53. Rhyland

Rhyland

53

I crush Dani to my chest, the weight of her body is both delicate and unbearably heavy, a precious burden that threatens to shatter me. The gaping hole in her chest sears into my vision, a vicious wound that no mortal should survive, a testament to the cruelty of fate. Blood froths at the corner of her lips, and the scent of iron fills my nostrils, a sickening reminder of how close I am to losing her. Her punctured lung heaves with each shallow, labored breath, a wet gurgle twisting my insides, a sound that will haunt me for eternity.

"Dani, you're not going anywhere," I growl, my forehead pressed against hers as if I can anchor her to this world through sheer force of will. "Stay with me, or I swear to all the gods, I'll tear this whole fucking world apart."

But Dani remains unmoving, still in my arms, her life force ebbing away with each passing second. Terror rages within me, a beast unchained, howling in despair at the thought of losing her.

I whip my head around, a snarl ripping from me, directed at Lucian. He's there, stained with the act—crimson at his mouth, his wrist marred by his own bite, indisputable proof of his blood feeding her. "What the fuck did you do, Lucian?" I demand, fury laced with dread at what this could mean.

Lucian swipes at the blood on his mouth, a defiant glimmer in his dark eyes. "What had to be done, Rhyland," he retorts, his tone a mix of defensive snark and solemnity. "I fuckin' waited, Rhy—waited as long as I bloody could." His voice is raw with emotion. "But you couldn't get here in time… She was dying, man. What the hell did you expect me to do, watch her take her last breath? So, yeah, I stepped in—" His voice holds a biting urgency, indicating the difficult decision he faced.

Lucian's response is a blade twisting in my chest, offering no relief from the anguish that has seized hold of me. I can't exist without her—if she transforms, I'll handle her after. If it happens due to Lucian's blood, I'll kill him. Silently, I rip open my wrist with a fang, embracing the sting, anything to distract from the agony shredding my spirit.

"Come on, Angel," I urge Dani as I press my bleeding wrist to her lips, my voice a desperate plea. The thick crimson wells from the wound and trickles down her chin, a macabre offering, a last-ditch effort to bring her back to me. "Drink, baby. Please, just fucking drink."

I'm torn, knowing I'm not giving Dani a choice like I had. I'm forcing this on her, thrusting her into a world she never asked for. But call me selfish—I can't exist without her, can't bear facing eternity alone, without her light to guide me.

She's motionless, her heart gone fucking silent, but I'll be damned if I accept that if I let her slip away without a fight. I plead to the Norse gods I've long since abandoned, begging Dani to return to me, to come back from the brink.

"Odin! Hear me!" I roar to the heavens, my voice raw with desperation, with the agony of a man on the verge of losing everything. "Please, I need her back…I'm nothing without her!" As she lies motionless, doubt creeps in, a sinister whisper insisting it's over—that she's lost to me, that I've failed her in the most fundamental way.

I'm too fucking late, the voice hisses, a cruel taunt. I've let her down, let the one person who matters most slip through my fingers, and now I'm left with nothing but the bitter ashes of what could have been.

Still, I clutch her tight, bringing my wrist against her lips again, silently demanding she drink. My heart fractures imagining life without her light, without her tenacious spirit. "Don't leave me, baby," I implore, my voice cracking. "Not when we've only just found each other." I stroke her hair, cherishing its softness, praying this isn't the last time. "Please come back, Angel. Please..."

Everything outside this pocket of existence melts into unimportance—the continuing battle, the shouts of rage and agony dimming to silence. My whole world narrows to this instant: clutching Dani as if she is the sole mooring in a storm-savaged sea.

Lucian lingers nearby, his features warped with regret and remorse, the weight of his actions etched into every line of his face. I know he was attempting to save her—but if his fucking blood succeeds where mine falters…that is a nightmare I can't confront.

I shut him out, shutting out fucking everything except the woman I cradle against me—my reason for existing. "Drink, baby," I plead once more, my wrist pressed to her mouth, my lifeblood dripping, waiting for her to respond. But her lashes don't stir, and her lips remain still, a cruel mockery of the vibrant woman I know and love. Desolation swamps me, a yawning darkness threatening to pull me under.

She has to come back to me.

She has to…

Lucian's gaze darts between us, his eyes filled with anguish and uncertainty, torn between the ongoing fight and the unfolding tragedy before him. "Rhy, I think…" He lets out an anguished gasp, his voice barely above a whisper. "I think it's too late."

"No!" I roar, my voice a primal howl of denial, of rage against the very fabric of fate. "Come on, baby…" I plead to Dani, my words a desperate litany, a prayer to any god who might be listening.

Lucian comes to a swift resolution, spinning away without another word, leaping back into the thick of war, leaving me alone with my grief.

Dani's breaths were non-existent—the rise and fall of her chest, a terrible, unnatural stillness that threatened to break me. My voice fractures as I keep pleading for her life—for the future we're meant to share, now dangling by the most delicate strand.

But as the seconds tick by, each one an eternity of agony, a sickening realization begins to dawn, a truth I can no longer deny.

We were too late.

I was too late.

