young Borraq warrior forced something into Jasper's mouth.

Rage flared through Kyral's veins. How dare this stranger interfere when Jasper was dying in his arms? He opened his mouth to roar his fury, hands extending to break the intruder's bones—

But then Jasper gasped, his eyes flying open.

"What…?" he rasped, his voice regaining some strength. Kyral's thunderous anger stuttered to a halt.

Jasper zeroed in on the Borraq who had given him… whatever it was. "What was that? It tastes bitter and metallic… some kind of acetylcysteine?"

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