Page 63 of A Bond so Fierce and Fragile (Compelling Fates Saga #3)

Lessia seemed to have noticed it as well, given the sense of worry rolling through her, but they didn’t have time to discuss it as a group of half-Fae descended upon them.

Fuck, they were so young.

Twenty- or thirtysomethings, barely past their Faeling age.

He cursed the rebel leader as his sword sliced open the guts of one of them, the male falling to the ground, clutching the wound Merrick knew wouldn’t heal before he died.

The fucking leaders somehow never found their way into the front lines, allowing their people to die for them and their stupid fucking causes, and he was so sick of it.

Lessia danced beside him, ducking under swords and flying weapons so fast that her unbound hair flew around them, but Merrick snarled at her when he realized what she was doing. “Do. Not. Hesitate!”

She winced as she caught his eyes, the grimace deepening as she finally dug a dagger into a half-Fae’s chest, her eyes narrowing, not with anger but with chest-cracking pain.

“I know…” Merrick parried a blow from a particularly large half-Fae, the male’s eyes crazed with fright, probably as he realized who’d just disarmed him.

“Pass safely,” Merrick whispered as he sliced with his sword, swiftly severing the head of the young male, unwilling to let him suffer more pain or fear than necessary.

Lessia let out a choking sound beside him as she kicked off a shifter, one that transformed back into her human form as blood spurted from her neck, splattering all over his beautiful mate before the body slammed into the floor.

Touching the back of her hand to her bloodied face, Lessia blinked, and Merrick knew she was about to realize exactly what the costs of war were.

The shame and guilt that came with surviving.

Fuck! He sliced open a wolf’s neck before throwing its body into another group of rebels sprinting for them, then caught Lessia’s hand and dragged her to him.

“Don’t think!” He didn’t have time to be soothing, his sharp voice making her snap her eyes to his. “After… we’ll deal with it after.”

He glared at her until she nodded. Only once, but it was enough for Merrick.

He spun around again, his heart sinking as he took in the scene before him.

Ardow and Zaddock had been backed into a corner, exactly like Merrick always instructed his soldiers to do with their enemies because they would not get a single moment’s break and the tiredness would make them sloppy.

Loche still fought bravely, even with the onslaught of shifters and half-Fae going after him, and while Iviry kept her distance from him, she fought to take down anyone who tried to sneak up on the regent.

However, his soldiers were dying all around him, and Merrick could tell the regent was struggling not to give in to the fear that always crept up when watching your friends die—his gray eyes darkened with each body crumpling to the ground.

Thissian had streaks already forming down his bloodied face from the many bodies strewn around him—from the tears Merrick knew would continue falling until the battle was over.

As Merrick’s eyes landed on the Siphon Twin, he was glad that even after a century away from each other, the latter instinctively followed his movements.

Thissian’s gaze followed his own as he snapped it to where Loche was about to be surrounded, satisfied grins on the faces of the rebels stalking toward him.

The eight men slowed their pace as if they wanted to take their time, and Loche must have understood what everyone else did as he started backing up, the regent truly looking his young age as what was about to happen sank in.

“No!” Lessia sprinted forward at the same time as Iviry tried to get to the human leader, but the latter was blocked by that giant black feline, the shifter seemingly more skilled than her dead companions: she snapped her jaw at the fiery-haired Fae, forcing her back again.

Merrick also started running when Lessia jumped over dead bodies to reach her friend, only stopping to slam a fist into a half-Fae’s face before continuing the stumbling run.

“Lessia!” he screamed when she didn’t notice the snake coiling up the side of the ship, its vicious tongue flicking the air as it headed right for her. “Lessia, no!”

More fucking rebels got in his way, and he didn’t bother sparing their pain as he struck them wherever he could reach, pushing and shoving as much as slicing with his sword to get to her.

“Lessia!” His voice shook as more and more rebels piled in between them, and he could only catch glimpses of her terrified face as the snake—a mirror of the damned one Rioner loved so much—rose above her, opening its lethal jaws and showing off long, sharp fangs.

“Please!” Merrick didn’t care that he begged as he killed more rebels. “Please!”

He needed to get to her!

Merrick groaned as someone’s strike hit true, slicing open his jacket in the back, but he didn’t even spin around as Lessia lifted her thin arms, looking so fucking small in the snake’s shadow and holding the fucking dagger he’d given her, its rubies mocking him with their shine.

He fought blindly now, refusing to take his eyes off her as the snake dove.

People died around him, beneath him, and Merrick had no fucking clue how while his breath caught in his throat when Lessia managed to roll away.

But the snake didn’t let up.

It just went for her. Again and again.

Even Loche screamed her name, and the rebels surrounding him threw glances at the reptile fighting the young woman, catching Ardow, who’d sneaked up on them to help, and nearly disarming him with their first retaliatory strikes.

That’s when Lessia made her mistake.

“No!” Merrick’s scream echoed across the ship as her amber eyes moved to the regent and the snake saw its opportunity.

Whipping its tail, it slammed his mate to the deck, and the sickening crack of her head hitting wood seemed to quiet the entire ship.

Then the snake plunged again, maw open to show off already glistening teeth.

It was all Merrick could do to stay upright as he stumbled forward, running right over dead and injured rebels and soldiers as he tried to get to her.

Realization that he wouldn’t make it drove into his chest like the sword he struck another rebel with, and the scream leaving him wasn’t of this world as the long fangs readied themselves to close around Lessia’s limp body.

Then a mess of darkness jumped in between Lessia and the snake, and Merrick didn’t know what was worse.

Hearing the sickening crunch of bones and teeth sinking into soft flesh.

Or Thissian’s dark blue eyes latching onto his as they drained of color.

Merrick screamed again.

A scream of rage. Of pain. Of the fucking unfairness.

He threw his sword.

It drove right through the snake’s eye, so hard it pierced its entire skull.

He didn’t know if it was real, but it was as if the world parted for him, and he reached his mate and friend in mere seconds.

Lessia was already on her knees, Thissian’s face in her lap as her hands moved over his body, unsure which gaping wound to press on, which one could stop the blood pumping the life out of him.

It didn’t matter. Merrick could see it even before he fell to his knees.

“Thissian,” he whispered, taking one of the Fae warrior’s hands in his own. “Fuck, Thissian…”

The Siphon Twin smiled at him, blood bubbling out of the corners of his mouth. “D-don’t… thank me.”

“You…” Merrick couldn’t get the words out.

He knew why Thissian had done it.

He could see it in his friend’s eyes.

It was for him. For Lessia. For the two of them not to have to feel the pain he carried with him each day.

Something warm and damp fell down Merrick’s cheeks, and the damned Fae dying in his mate’s lap laughed. A choked, coughing laugh.

“Now—” Thissian coughed again. “Now I’ve seen everything.”

The most horrible sound left Lessia. “I’m s-sorry. It’s…”

“Stop.” Thissian moved his other hand excruciatingly slowly to take Lessia’s in his own. “It-it’s been… it’s my time.”

More warmth touched Merrick’s face, and there were so many things he wanted to say. So fucking many things, and still no words made it past the lump in his throat.

“I… I know,” Thissian forced out, more blood streaming down his chin at the effort. “Tell… tell him.”

Merrick couldn’t speak. Nothing would fucking come out. Only more of that warm wetness. But Lessia’s voice was surprisingly strong as she answered, “We’ll tell him. He’ll know how and why. Thank… thank you.”

Another low sound rumbled in Thissian’s throat, but no words left the warrior’s lips.

His eyes stayed on Merrick’s, though, until they glossed, then went unseeing, then never moved again.