Page 100 of A Heart Of Bitter Poison
I gasp for air. Ashen’s arms have no strength left to hold on as I push myself up from his chest. “I love you, Ashen,” I say. I look in his eyes as my tears drip down onto his shirt.
Timing is everything.
Before he can take another breath, I draw mykaikenfrom my thigh and slide it across his throat in the deepest cut I can manage with my waning strength.
Ashen’s eyes go wide, his expression desperate.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. I drop my blade and lay one hand to his face, the other to his chest where his mark is losing heat beneath my palm. “I’m sorry. I’m right here, Ashen. Everything is okay.”
Ashen passes away with the sound of my voice in his ears, the feel of my hand on his skin. I send my love with him as I press my hand to his chest and watch his eyes dim.
His last breath flows across his lips as I send him to death with a kiss.
I don’t blink.
I don’t move as Ediye crashes down next to my side and grips my shoulders, calling my name.
I only wait.
And then the first gray flake lifts from Ashen’s skin.
I let out an anguished cry of relief. Sparks and ash swirl with the snow and drift toward the sky. I cradle my face in my hands as Ediye wraps her arms around me.
“You did it, Lu. He’s going back. You did it,” she whispers in my ear as she squeezes me tight. “He’s all right, Lu… Lu?..Lu!”
Ediye’s voice grows faint as though she’s drifting away down a tunnel. I close my eyes as she lays me on my back in the snow. I find the minds of the hybrids and wolves and whisper my wishes to them.Akaassi kunusi, akammi kunusi anna naga. I whisper it as many times as I can before I can’t keep hold of the words anymore.
“No, Lu… You’re my best friend. You’re my soulmate. Please,pleasestay,” Ediye begs. I feel her hand on my face and open my eyes. Tears slide down her skin, but she tries to stay strong, even though she knows I see every tremble in her lip.
“Thought… it would… work…” My brief smile is swept clean by a wave of pain. My body shudders. “Love you…”
Hard to breathe. I’m scared. So scared.
A sob breaks through as Ediye’s armor crumbles. “I love you, Lu. I love you. Do you hear me, Lu?Lu-”
I do. My name. A scream.
The last thing I hear.
Tick, tick, tick.
I open my eyes, blinking into the dim light. I press my hands onto the stone by my sides and rise from the floor. There’s a black wall in front of me of polished obsidian. Rings within rings click in opposite directions. In the center is a gleaming sphere of black tourmaline.
Just like when I was in Leander’s mind, I take a step closer. Silver glyphs flare to life along the rings. It’s the same language as before, but different words.
The ticking grows louder in my head as I take another step closer to the wall. A ribbon of whispering voices twists around me in an invisible knot. I reach for the orb at the center of the rings and touch my fingertip to its cool, slick surface.
I’m hit with a wall of sound, a final tick that’s like a crash through my skull.
My lungs suck in a breath that fills every spongy crevice of their chambers. It feels like I’ve never breathed before.
I twist and writhe but there’s pressure on my shoulders that keeps me down. I thrash my legs and open my eyes.
“Just breathe, Lu. Go slow. You’re safe,” Ashen says. His hands are warm on my skin.
“Ash…en?..”
A smile blooms across his face as he watches my confused expression and the way I gulp in air like I’m drowning. His eyes look glassy as he nods. My gaze darts to the room around us but keeps coming back to him. I’m afraid he’ll disappear.
