out.
Blood trickled from her nose. She shook her head and stumbled forward.
I saw what was going to happen next through a very narrow lens. Things seemed to slow down. I rushed forward as Daemon glanced over his shoulder at his sister. Baruck pulled his arm back, preparing another stream of matter.
The image of the tree snapping in half along the road flashed before me.
Rushing forward, I crashed into the light that was Dee the moment Baruck released the blast of energy. Darkness surrounded me, and I heard a scream - a piercing scream that wasn't mine.
And then I was flying - really flying. The sky was rolling, stars and darkness, over and over.
The entire world shimmered.
I hit the ground hard, already knowing it was too late.
A body crashed next to mine. A limp, slender arm fell against mine. Dee. I hadn't been quick enough. The arm warmed against mine, becoming less...solid. Her light cast upon me.
Sorrow cut through me like a thousand double-edged razor blades. She wasn't moving, but I could see her chest moving, slow and shallow.
Distracted, Daemon turned and made a fatal mistake. You'll get him killed, Ash had said.
Baruck reared his arm back and his blast caught Daemon in his back. He went up, spiraling through the air, flickering in and out of human form. He landed only a foot from us.
Baruck laughed and shifted into his shadowy form. Three for one ssspecial.
Tears burned my eyes as my cheek nestled against the damp grass. Daemon tried to sit up, but he collapsed onto his back, his face contorting in pain.
It'sss over. All of you will die. Baruck advanced.
Daemon turned his head toward me. Our eyes locked. There was so much regret in that one look. His face faded out, blurred and unrecognizable. He couldn't hold his human form. Seconds later, and he was in his true form.
The shape of a man encased in the most beautifully intense light.
One arm extended out toward me, forming fingers. Heart breaking, I reached out and my fingers disappeared in his light. Warmth encircled my fingers, the slightest pressure of Daemon's hand wrapping around mine. He squeezed, as if to reassure me, and a sob caught in my throat.
Daemon's light flickered but continued climbing up my arm, wrapping me in his intense heat. Like the day of the first Arum attack, in the wake of his warmth, my body began knitting itself back together.
Daemon was using the last of his strength to save me.
"No!" I shouted, but it came out no more than a hoarse whisper. I tried to pull my hand away, but Daemon refused to let go. And he didn't know what I did...I was too hurt to be saved. He should have taken the last of his strength to save himself. Or save Dee...
I pleaded with him with my eyes, but he squeezed my hand tighter.
This wasn't fair. It wasn't right. They didn't deserve this. I didn't deserve this. Pain and hatred welled in me. I would die, my friends would die, my mother would be lost, and Daemon.... I couldn't even understand the purpose behind all of this. The Arum's greed for power? Was it worth all these lives? The injustice of it all tore at me and a surge of energy that came from deep within me, jolted through my body.
I wasn't going to die like this. Neither were Daemon and Dee, not in some Podunk field in bumfuck West Virginia.
Using the strength Daemon had given me, I pushed myself to sit up and grabbed Dee's heated arm, keeping ahold of Daemon, willing them to get up, willing them to fight.
Baruck moved toward Daemon's light. Of course he'd take him out first - the most powerful. He'd be tweaking for hours. I wasn't even a blip on his radar at this point.
Daemon's hand spasmed and his light flared as the edge of Baruck's shadow rippled over him.
And something, something unexpected happened.
A pulse of light went through him, shining so bright that I winced. It arced high in the air, crackling and spitting. It found its other half, recognizing the form beside me. The same was happening with Dee's light even though she was unconscious. Her light blazed, connected with Daemon's.
Baruck's shadow halted.
The arc of light pulsed above and shot down, right into the center of my chest. The impact felt like it sent me deep into the ground, but...I was lifted off the ground, hair flying out around me.
Power built between the three of us. It sparked,