Page 74 of Dark Souls Academy: The Sacrifice

“No, no, no, no, no.” Trigger shook his head and stepped away, but he went right back to his side. He rubbed his hands together as if to activate the magic again. His knees collapsed to the floor. “Please.”

Bones slammed his fist into the wall. “You stupid son of a bitch!” he bellowed at the dead man on the bed. My dead man. My mate.

“Kain?” My voice was a whisper. I couldn’t breathe as I stared at his body.

Trigger said another spell and Bones picked a fight with the building. He ducked and dodged the wall as it moved to hurt him back. It turned the floor into a waterbed, catching him in the chin. That was all background noise. Neither my eyes nor my soul looked away from Kain.

Too much time had passed. I had to do something. I jumped on the bed, dodging Alaric’s arms. He wanted to keep me away just in case, but I wasn’t having it. My mate was not dead. I refused to accept that.

I blew everyone away from me with my air magic without even meaning to, but they’d stop me. There was nothing else. Nothing else mattered.

I sent all of my energy into my hands. They glowed pink. My magic burned my palms it was so intense, I didn’t care. The pain was worth it.

“Ivy, the spells aren’t working.” Trigger tried to reason with me, but my brain barely registered him.

If magic alone wouldn’t work, I’d focus on his human basic needs. He needed to breathe. My hands went in the middle of his chest. They still glowed, but it didn’t stop me from giving him CPR.

Over and over, I pumped on his chest.

On and on I went. Nothing else had my focus. I never stopped moving.

My whole body screamed at me to stop, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t give up on him. Not my mate. He was not leaving me after I finally got them back. I might have blacked out whilestill doing chest compressions because when I came back to my mind, Dex was giving Kain air.

“Ivy, it’s been ten minutes. He’s gone.” Alaric was at my side, feeding me his energy. I couldn’t stop. There was no way my body would let me.

Tears blurred my vision, but the arms that reached for me ended up slammed against the wall. I was fucking feral. My fangs lengthened. A roar escaped me that rattled the bed. Before, I could second guess myself, I plunged them into Kain’s neck. He glowed pink with my magic.

The moment his blood touched my lips, and my magic went into him through the bite, his chest lifted off the bed. His huge gasp of air was better than any heavenly bells ever could be. I poured the last of my energy into him, making sure he wouldn’t leave me again.

“Get her! Shit! She’s sacrificing herself!” Trigger shouted from the floor. He must have been the one I slammed into the wall.

Strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me away from my injured mate. My body was too heavy to do anything. “No!” I cried out. Everything screamed for me to thrash around and get back to Kain, but my body wouldn’t move. The tears soaked my face, and I didn’t hold them back. “I lost Kain.”

“Shh. No, you didn’t, my world. He’s alive.” Bones kissed me so gently that I barely felt it as the darkness took me. “You brought him back.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

The ocean scent air filled my nostrils, causing me to sigh. The salty tang was my new favorite scent. I laid back in my chair and wiggled my toes in the cool sand.

“I didn’t know the ocean was so powerful. It knocked me on my ass twice. I didn’t even know which way was up by the time it stopped spinning me around,” Dex said. He plopped down at my feet, getting my legs wet.

“You have to dive into the waves. I told you that,” Alaric chastised, but he had a smile on his face. It was hard to get mad when you were in paradise.

Trigger came up from behind and hugged me as Dex and Alaric continued to talk about the ocean. “Have I told my Dreamgirl how gorgeous she is today?”

I turned my head to give him a smile. “Nope. I think you should be punished later for it too. How dare you not tell me.” I teased and brought my lips up to meet his. In an instant, he took control and devoured my moans as if they alone would feed him. The bonds hummed in harmony. Pure utter happiness was a thing, and we had finally made it.

“By all means. I am yours to punish.” He kissed my nose and sat next to Dex, telling him about how the ocean did the same to him earlier.

We were alone on this private beach, so I knew the presents walking up behind me had to be either Bones or Kain.

“Want some fruit? The trees are covered in them, so I thought why not give my woman some.” Bones’ words got a scoff out of Trigger. Those two still competed with each other to be the better mate, and I had no complaints. Who didn’t like to be cherished and loved?

The smile on my face almost hurt with how big it was. After a few bites, I stiffened. A chill ran up my spine. Something was wrong. My gut said so.

I licked my lips before speaking. “Where’s Kain?”

The rest of my mates froze. “Who?”

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