Page 52 of Crimson Elemental
Something sharp and hot pierces my chest. The vision I’ve created drops. We hit the stage floor again. His hands shoveagainst me, the hot, sharp thing twisting. I look down. He’s gripping one of my knives. My head smacks against the floor, my vision flickering.
“Fuck.”
Blood pours from the wound, my heart stuttering. I cough, and red liquid flies from my lips.
“You chose the wrong side.” Samuel pushes the knife in farther, eyes wild as he glares down at me. “You’re no brother of mine.”
I can’t make sense of anything beyond the pain. Nothing but the life draining away from me. I make one last attempt for my power, trying to capture his mind again. I can’t.
I’ve failed. My head lulls to the side, seeking out Aurora one last time. She’s not there. Ajax probably took her to safety. That’s good. She’ll never forgive me, but she’ll get tolive. She’ll be free. Because as surely as I die, so will he, right? The twin bond will sever by his hand, claiming his life, just like it would’ve mine had I done the same to him. Maybe it’s better this way, with him being his own downfall, in the end. Or maybe…
I jerk my last blade up, aiming for his heart. Samuel knocks it away.
It was worth a shot.
“Say goodbye,” Samuel says, twisting the knife. Not because he needs to, because he’s enjoying this.
I gurgle, blood filling my mouth. “I’ll meet you in hell,” I spit the words.
Samuel stiffens above me, eyes flaring wide, as if my words have physically gripped him.
No, that’s two delicate hands framing his face from behind.
A gut-wrenching scream rips from his mouth, his skin turning a sickly gray as his body seizes.
Aurora.
She’s there, shoving him to the ground beside me, screaming loud enough to shatter the sound barrier. Her eyes are wholly black as her power bleeds from her so fiercely, Samuel can’t defend against it.
“No!” he roars, his hands curling in toward his chest, his cheeks going gaunt. He looksstarved. Emaciated. “No.” His voice is a whisper before his eyes roll back in his head, and he goes limp beneath her.
She doesn’t let him go. She keeps going until he’s nothing but a spread of ashes on the wood.
I flinch as something that was once solid snaps inside me. The twin bond we shared cracks in two.
“Saint!” Aurora cries. “Saint,no.” Her gaze scatters all around me, noting the pool of blood I’m lying in and coughing up before she drags me into her lap.
“It’s okay,” I say on a fluid-filled breath. “You’re okay.”
“You can’t die.” Her eyes are no longer black but covered in tears. I want to swipe them away, but I can’t feel my arms. My body.
“You helped me live,” I say. “Love. You.” I can’t keep my eyes open anymore. They’re so heavy. And I’m so fucking cold.
“Saint, no,” she cries. “No. Please don’t leave me. Don’t leave me!”
I wish I would’ve had more time with her.
CHAPTER 20
Aurora
“Saint!” I shake him, my hands are covered in his blood. “Help!” I scream, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Someone, please!”
Dagon races back in, then Talon, Zachariah, and Ajax. The hunters surround me, panic and grief already shaping their faces.
“Help him,” I choke out the words.
“You help him!” Dagon fires back.
