Page 66 of Beast of Blood and Roses
At least I’d gotten the words out. It didn’t matter if she loved me back or not. All that mattered now was protecting her with whatever strength I had left. I braced my hands against the couch and tried to push myself up, every muscle screaming in protest as I groaned with the effort.
“Beast, no,” Rosalie said urgently, her hands pressing gently on my shoulders. “You can’t get up. You’ll tear yourself apart.” Her chin lifted defiantly. “Ican protect us.”
The door nearly came off its hinges with a thunderous crack that echoed through the house.
She whirled around to face Marcel and Colette. “Get behind me. Now.”
I forced one leg to move then the other, every step sending fresh waves of agony through my battered body. Swallowing hard against the wave of agony, I managed to stand by her side, refusing to show any weakness in front of our enemies.
The front door finally split open completely, hanging uselessly on its twisted hinges like broken wings.
Wolves poured into my home like a dark flood, their golden eyes gleaming as they surrounded us in a perfect circle. Their low growls filled the air with menace. Trystan strolled in behind them with steely conviction, his every movement radiating dangerous power. Volaris followed, the smugness from earlier replaced by cold calculation.
Trystan’s piercing blue gaze swept over me with obvious disdain. “So you’re the creature that possesses Tinker Bell’s heart.”
“What?” My hand went to the amulet around my neck, the stone warm against my palm. “This belongs to Tinker Bell?”
He nodded slowly, a cruel smile playing at his lips. “She lost it some years ago. Or maybe it was stolen from her.” His eyes glittered with malice. “She’s been searching for it ever since. Someone must have used a powerful concealment spell to keep her from sensing its location.”
He paused, savoring the moment. “The amulet has the power to enhance magical abilities, protect its owner from supernatural harm, and store vast amounts of magical energy. Enough power to make whoever possesses it nearly unstoppable.”
His smile turned feral. “Which is exactly why I’m going to take it from you.”
“No, you won’t,” Rosalie moved with purpose, palms raised as she faced them without flinching. Another transparent shield erupted from her hands, pulsing with ethereal light as it formed a protective barrier between us and our enemies.
Maybe I could draw power from the amulet’s stored energy. I clutched The Witch’s Heart as hard as I could against my chest, desperately trying to pull power from its ancient magic, but nothing happened. The stone remained frustratingly inert in my grip as if it were just an ordinary piece of jewelry. Why wasn’t it working? The amulet had responded before; what was different now?
Volaris began stalking around the perimeter of our shield like a caged predator, his eyes scanning for any weakness or crack in Rosalie’s magical protection. His hands moved in complex patterns as he called out words that dripped with malice, “Tutela Dissolvere.”
Dark energy shot from his fingertips, and sparks flew around us in violent bursts of light and shadow. The magical assault crashed against Rosalie’s barrier again and again but couldn’t penetrate her shield. Each strike sent ripples across the transparent surface, like stones thrown into still water.
“Please, don’t do this,” Rosalie pleaded. I could see her arms beginning to shake from the tremendous energy it took to maintain the barrier. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her breathing was becoming labored.
The shield was holding for now, but already hairline cracks were beginning to spider across its surface. Her breathing had turned ragged, and I could see the magic draining from her with each passing second. I could tell she couldn’t keep this up muchlonger. The helplessness burned like acid in my throat. I should be protecting her, not the other way around.
I gripped the amulet tighter and tighter until the edges dug into my palms, drawing blood. My head pounded with the strain of reaching for magic that wouldn’t come, each failed attempt like trying to lift a mountain with my bare hands. Exhaustion weighed down my limbs, and my vision blurred at the edges as if the very effort of trying was draining my life force.
My breathing turned shallow and ragged, and cold sweat beaded on my forehead despite the chill in the air. Still nothing happened. The Witch’s Heart remained cold and unresponsive to my desperate attempts to draw power from it, as dead as if I’d never felt its magic pulse through my veins at all.
My strength finally gave out completely, and I collapsed to the ground. Black dots swam in front of my eyes as consciousness threatened to slip away. Through the haze of pain and weakness, I could hear Volaris chanted another spell, his hands weaving intricate patterns in the air as Rosalie’s shield flickered.
“Beast, no!” Rosalie’s voice echoed in my ears, desperate, terrified, full of the kind of fear I never wanted to hear from her.
More shouts and growls broke out around us. I was now more beast than vampire, more monster than man. My arms trembled violently as I struggled for each breath. Everything spun around me in nauseating swirls, dark colors blurring together, threatening to pull me into unconsciousness.
Then someone touched my shoulder, their hand warm and gentle. The moment their skin made contact with mine, something sparked deep inside me, like a smoldering fire suddenly coming to life. Power began to flow through me, warm and electric, chasing away the darkness that had been consuming me from within.
My vision cleared, my senses returned. Something burst inside me like a flame suddenly catching.
“Beast, don’t leave me. I’m not going to lose you.” Rosalie’s desperate cry cut through the haze of pain and brought me back from the edge of unconsciousness. Something inside me responded to her raw emotion.
I lifted my head with tremendous effort and turned to look at her. She was the one touching me, her hand warm and steady on my shoulder despite everything falling apart around us. Sweat glistened on her forehead like tiny diamonds, and fear flickered in her amber eyes—not fear of me, but fear of losing me.
“I can’t...I can’t hold it much longer,” she panted, her whole body trembling from the enormous effort of maintaining the shield against the relentless magical assault.
Something clicked into place. I forced myself to stand on shaking legs and clasped the amulet with one hand, then reached out and clasped her free hand with the other. The moment our skin touched while we were both connected to The Witch’s Heart, power flowed between us like water through an open channel. My strength began slowly returning, warmth spreading through my battered body. Finally, something was going right.
But would it be enough?
