Page 31 of Heir of Broken Souls

Following his gaze, I find a quaint restaurant, one Knox took me to in my early weeks within Azalea. A restaurant that holds memories and sentimental value of his past and long-gone parents. And huddled on the steps, clutching a terrified little girl as four demonic hounds surround them, is the old woman.

Mia.

No sooner does the name burst down the bond from his mind, he’s gone.

The tense, scared man reappears in front of Mia and the little girl, and a feral roar erupts from the depths of his belly as he brings his sword down in a mighty fluid motion, decapitating the hounds immediately. The blow ricochets for miles, across the ruined streets and along the sea.

Their heads go rolling as his chest heaves from the exertion.

His eyes snap to mine, a demand lying within their depths. Without needing words, my magic rises to the occasion, humming and purring against my skin as I allow it to strike the hounds. Their black leathery bodies burst into golden flames, melting into nothing but a black tar-like substance gliding down the cracks of the cobblestone street.

“Mia,” Knox breathes, kneeling before the old woman and the scared child. Offering his hand, he helps her stand. “What happened?”

Mia looks down at the child before turning wide, pleading eyes to Knox. He nods, and Mia’s eyes grow glassy and blank, unseeing as Knox looks through her mind. Whatever he finds makes him take a step back, as if needing to put physical distance between what he sees. The child remains silent in Mia’s arms, save for the tears rolling down her chubby cheeks. Her hair is covered in crimson blood, with only a few errant strands still her natural blonde color. The sight makes my chest ache uncomfortably.

As Knox slowly turns to a brutalized man and woman lying in a heap a few feet away, Mia spins the child by her shoulders away from the sight. It doesn’t take much to imagine how they must feel, seeing their loved ones slain before their eyes.

“Where can they go? We haven’t secured the city yet,” I say softly.

Knox sighs heavily, and I can see it lying on the surface. The desperation he feels, the agony at not being able to save his people. The guilt of not keeping them safe. The weight of the deaths stacking upon his shoulders.

He’s close to breaking.

“There are people who still need you,” I say softly, willing my words to breathe strength into his battered heart. “Your city, your people—they need you, Knox. There is still hope.”

Whether that’s a lie or not, I don’t care, not in this moment. Knox is already standing precariously close to the edge of a cliff, and I’m not sure anything but his dead people resurrecting can bring him back.

His sapphire eyes lock on mine, drinking in their fill of me before he swallows thickly and nods, his eyes hardening resolutely with his decision. Becoming who he needs to be right now—their king.

He looks over Mia and the child. I do the same, surprised to see only minor cuts and scrapes. “The city isn’t safe. Nowhere is safe yet, not even my home.” His head lifts, searching within the torn and bloody restaurant. A flash of sadness strikes his features before he locks it down again, deep within the bond. “Is there a personal bunker or cellar you know of in the area?”

Mia stutters, her eyes roving the streets, “Y-yes! The Morrisons two streets away. I dare say that’s where they’re hiding as well.” She lowers her voice and covers the child’s ears, no matter what little use the motion is to a Fae. “A family friend of Bella here.”

Bella.

As if putting a name to the face of the little girl who just lost her entire world makes it all the more real, I snap my jaw closed and grit my teeth until the sheen of tears recedes.

Knox dips his head. “We’ll take you there before returning to the front lines.”

“What happens if we lose?” Mia whispers.

My head rears back at the possibility. As if her words light a fire under me, I usher her down the stairs, putting a steadying hand on her back. “We need to hurry.”

Knox doesn’t say a word or answer her question and Mia, knowing Knox as well as she does, doesn’t push the notion further.

Two streets later, we round a corner to a house with thankfully minimal damage. Knox waits, making sure Mia gets into the cellar around the back safely, verifying his identity to a terrified family within.

The woman bursts into tears at seeing Bella. Her head cranes around Knox helping Mia down the short flight of stairs, looking for Bella’s parents, and when she comes up short I watch something within her break.

It’s silent. It dries up her tears and straightens her spine as she holds Bella to her chest.

She snaps her palm down on Knox’s forearm as he turns to leave. “End this,” she hisses.

Knox’s eyes flash, the bond pulling tight with his flood of emotions. He swallows audibly before saying, “I’m trying.”

“Try harder,” she says, her tone harsh but soft, pleading. “Before we all perish into nothing but a distant memory.”

I take a step forward, anger boiling my blood at her words and the audacity to put such a thing on his already heavy shoulders, but he throws an arm out, stopping me. The mating bond between us grows taut as fierce protection slams into me, screaming at me to protect him from her words. Already, the guilt and fear of failure are drowning him, but he simply shakes his head and leaves, sealing the cellar with a protection spell.