Page 128 of Shadows of Ruin

His eyes flared.

“You’re all right?” I asked, needing to know if I let go, he wouldn’t go back to that darkness.

“Because of you.” He nodded. “Thank you.”

“Then we need to fight.” With a resurgence of strength, we turned to greet the battle around us.

Casimir stood a few feet away, draining the magic from several dark ones, channeling it into various gems sewn onto Andras’s cloak. A brilliant rainbow of gems glittered in the moonlight as they filled with the magic from any Fae Casimir touched.

The bodies formed a pile next to them as he continued to siphon more and more magic.

At least it was fewer for us to kill, but the amount of magic Andras hoarded scared me. No one should have that amount of power. That kind of magic. He had to be defeated.

"Little Rebel,” Kade yelled across the clearing, like he needed to continue to remind me he was coming, battling his way toward me. Storm shot fireballs across the night sky, making it glow as brightly as if it were daylight.

Hale and I continued our own battle toward our friends. Together, we engaged the dark ones, whose jerky movements made it almost impossible to predict their next move. But we powered on. Using every trick and strategy taught to me from Fae on both sides of the void, I cut my way through any enemies who dared cross my path.

Hale struggled to keep pace, struggled to fight the dark ones. It appeared to take every ounce of effort to fight against the ones he’d stood next to mere moments before. As if the darkness drained him now that it no longer controlled him.

Andras bellowed gleefully over the sounds of battle, and I turned to see what caused such a sound of pleasure.

“Lana,” Hale shrieked. “No!” He threw his body in front of mine.

Stepping back, I fumbled only for a moment as Hale landed on his stomach, not moving.

Rage coursed through my veins, and I instinctively flung my blade, landing straight between of the eyes of a dark one who’d stood immediately in front of Hale as he fell. Dropping to my knee, I rolled Hale onto his back and gasped when I saw the dagger protruding from his chest.

“Oh, Hale,” I whispered, resting my hand on his chest. “You idiot. Why would you do such a thing?” A tear formed in the corner of one of my eyes, waiting to drip down my sweaty face. “I can stop the bleeding and…and…you can heal yourself.”

He brought a hand over mine as his blood seeped onto my skin. The cough forced out of him, accompanied with the sound of gurgling blood in his throat made me want to vomit. “I had to save you,” he declared. “I love you, Illiana. It has always been you.”

The tears flowed freely at his admission. “I am going to take the blade out,” I said, gripping the handle of the dagger. “You’re going to be okay, do you hear me?”

He shook his head. “The darkness drained most of my abilities. They aren’t strong enough yet.”

“They will be,” I said, refusing to let doubt clog my voice. “They will be. I’ll leave pressure here as soon as it is out while you heal.”

He gave me a sad smile and nodded. I pulled the blade quickly, pressing my hands hard over his chest as blood spurted out. “Now, Hale,” I commanded. “Right now, start healing.”

He closed his eyes and tightened his grip on my hands.

“I didn’t know what to do,” he whispered, breathing heavily. “When you were missing, taken by Kade and Storm, I tried to find you, but nobody knew where you were. I thought if I gave in to the power they offered, I would be strong enough to fight it. That I could defeat Andras from the inside to protect you. To protect all of you. I only ever wanted to protect you. If I could never have you to love, the least I could do was keep you safe.”

“Hale.” I barely choked out his name.

Blood leaked from his mouth, and his breathing became labored. “Lana, listen to me. The marked dark ones acceptedthe darkness willingly. They are stronger than the others who fight it. Do not underestimate them.”

“Hale, hold on. I can save you.”

“Did you hear me?” he asked, the words choppy and fading.

I nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, I heard you. The marked ones are more dangerous.”

He sighed, his chest caving into his now fragile-looking body.

I shouted, looking up to the sky, praying to the Fates they would give me the opportunity to save the man who’d saved me. We needed a healer. I hated being on my knees again beside someone dying for me, with nothing I could do.

“I love you, Lana,” Hale said, barely a whisper. “I have loved you for longer than you know, but more importantly…” Hale breathed in, a rattling, shaking sound, and while I kept one hand with pressure on his chest, I brushed the other against his face as he spoke. “I believe in you.”

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