Page 114 of Draekora

Alex sucked in a choking gasp, the pain instantly flooding her body as she hunched over in shock.

ALEX!Xiraxus screamed in her mind, followed by the distressed roar of the draekon rumbling outside, echoing across the city like a clap of thunder.

There was no way she could respond to him. Not when she was blinded by shards of lightning tearing through her middle; not when she was drowning for air, barely able to draw hacking, wet breaths into her lungs.

She sank to her knees, and as she did so, Aven lowered himself with her, his hands still over hers at the hilt of the blade lodged in her abdomen.

In the back of her mind, Alex wondered how long it would take before Kyia and Zain helped the guards overcome theGarseth, how long before anyone realised she was on her knees at Aven’s mercy. But since she could still hear the clashing of swords ringing in an eternal echo, she knew no one would reach her in time. She was on her own.

Struck with the realisation that she was going to die, Alex couldn’t do anything when Aven released one of his hands and raised it to her face, peeling the mask from her skin and casting it aside. He stared deeply into her eyes for a long moment, his bloodied-red fingers cupping her cheek in a mocking caress, before he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, “I swear by the stars that you and the others slain tonight will be the first of many. Of that you have my word.”

And then with a brutal heave he yanked A’enara from her flesh, causing her to double over and collapse at his feet, her body convulsing as her hands weakly pressed against her fatal wound.

“No mortal was ever intended to wield this blade,” Aven said, rising to stand and looking pitilessly down at her from above. “You, at least, will never taint it with your filth again.”

He then looked away from her, taking in the chaos of theZeltorabattling theGarseth, a muscle clenching in his jaw at the realisation that he wouldn’t be able to finish what he’d started with the king and Roka. He released a furious, frustrated snarl and spun on his heel, sliding A’enara into the empty scabbard at his waist. The weapon was bonded to Alex, so it wasn’t his to summon—yet—and she knew that if she had the strength to lift her hand she would be able to call it back into her possession, keeping it from him and the unspeakable things he would go on to do with it. But with her vision fading alarmingly fast and her now numb body suffocating for oxygen, all she could do was watch him sprint away with her weapon in tow. The moment he was outside the throne room’s wards she knew he would activate theValispathand flee from the city, from his home, from the place he wouldn’t see again for thousands of years, not until Alex herself helped him to return.

With a gagging, heaving, sobbing sound, Alex rolled over, staring unseeingly up at the opulent ceiling of the throne room as she hazily contemplated the vicious cycle of time, the utter irony of the cosmic joke that was her life.

It was just as her ears began to deafen and darkness spread across her vision that the doors flew open once more and in stumbled Niyx, his hands pressed to his bleeding stomach, his eyes wild in search of Alex amid the chaos.

“Niyx, you traitorousGarseth!” Zain yelled, fighting three Rebels at once. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done—just like the rest of your friends!”

Niyx ignored him and staggered over to Alex, reaching down to draw her gently up into his arms. “You, kitten, are going to be the death of me.”

And that was the last thing she heard before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and all turned black.

Thirty-Five

“She’s going to be all right.”

“I know she’s going to be all right. I’m the one who told you that after I shoved enoughlaendradown her throat and over her stomach to last her a lifetime’s worth of stab wounds.”

“I didn’t need you to tell me—I can feel it. It’s slow, but she’s healing.”

“I can feel it too, draekon. More than you, I’d wager, since I doubt you’ve just experienced the phantom skewering of your small intestine. For the record, it’s not as pleasant as it sounds.”

“That doesn’t sound pleasant at all.”

“You’re a quick one, Xira.”

Alex groaned at the buzzing voices, wanting them to disappear so she could stay asleep, preferably forever.

“Aeylia? Can you hear me? Kitten, I need you to open your eyes.”

A gentle hand patted her cheek, lightly tapping against her skin. She wrinkled her nose at it, wanting it to go away and let her rest.

“That’s it, time to wake up now,” the soft voice said, turning harder to finish, “so I can kick your ass for letting Aven stab you—and therefore,me—in the gut.”

With a gasp, Alex’s eyes opened as recollection of everything that had happened flashed through her mind. She bolted upright, thankful when Niyx’s reflexes made him move fast enough to avoid a collision between their heads.

Sucking in heaving gulps of air as if she’d been underwater for too long, Alex couldn’t hold her weight and collapsed back to the ground. The hulking face of Xiraxus immediately blocked out the view of the dark sky above her, his concern evident in his eyes.

“You’re okay, Alex,” the draekon said soothingly. Then he corrected, “Well, actually, you’ve lost a lot of blood—too much. You’re really weak, so try not to get too worked up or you’ll faint again.”

“And wasn’t that a load of fun, carrying you up here on theValispathand trying not to pass out myself fromyourinjuries,” Niyx added in a mutter.

“How—How—” she panted out, but she didn’t have the strength to finish her question verbally, so she called out to Niyx in her mind, stunned and dismayed when she felt the connection between them firmly back in place.

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