Page 166 of Broken Souls

My heart stops as I smell a mixture of her and me.

Dropping my head, I frantically scan the floor.

For a moment I convince myself I’m imagining it, that Bambi isn’t here.

But then I realize I’m looking for something too big, and I drop to my knees to search again. My eyes latch onto a tiny, tiny body on the floor. Her head isn’t much bigger than a golf ball, and it’s been caved in, deformed. Like she was dropped from a great height. Bits of her brain has leaked out, and the lower half of her body has been ripped off. No organs remain to tumble free. I want to search for the rest of her, but I can’t tear my eyes away from her little face.

My stomach churns as I reach for her. My body shakes. She needs her mother, but all she has is me.

I cup her small body in both my hands, nearly losing it at the feel of her shattered skull, at the bits of her brain that fall free when I move her. Sobbing without any dignity or care, I cradle her to my chest.

She’s so small. So fragile.

My heart squeezes as I stare at her face. Her head is so big compared to the rest of her. She hasn’t grown into it yet, and now she never will. She will never experience all the life she had ahead of her. Never fall in love. Never see her mother’s radiant smile. She’ll never even feel me holding her. Never know that I love her.

I love her so damn much even though I’ll never get the chance to know her.

Cradling her against me, I rock back and forth and sob.

My chest burns with pure agony. My eyes feel heavily swollen. “I’m sorry…” I sob as I stare down at my little girl. “I’m so sorry I failed you… I love you, Bambi. I love you even though you have a dumbass name. But you can blame your mother…” I break off on uncontrollable tears. My hands shake, making her whole body tremble. “I love you…” I rasp. “Daddy loves you.” I bring her little head up for a kiss. The cold brush of her skin breaks me, but I don’t pull away. She needs to know I love her. “Daddy –”

I cry out as a sudden pulse rips through my chest, like a defibrillator paddle being touched to a dead body. I gasp as I shift Bambi into one hand so I can place the other on the wall. The pulse comes again, and my heart jerks painfully. Like it’s dying from being targeted by some dark spell.

Fuck. Did Antonio leave a trap on my daughter to kill me?

Despite the fact that he clearly must have, I still refuse to let her go though. She is my baby. I can’t.

“Help!” I yell, but the word is more of a croak as another pulse slams into me. I lean against the wall and close my eyes, gasping through the pain. My chest is trapped in a closing vice. I slam my free hand on the wall, trying to breathe. I can’t die before I save Micha. I can’t die!

The pulse hits one more time, multiple times worse than all the others. Pain explodes through every nerve, lighting them up, scraping a hot poker against them.

Micha!

I scream in agony. Others shout around me. I can sense their presence, their heartbeats like grating nails on a chalkboard.

Micha!

My mind reduces into a single pinpoint, a single purpose as the curse on me breaks. It consumes me until I know nothing else.

Micha!

Roaring, I open my eyes and jump to my feet. A deep hunger fills me. A need to kill, to drink the blood of my enemies.

And everyone around me is an enemy because they've takenher.

Attacking the nearest one, I scream, “Where is my fucking wife!”

Epilogue

HER

I collapse onto carpeted ground, spasming in pain as the transportation spell deposits me inside a building. Antonio has fallen to his knees and dropped me, but I don’t have the strength to try to get away. I don’t have the energy or the care. They killed Dayne. They killed my baby. All I want to do is curl up in my grief.

“You are a Black, Micha.”My father’s voice is firm.

“And a Shadow.”Varius’ is warm, believing in me.

But they’re both wrong.