Page 11 of Amethyst and Iron
The purple aspect was fading. Rapidly.
No. No. No.
“Cassius… I don’t… I don’t understand…” Lazriel choked out as he shuddered while he held him, his eyes focused on the Soul Brand.
He did understand.
Of course he did.
He was just… it was too much.
“Something… horrific has… befallen… her,” Cassius rasped, frantically running his trembling fingers over the brand. “A fatal… wound.”
“No,”Lazriel growled vehemently. “Notfatal.Not her. It can’t be right. There must be some other explanation.”
Cassius cried out again, and the white line started to fade in and out.
Lazriel had to ease him down to his knees, Cassius slapping his palms to the ground, just a moment before he began vomiting.
Blood.
The situation became undeniably clear to me. “Your Soul Brand is the only thing keeping her alive.”
“Not… for… long,” he managed to utter, before he threw up again, blood splattering all over the pristine floor.
“It’s killing you!” Lazriel cried, brushing Cassius’ hair out of his face as he retched again.
It was dragging him toward death along with Velra.
“I won’t… break it.” He looked out at us weakly, tears welling in his eyes. And, as he let out another cry, it was one not only of physical agony, but absolute gut-wrenching pain for Velra.
“There’s… something I can… do,” Cassius told us, noticeably avoiding my gaze.
BecauseIknew damn well what the only possible solution could be from his end if she’d truly touched death while being Soul Branded.
“No,” I told him.
“No? What can he do?” Lazriel asked. “What is it? I thought you tethering her with your Celestial Light was a one-shot deal?” Hope sparked in his eyes. “It wasn’t?”
“It is,” I told him. “He’s talking about taking her place.”
“What? Sacrificing himself?”
“Yes.”
“We’re not trading lives here,” Lazriel said. “We live in a world of magic, of overcoming the supposedly impossible. There are other ways. And we don’t even know if she’s… you know. I can heal her with my blood.” He rose to his full height. “I’ll find her and see to it. I’ll track her right the fuck now. The SoulBrand could be… misinterpreting things. It might not be what we think.”
Denial for the win.
Not the best state to be in with this sort of thing.
But those not as familiar with death magic as I was reacted much like this in these situations so I wasn’t surprised. Especially not with Lazriel and his abandonment issues.
I shook my head at Cassius while Lazriel stepped off to the side to scent out Velra.
“At least she’ll still be alive,” he told me.
“No,” I ground out. “Living in a permanently agonized state is not a gift. It’s cruelty.”
