Page 58 of The Princesses of Ruin

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I lose awareness again and then the weight of the duskwalker disappears.

“No! You’re mine!” the monster roars.

I turn my head. Lily’s bleeding from her throat, a shard of my axe buried in her jugular. He tries to pull the sliver from her neck but is rebuffed by a green shield.

“Lil—no.” My lips move and the sound is faint, but I catch her eyes.

The duskwalker shakes her. “You’re not allowed to die! I need you! I need love!”

“I could never love a monster like you,” she utters, blood dribbling down her lips.

“And yet you could love this demon-touched creature,” the duskwalker says, glaring at me.

She nods and blood gushes from her neck around the shard.

We’re dying.

“Always. I’ll always love—”

She gurgles.

The duskwalker curls around her and presses his mouth against her ear. He’s going to eat her, too…

It’s dark again. The warmth of Nol’Ther’s cloak wraps me tightly and I dream of my sweet wife.

It’s cold. There’s a yipping. I can’t feel my arm, but the rest of my body is alive with pain.

“We’re safe now.” Lily’s sweet voice trembles against my ear. She repeats it over and over.

I’m being tugged, my body bouncing from my feet to my head. There’s a groaning, flapping of sheets, sprinkles of cold.

We’re alive?

“Drink,” Lily whispers, and something touches my lips.

“Nyet, he cannot have more.”

It’s Adrik.

There’s such a loud yipping.

I groan and open my eyes, but my vision is bright and blurry. I can’t see. It hurts my head, so I close my eyelids for some relief.

Lily whimpers. “I’m so sorry, my love.”

“What…” My throat is raw and used, as if I were screaming for days.

“We got the antler,” she says.

“How?”

She’s quiet for so long, but I can feel her body shaking. She’s crying.

“I…”

She drops her head to mine and nuzzles against my ear. I relish the small comfort in a sea of agony.

“I made a terrible choice.”

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