see Adriel flash up from the ground and blur toward me. He roughly jerks my head to the side and viciously tries to bite my shoulder, but my shield activates again and hits Adriel with such force that he smashes into the wall behind us. The pain the collar causes me is worse this time, and it brings me to my knees. An agonized grunt escapes me, and I place my palms on the cool polished stone floor and wait for the pain to recede.
I look up, and Lachlan takes a step in front of Keegan, his eyes fixed on what has to be Adriel’s enraged face. I can tell by his stance and the look in his eyes that he’s prepared to die, and surprisingly he looks okay with that. I expect Adriel to come charging from behind me any second now to face off with Lachlan, but in the time it takes me to blink, I realize just how fucking wrong I was.
A guard flashes behind Keegan in less than a second, and before I can even open my mouth to warn Lachlan, the lamia grabs Keegan and tears his throat out. My eyes go wide with horror, and my scream of rage fills the room. Lachlan turns too late and bellows out an anguished cry when he sees what’s happened. The lamia pushes Keegan’s body away from his own, and Lachlan catches him. They sink to the ground together. I crawl over to them, and my heart shatters as I watch Lachlan hold his dying mate.
Keegan’s eyes are wide with shock, and he’s choking on the blood that’s pouring out of his mouth and throat.
“I love you, I’m so sorry,” Lachlan tells him over and over, and Keegan grabs on to Lachlan’s arm, his grip panicked and shaky as he slowly drowns on his own blood. I put my hands on the wound in Keegan’s neck and call on my Healing magic. Agony rips through me, and I can’t help but scream, but I keep pushing as much as I can into Keegan. I close my eyes and try to focus on the teal color of my magic and not on the searing pain that I’m experiencing because of this fucking collar.
I’m sobbing, it hurts so bad, but I clench my teeth and keen out my torture and push more magic into Keegan. I open my eyes, and my heart falls when the injury starts to knit together, but it’s too slow, and I know it won’t be enough. Lachlan leans down and kisses Keegan and whispers words from his soul against Keegan’s lips as he takes his last shuddering breaths. The light in Keegan’s blue eyes disappears, and his body grows slack in Lachlan’s embrace. An animalistic cry tears out of Lachlan as he cradles Keegan’s lifeless body, and I look around the room for the target of the rage that’s boiling inside of me.
22
Adriel is standing next to his throne with a smug smile on his face, and I growl at the amusement I see in his eyes as he takes pleasure in Lachlan’s agony. My blood sings for retribution, and the familiar bloodlust and demand for action fills me, dulling the pain that’s reverberating through me. Adriel turns to focus on me, and his amusement grows at the fury flowing out of me. I call on a throwing knife, and I’m surprised when the pain I feel from this use of magic is less than what I was feeling when I was trying to heal Keegan.
Maybe I’m building a tolerance, or maybe the use of different magic brings different levels of pain. I shove the observation to the back of my mind and focus through the burning sensation I’m feeling and take aim. Adriel’s amusement quickly turns into shock as his view of my anger turns into a view of my dagger flying directly at him. He flashes away with a surprised shout, but my blade still nicks his arm. Satisfaction trickles through me, and I pant through the torment as I call on another dagger and take aim.
In a blink, a guard flashes in front of Adriel, and my dagger sinks into his chest instead. Guards rush to get between Adriel and me as I stalk forward, determined to get to him. I call on a short sword and have to take a second to shake the wooziness from my head as the burning in my blood gets worse. I pant, not able