Page 119 of Untraced Magic
I charged toward her, swallowing the lump lodged in my throat and sinking to my knees when I noticed her eyes closed and skin depleted of color. Her dress was crumpled, and grit stuck to it like she’d been sitting on the ground, her arms splayed out at her sides in awkward angles, the same as her bare legs.
“Morgan, wake up,” I urged, my thumb skimming a dampness on her forehead, the other palming the pearl of her ghostly white cheek.
When she didn’t respond, I pressed two fingers under her jaw, my cheek resting against hers.
I stilled, silently pleading for the faint beat to hit my fingers.
“Baby, it’s me. You need to wake up,” I pleaded, caressing her hair.
When the lull of her heartbeat never came, I heaved my hands against her chest. Pushed a breath into her mouth.
She would come back. Shehadto come back to me.
Heaving. Breathing. Heaving. I became a rollercoaster of life support, riding my adrenaline to the edge of its limit.
“This can’t be it. We don’t end like this… Breathe, Morgan!” I choked, filling her lungs with air again.
Her body remained limp, skin pale, clammy.
I don’t remember how long I tried to breathe life into her, to jumpstart her heart. But it felt like a lifetime, her body refusing my efforts.
Pain sliced through me, so fierce I arched against the white-hot heat tearing at my insides. I pulled her body flush against mine as the pain engulfed me, nearing blackout myself.
I wouldn’t accept it. This life was meant for us. Fate had decided it. Theyknewwe were meant to be together.
I cradled into her neck, the mist of my breath circling around us as if protecting our moment from the outside world. I would rather have never met her than for it to end like this. To know such a love existed, then have it be taken so unfairly.
“Morgan, come back to me.Please,” I whispered in anguish, trailing my fingers over her lips. “It’s not supposed to end this way. I only just found you.”
I pushed onto my hands, the terror in my heart exploding into every part of me. Droplets glistened on her cheeks, fresh from my eyes, and I swiped them away with my thumb.
Then it dawned on me.
Why had I not thought of it before?
I needed to get her out of here and back to Reid. His healing gift could help in some way. I didn't even know if it was possible, and I would never force such a thing on him, but I had to at least try.
Scooping her into my arms, I started for the door, only to find both exits blocked by an inferno of flames. Fire I’d created after hurling my magic at Wes.
I cursed at myself for not noticing earlier, when it was small enough for my magic to extinguish it. Now it was too far gone, even for me to stop.
An agonizing sound left me. I didn’t recognize it. Smoke chocked my lungs, bringing me to my knees once more.
The pain became unbearable, bright stars blurring my vision, and I slammed them shut at the incredible force shredding my heart to pieces. In that moment, I believed the tales from my elders, that a mate bond being severed could kill both partners.
I engulfed her body desperately with mine, my legs intertwined with hers, heart to heart. One beating. One still.
My voice cracked. “If this is it, I need to tell you something,” I whispered against her ear, taking in every scent of her, committing it to memory. “I should have said it when I got the chance, because I knew you were meant for me the minute we danced in the doorway. Your heart stole a part of mine, and I will be forever grateful to have found you, even for only the smallest fraction of my life.”
Tears fell freely as I took in every fine detail of her. Her lashes, thick like her hair, framing her head angelically. The small freckle under her eye that crinkled when she smiled. Her lips, oh god she was everything I was not.
She was delicate, a treasure of sorts that glistened brightly. I placed my lips on her forehead, then nose, caressed her cheeks, her hair.
I cupped her face. “I love you, Morgan. I willalwayslove you.”
I breathed one final breath into her lungs, not ready to say goodbye, my lips lingering on hers.
I’d never felt a love so pure. So right. A love that could steal your breath, make your heart skip a beat.
