Page 131 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
He could hear movement, the rustling of wings that told him the surviving seraphs were starting to recover. Pushing past the pain, he thought he might have enough reserves to Travel her out. He tried to push into a sitting position, to reach for her, but he couldn’t move his body right. Then she was wrenched away from him, a cry of surprise sounding.
“You wild and reckless child,” Dexter snarled, hauling her to her feet by her hair. “You truly ruineverything, don’t you? And once again, I have to clean up your mess.”
Luka didn’t understand what was happening when he grabbed her arm, but Tessa clearly did.
“No!” she cried, yanking and pushing and trying to break his hold.
It didn’t matter. Dex tipped her arm, her wound dripping to the ground, and Tessa screamed, not in horror but in utter fury as a Hunter appeared.
“You called, your grace?” the Hunter said, his eerie voice wrapping around Luka’s bones like ice. So much like the voice Tessa could have, yet different.
“No,” she said, shaking her head wildly. “I didn’t. Leave. You are not needed.”
But more and more Hunters materialized, even as she spoke the words.
“Hold her,” Dex sneered, passing her off to the Hunter.
“Dex, no! Please no!” she cried, but he didn’t stop.
The male moved to stand over Luka, a sneer of disgust on his face. “Another one of Sargon’s heirs fails his duties.” His booted foot came down hard on a battered wing, the male grinding all his weight atop it. Tessa cried out again, and Luka was fighting the urge to vomit at the excruciating pain. “The thing is,” Dex continued, “a Hunter’s blade doesn’t do much to your kind since your fire burns away the poison. This blade, however…”
The seraph smiled, pulling a long, thin dagger from his belt. The hilt was gold and the blade itself was pure white with gold etchings.
“It was created especially for your kind,” Dex said, dropping to a knee beside him. “Achaz created it just for Sargon and Arius and their little pets. We use it in weapons.” He flashed a dark smirk. “Or collars. Which I did debate for you. We could use a replacement for your father, but I think this will break her more.” He leaned closer, his voice merciless. “And I need her fucking shattered.”
And Luka could do nothing but watch as he raised his arm above his head and sank the blade deep into his chest.
If he’d been in pain before, it was nothing compared to this, because he was dying.
No.
His dragon was dying, thrashing and keening in his soul. He’d never survive losing that piece of him.
Tessa was screaming, and his dragon was dying.
He tried to speak, holding her horrified stare. Willing her to understand the words he was mouthing.
Keep…fighting…baby girl.
And the last thing he saw was lightning flickering in endless violet depths before his dragon let out a defiant roar, and the world went dark and silent.
26
TESSA
The world was too quiet.
Or maybe sound was just muted?
There was a faint buzzing. A low din in the background that wouldn’t stop as she stared and stared at that dagger lodged in Luka’s chest. Because he wasn’t moving. And why wasn’t he moving? He was a dragon.A dragon. He couldn’t just…stop moving.
And there was something in her that was breaking. A fracture that was deepening. Splitting her apart. And it was all she could feel. She couldn’t breathe. There was no one to tell her to put one foot in front of the other. No one to guide her through the dark. Who was going to continue her training? And tell her to get over her shit? And tell Theon when he was being an ass?
Who was going to buy her flip-flops?
And why was she thinking about flip-flops when he wasn’t fucking moving?
Because being the grandchild of a god was lonely, and she had just saved Theon for him, and now he was not moving?
