Page 147 of Alastair

“A little?” Kyo pressed their bodies together. “This is a lot more than that. My heart’s breaking.”

“Hey, look at me.” Castor tilted Kyo’s face up. “We’ve been through a lot worse than this. Remember when that asshole ice dragon almost married you instead of me?”

“I heard that,” Warrin mumbled, his arms around Daman. He lowered his face to my brother’s hair—breathed him in. It was an impulse I knew well. A mate’s scent soothed the soul like nothing else could. “I can’t let you go.”

“You have to.” Daman looked up at him.

“No.” Warrin cupped his cheek. “I will wait right here until you return to me.”

“And if I don’t?” His voice shook. “You have the rest of your life to live.”

“There is no life without you, kotya. My heart. My soul. Both will cease to exist.”

Daman hadn’t told Warrin about the possibility of the spell breaking, but the ice dragon held on to hope anyway.

Raiden and Titan held each other not far from us. My brother comforted his husband as Titan’s large body shook with muffled cries. Seeing someone like Titan, who rarely showed strong emotion, break down like that yanked at my heartstrings. As Nico approached, Raiden pulled him in too.

“Be good, yeah?” he told the boy.

“I’m always good.” Nico’s bottom lip trembled.

Kallias stood off to the side with a look of indifference. I felt his heart aching though. What we were about to do would prevent him from joining Elasus in the afterlife. If the spell couldn’t be reversed, the only way out for us would be for the sword to be destroyed—which would only happen if Asa was slain. But we would die with it.

Galen had drawn Simon close and created a cocoon around them with his wings. Gray held on to Mason while Mason petted his wild blond curls.

So many goodbyes. Konnar’s theory about our wills being strong enough to break the spell was only that: a theory. This may be the last time they spoke to their mates.

Don’t think about it, I told myself. I couldn’t afford to lose my nerve.

I turned to Clara. She had just thrown another witch bomb into a group of enemy Nephilim. “It’s time for us to begin. Wait for my signal.”

We needed to weaken Lucifer’s defenses first before dealing the final blow. The timing had to be just right.

“Oh no,” she whimpered. “Do we really have to do this?”

“Yes.”

“There’s no changing your mind, is there?” She exhaled, then did it again, trying to calm herself. She hated sentimental moments. “Fine. But I’m not happy about this. In fact, I’m pissed at you, Alastair. I don’t know if I should punch you or hug you. This isn’t how I saw this going down. The good guys are supposed to win.”

“We will,” I told her. Regardless of whether I was around to see it.

Her green eyes moved to something over my shoulder before she squeezed my arm and turned to Sirena. The female Nephilim embraced her as the tears she’d held back in my presence finally burst free.

Winter apples.

My eyes stung as I caught his scent on the cold air. I didn’t want to face him. If I did, I might not be able to keep my emotions in check. “Now’s the time to strike Lucifer. We’re going to synchronize like we did in Transylvania to weaken him before Clara casts the spell.”

Silence. Such a strange thing to notice while in the middle of a battle.

The back of my neck tingled as Lazarus moved closer. His lips brushed my nape. My soul ached, and my sternum squeezed. My brothers had said goodbye to their mates. It was time for me to do the same.

It hurt much more than I expected.

“Being with you has been… What I mean is…” I struggled to find the words that conveyed just how deeply I loved him. Because my feelings went so much deeper than love. He had been with me for thousands of years. Now, I had to leave him.

“Alastair.” He pressed against my back and trailed his fingertips down my arm. “Turn around and look at me.”

“I can’t.” My voice cracked. “One look into your eyes right now will break me into pieces.”