Page 83 of Till Death

“No. No, no, please! No.” This couldn’t be happening. Not again. I couldn’t be losing him again—after everything.

“Cole. Hang on,” I begged.

His hand clutched mine, tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. “It’s okay,” he mouthed.

Like it was so easy for him to just let go and give up this fight. My heart raced and fear took up permanent residence inside of me.

“You have to hold on. Please. I’m going to save you. I have to save you.”

It was the final straw. The last act to break something inside of me beyond repair.

“You can’t leave me,” I whispered.

“You’ll be fine,” he somehow managed to choke out, bloody and dying and there was nothing left for me to do. I frantically grabbed at him like I’d somehow be able to keep him with me. The extent of his wounds were too much to heal even if I still had my powers.

I couldn’t fix this.

This desperate kind of pain was beyond me.

“I wanted to tell you before…” he mutters weakly. “I-I love you.”

“No, you can say that to me when you’re on your feet and kissing me. Help!” I raised my voice in a desperate plea for someone to come and save us.

No one was coming. Hopelessness replaced every ounce of courage I’d managed to muster when the light in Cole’s eyes faded and his chest rose for the last time. His lungs deflated, the air releasing through his slightly parted lips with a hiss, and his body lost all tension.

Done.

Gone.

Dead.

I screamed, pounding my fists against his chest in some ridiculous attempt to bring him back. Even though we’d won the war, I’d lost Cole.

Victory turned to acid inside of me, a bittersweet victory I didn’t care about anymore. Everything we’d done, every turning point we’d passed and struggles we’d overcome, only to come to this. He’d slipped through my hands and gone someplace I wouldn’t be able to follow.

My throat clenched and burned like I’d chugged a vat of acid. The sound drifted away only when I leaned forward and closed the distance between us, brushing my mouth against his. The heartbreak was a special kind of agony unlike anything I’d ever experienced before because this was truly the end.

I broke the kiss and erupted, dropping my hold on his lifeless body and flinging myself toward the still chuckling Amon.

Laughing, with his son dead.

I hit him and bounced off. He didn’t even try to make a move against me.

“Was this what you wanted?” I howled. “You wanted him dead all along?” There was no second thought, not even when I knew I’d never make it out of this.

I staggered back when Amon slapped his palm against my chest hard enough to crack my ribs too. He turned to me with an expression of pure joy lighting his monstrous features.

“Not entirely. I knew it was a distinct possibility, but your suffering is so sweet, I’d say this is a better outcome than having him alive.” Amon drew in a long breath, his nostrils widening. “Ah, yes. The infinite suffering of soulmates torn apart for eternity. There is nothing finer.”

I’d show him fine. I kicked and punched and reacted out of pure feeling. Nothing worked, and I never expected it to. I wanted Amon to feel even a tenth of the pain I did losing the love of my life.

And when all else failed, I grabbed him by the arms. Determination spilled through me and I used every ounce of my pain against him. Not to physically overpower but to bind him regardless.

“You’re going to get what’s coming to you. What’s owed to you,” I said through gritted teeth. “You took him from me and now I’m going to pay you back for everything.”

I wasn’t a witch.

I had no kind of power anymore except a broken heart and a need to see justice served. Those would have to be enough.

---