And now, as I hold the woman I love in my arms, her body broken and still, I feel the last shreds of hope slipping away, replaced by a yawning void of despair.

Then...warmth surrounds us, radiating a light that isn't born of me or any enchantment I possess. It's a pure, ethereal glow that seems to emanate from Dani herself, a luminescence that defies the very laws of nature. Her lifeless form lifts from my arms as if tugged by invisible hands, a gentle but insistent force that I am powerless to resist.

Awe and hope swell within me as I behold her limp body hovering before me, suspended in a halo of soft, pulsing light. Her hair stirs in an otherworldly breeze, each strand dancing as if caressed by unseen fingers, and her skin emanates a soft glow, a radiance that seems to come from within. I want to reach for her, to pull her back into my embrace, but instinct stays my hand—this isn't normal, isn't anything I've ever encountered in all my centuries of existence.

"Dani?" I breathe, scarcely trusting what I'm witnessing, my voice a hoarse whisper of disbelief and desperate hope. Is this part of her power, some hidden facet of her being that even she was unaware of? My shattered heart dares to believe what I'm seeing.

"She must come with me," an otherworldly voice decrees, power thrumming through the command, raising the hairs on my nape and sending a shiver down my spine.

It's a voice that seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, a presence that fills the very air around us.

A snarl tears from my throat, unbidden, a primal instinct overriding all reason. I reach for her—my hold on Dani constricts reflexively—I'll never let her go, not to anyone or anything, not even to the mysterious force that seems to have claimed her.

"No!" I roar at the unseen presence, wrenching Dani back against me with everything I have, every ounce of strength and will I possess. "She stays with me!"

My fangs are bared, muscles coiled, ready to fight whatever seeks to take her from me. Dani is my mate, my reason for being, the essence of my existence. I don't know who or what is attempting to steal her away, and I can't trust anyone or anything when it comes to her.

"You must trust me," the voice insists again, a note of urgency threading through the words, a plea that seems to resonate in the very marrow of my bones.

But how the fuck can I do that? How can I trust anything or anyone when it comes to Dani when the mere thought of losing her threatens to shatter me beyond repair?

Before I can respond before I can voice the torrent of emotions raging within me, Dani begins glowing brighter and brighter, the light intensifying until it's almost blinding, a supernova of pure, radiant energy. Then, she vanishes in a flash, winking out of existence as if she were never there.

"No!" A tortured roar shreds from my throat, a sound of pure, unadulterated agony. She was here, in my arms, and now she's gone, ripped away from me by forces I can't begin to comprehend.

Rage and anguish war within me. I whip around, seeking the owner of the voice. "Bring her back, now goddamn it," I demand, ready to tear apart anything that keeps us apart. Dani is my mate, my reason for breathing. And I will stop at nothing to get her back.

Our bond, the intangible tether between us—it's gone. Snuffed out like a fucking candle in the wind. Her light, her essence, our connection—all extinguished as if she never existed. My heart clenches, a vise-like pressure crushing my chest. I sink to my knees, clawing at where my still heart resides.

No. No. No. This cannot be happening.

Without her, I'll spiral into madness, losing myself to the damn demons inside. She is my anchor, my redemption. Futility and devastation threaten to fucking drown me. I failed her—wasn't fucking strong enough to protect my mate. "Fucking bring her back!" I bellow again into the empty space where Dani just was. But only silence answers. No sign or trace of her remains.

Rage boils inside me, violent and scorching. She was ripped away, and I'm fucking powerless. Helpless. Weak. I slam my fist into the ground, relishing the physical pain. It distracts from the shredded ruins of my heart. I need her. Need Dani like air, like blood. She's my light in the darkness. And now she's gone.

"Give her back!" My roar echoes unanswered, a desperate plea that falls on deaf ears, swallowed up by the chaos surrounding me. I'm on my feet again, whirling around, seeking anything on which to unleash the fury that consumes me. My sights are set on the Shades—those Shade fuckers want war? I'll give them goddamn Armageddon, a reckoning they'll never forget.

Power crackles from my hands, stronger than ever before, a raw, primal energy that surges through my veins like liquid fire. Thunder rumbles overhead, the skies darkening to an ominous black, and lightning flashes, illuminating the battlefield in stark, eerie light—that's new. But I don't have time to dwell on the why.

I shred those Shade bastards with my telekinesis and lightning, directing the bolts with a mere thought. The air crackles with ozone, and the scent of burning fills my nostrils.

The winds howl, echoing the torment that grips me. Rain pelts down, a stinging deluge that soaks me to the bone, but I barely feel it. The elements are unleashed, reflecting the chaos within me. She was my lightning rod, the only one able to temper this storm.

More Shades fall, obliterated to ash by my pain. It'll never be enough until she's back in my arms. I'm the eye of my own personal goddamn hurricane, leveling everything in my path.

My roar rivals the thunder, a primal, guttural sound that tears raw and bleeding from my throat.

She has to come back to me. She fucking has to...

She is my everything; without her, I am nothing, a hollow shell of a man with no purpose.

I am lost without her. Utterly and completely fucking lost, adrift in a sea of despair with no anchor, no guiding light to lead me back to shore.