Page 27 of Her Shadow so Dark and Lovely (A Curse of Fallen Stars #1)

Lorel

Mercias lowers Sila gently to the ground, and I crumble to the floor beside her. There is blood, her blood, everywhere, and it’s pooling alarmingly underneath her. I look up at Mercias, who gives me a wry, tired grimace.

“So you’re still alive,” he says. He almost sounds relieved. “Elris will be pleased.”

She’s bleeding so much.

Sila blinks up at me as the door unlatches, swinging open. I push her shadowy hair back from her face. A face that is still a little too sharp, her eyes still entirely black. She blinks, unseeing.

You need to go and get help. You’ll be faster.

Mercias’ fingers tighten where he holds Sila. “She’ll bleed out.”

Not if you move your arse now. I’ll get her to her room.

“That’s impossible,” he says, staring at me.

You just saw her. I’m sure you’ve seen her before, even. You know it’s not. I’ll get her there, just go.

“ Fuck , alright,” he says.

I pull Sila into my lap, taking her weight from Mercias and letting her fall against me.

She almost topples me. Mercias gives me one last curious glance before turning, his form flickering like lantern light as he disappears from the room.

No wonder Librarians could always sneak up on you with talents like that.

“Lorel,” Sila says, gently calling me back to her. Her eyes focus on my face, her smile soft and heart-rending.

There has to be a way to stop the bleeding.

She’s fae. The wound is deep where the sword had bitten into her flesh, but surely she can survive this.

She can’t just go and die. I hadn’t even thought for a moment that she could die, again, but here she is looking even more ghastly than usual and fuck .

Tears burn my throat and eyes, but I had long since run out of them in the labyrinth.

I cling to her. I need to get her out of here.

Sila moves, resting her fingers against my arm. Her long, talon-like claws are gone, but her hands are covered in blood. Hers, theirs. Between the chapel and this, now we’re both covered in it. The air is tinged with the scent of it. I’m running out of time.

“Go back to the Library, little mouse,” Sila whispers. “It can protect you far better than I can.”

I stare at her. Such a beautiful, delirious creature. I did not bargain with the Library for our freedom for it to end like this. Not so soon. I will not go back to the Library.

“Lorel?” It’s barely a whisper now.

I don’t have time to sign her an essay. I take her face in my hands and lean in to press my lips to hers, quick and firm.

Her lips are as cold as the rest of her, but soft.

So much softer than I expected. If this turns out to be the only time I get to kiss them, I’ll drag the whole Court down into the Heart of the Library myself and set it all on fire.

When I pull away, there is a metallic tang on my tongue.

I give her my best withering look to tell her what I think of any further protestations, and tear at the edge of my bloodied dress.

I’m sure that if I can just keep her with me, we can get back to her rooms. Back to safety.

I shift her, trying to wrap the makeshift bandage around her.

It is a useless effort. There are tears of frustration stinging at the corners of my eyes, burning at the back of my throat.

I will myself not to panic, to get my bottom lip back under control. I can’t lose her like this.

Sila reaches for me, and her fingers caress my jaw. She leans back, tipping her head back against my shoulder.

I’m not going anywhere.

It’s a struggle to sign it. I don’t even know if she can see it, with how soft and unfocused her eyes are. Or even read the signs from this angle. Please let her understand.

Take us to your rooms, Sila. Please.

She stares at me, as if the sky has opened up and the sun has shone through the clouds as it hasn’t done in millennia.

“Alright,” she says, with a breathy laugh that feels a world away.

She hisses as she lifts herself and wraps an arm around my waist. She pulls me tight against her and rests her head on top of mine.

Shadows come up around us and I grip her tight, squeezing my eyes shut and taking a deep breath.

I don’t know who to pray to anymore, so I cling to her and hope that my faith in her will be enough to get us through.