Page 102 of Forever Touched

Blood.Myblood.

Ignoring it, I quickly focused on the stairs again, but the Faircrofts were gone. A sickeningcrackrent the air, and I turned just as Everett broke Viscount Le Blanc’s neck. When he grabbed the head to rip itoff, I stumbled forward and croaked, “Don’t kill him.”

Everett whipped his gaze to me, the blood red of his eyes filled with bloodlust. “Why not? Heattackedus,” he said, his voice little more than a growl. “He’s probably one of your clients and, therefore, doesn’t deserve to live.”

“He’senchanted,” I cried, then doubled over in a coughing fit. I covered my mouth, but not fast enough. Blood sprayed onto the floor once more.

“Adalyn!” Everett shouted. As I teetered sideways, he dropped Le Blanc to catch me. “Where are you hurt?”

“It doesn’t . . . doesn’t matter.”

“What? Ofcourseit matters. Here, take my blood.”

He swiftly bit into his wrist and held it out to me, but I turned my head away and rasped, “They’re all enchanted. You have to . . . you have to spare them. They don’t . . . they don’t mean it. They’reloyal.” I coughed again, so forcefully that my lungs screamed in agony.

Sudden dread filled our bond. Struggling to breathe, I looked up again and caught the devastation on Everett’s face. Thehorror.

“You broke the pactum,” he whispered, the words barely audible.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered back, then forced myself to push away and stand on my own. “I can tell you the truth now. The Venturi aren’t your enemies. I’ve spent the past three years poisoning their minds against you, but that’s not how they really feel. Don’t kill them. Please. It’s the rogues you need to worry about. They’ve been orchestrating this attack from the very beginning. Call on your allies, because they’re coming. They—”

“Too late,” Everett said, his red eyes flaring bright. “They’re already here.”

My insides turned to ice as the human maids started to scream. I looked toward the stairs just as dozens of rogues poured into theballroom.

“You heard her!” Everett shouted to his family and warlocks still valiantly fighting. “Spare the Venturi. Give the rogues no quarter. Now is the time to rid this kingdom of their deception once and for all!”

Battle cries rose into the air.

“Heads up!” Noah hollered and muscled his way into our circle. He tossed a silver sword with the hilt carefully wrapped in leather, and Kade whirled to catch it.

“Thanks, man!” Kade hollered back, ducking as his Venturi opponent swiped a clawed hand at him. With one smooth stroke, he sliced the hand off, and the Venturi grabbed his spurting arm with a scream. “You’ll thank me later,” Kade grunted, then lunged toward his next opponent.

Not far away, Loch tore off his jacket to reveal a twin pair of silver pistols strapped to his sides. Whipping the pistols free with gloved hands, he faced the approaching horde of rogues and lit them up.

“Yeah, baby!” Noah crowed, lighting up the horde as well with his Cosmic magic. The other warlock went back-to-back with him, focusing his efforts on the Venturi still under my enchantment. Every time one of them attacked, he used a spell to freeze them in place. Then Everett or King Ambrose would race forward and snap their necks.

Kenna and Isla had also teamed up in a similar manner, one using magic to stun their opponent while the other rushed in and knocked them out.

We were outnumbered by far, but everyone in the tight circle worked as a unit. They were a well-oiled machine, feeding off each other’s strengths and protecting their weaknesses. If I wasn’t feeling so helpless, I would have taken a moment to admire the beautiful waythey danced together.

After several minutes of fighting, the tide started to shift in our favor. Venturi were submitting everywhere, backing off from the fight as my influence on their minds faded. And despite the rogues’ numbers, they didn’t stand a chance against the royal family’s power.

I coughed again, blood filling my mouth as I desperately tried to stay out of the way. In too much pain to help, all I could do was fight to remain conscious so Everett wouldn’t get distracted.

Never had I been more aware of time. Each second that ticked by reminded me that it could be my last. I was living on borrowed time now. The moment I’d broken both pactums, the lease on my life had expired. The pain was growing more and more unbearable, and I was losing way too much blood.

I wanted to stay. With everything in me, I wanted to stay and help. To see the Venturi fully freed of my enchantment and the rogues defeated.

But I couldn’t. There was one more thing I needed to do. Time was relentless, and if I didn’t leave now, I wouldn’t make it.

So I forced my aching body to pick up my knife from the blood-flecked floor. Forced myself to turn away from the love of my life and accept that I wouldn’t be able to say goodbye. And when the opportunity came, I forced myself to leave the protective circle. To dart through a gap in the fighting and slip through the crowd.

Tovanish.

33

ADALYN

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