Page 73 of Bound By Love
The fact Saber managed to save Milo, when the mouse was so young and tiny, had been a miracle to her. Even after all her years on this planet, she didn’t know anyone else who could have saved Milo, especially not back in the days when they didn’t know as much about the world and had far less to work with.
Someone could probably do it now, but it wouldn’t be easy, and she didn’t know many who would bother to try. If she had to choose anyone to save Caro, it was Saber.
And not because he was her mate and their bond was so strong, but because if anyone could bring someone back from the brink of death, it washim.
In the years since he’d become a Savage, she doubted Saber had tried to rescue or save anything, but would the creature have survived if he had? Could he still save someone or something when death ruled his soul?
She believed he could have, and she had to believe he could still do it now.
Her hands twisted together as she willed him to perform another miracle.But though she saw many things others never would, she couldn’t will things into existence.
She hoped Saber could.
Her brother caressed his mate’s cheek with a tenderness Brie wouldn’t have considered possible from the cruel, distant man he’d become. His care was so similar to the man who existed before the horrible events that shattered their family. For a second, it flung her into the past, their home, and the love once enveloping them.
Blinking away tears, she focused on the present as the past tried to blend with it. Those times were gone, but they could build a future together if he could save Caro.
Hehadto save her because Brie wasn’t ready to lose her brother again.
She should have seen this coming, maybe she could have done something to help prevent it, but like so many other things in her life, this blindsided her. She and Saber were so worried about keeping Asher safe, they hadn’t seen his possible demise looming on the horizon.
Why had her ability, which she’d often cursed and was cursing again, failed her once more?
But she couldn’t have stopped it if she had seen Caro’s death. One of the stones had chosen Caro; she was selected to march into this war and, because of her help in defeating the demons, they’d blocked this doorway into Hell, the demons were dead, and any surviving ones were confined back in the pit where they belonged.
Because of this, millions, if notbillions, of lives, had been saved. Maybe her ability was protecting her from the cruelty of seeing Caro’s death and not being able to do anything about it. Living with that knowledge, and being unable to stop it, was far worse than the not knowing.
She couldn’t have stopped this, but sheloathedeverything about it.
Brie didn’t realize she was crying until a tear dripped onto her hand. She looked down at the single bead of liquid on her filthy hand before shaking it away.
Asher wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. She rested her head on his chest as she wiped away the rest of her tears.
There was plenty of time to cry later; they’d all lost so much down here, but she had to be strong for her brother now.
CHAPTERSIXTY-ONE
Saber willedCaro to open her eyes; he’d give anything to see their beautiful, turquoise depths again. But they remained shut, and her skin was still cold as he pulled his wrist from her mouth.
When he bit into it again, fresh blood welled forth, and he placed it against her lips once more. She wasn’t swallowing, but his blood still seeped down her throat and into her system. If thesmallestpiece of her remained alive, his blood would help bring her back.
Willing her to live, he rested his lips against her ear and pleaded with her to stay with him. He couldn’t go on without her.
She was the one who brought love and hope back to his life; he’d lived without them for centuries and couldn’t go back to that bleak existence. He couldn’t live in a world that didn’t know her laughter, the fire in her eyes, or her absolute refusal to bend to his will.
She infuriated as much as she fascinated him; there was no life without her. He whispered this as he fed her.
He sensed the uneasiness of the others as they shifted in the small space; Ronan believed there might be a fight from him, but he was wrong. Saber would gladly meet his end if it meant escaping from this world and moving on to one where Caro might exist.
But who was he kidding?
If something existed beyond this, and it most likely did considering they just defeateddemons, he and Caro were going to twoverydifferent places. He’d never see her again.
He would burn in Hell for eternity, but at least he wouldn’t have to live in a world without her. That was a far crueler fate.
He had no idea how much time passed as they stood and waited for something to happen… nothing did. He wasn’t sure how often he bit into his wrist, but it was sore and chewed up, and his bites had stopped healing and now continuously oozed blood that he fed into Caro.
Though blood only seeped from the small punctures in his wrist, he’d bit into them so often that an increasing weakness spread through his body. He’d been exhausted and starved before they pulled him from the rubble, but adrenaline and his desperation to save Caro had tempered that.
