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I feel like I can't breathe as I look at him like this.

Sweat and blood cling to his skin, his eyes dark and unyielding, and somewhere in my heart I know.

I lost him.

My entire world collapses as I grasp the full implications, and once more I try to get free.

Vlad's already turned his attention to the newcomers, a brutal grin on his bloody face as he saunters toward them.

They attack full force—all at once. But no one stands a chance. Not when he moves twice as fast, his thirst for blood the only impetus for him to continue.

He grabs the head of one girl, banging it repeatedly against the wall until her face is an unrecognizable mess. Someone tries to tackle him from behind, but even in this haze that covers his mind, his senses are sharp as he easily moves aside, dodging the attack.

Letting the girl's body drop to the ground, he starts pummeling into the man who dared disturb him.

It goes on and on, this bloodbath.

It won't ever stop.

Spurred by pure desperation coated in a desolation that tugs at my heartstrings, I give a last push, throwing all my strength in wrenching my arm free. I don't wait for Marcello to react as I race toward him.

Wait for me.

Where he goes I go. If he goes, I go.

I run toward him at full force, but even that is not enough as arms surround me, holding me back.

Suddenly Bianca and Adrian are at my side too, and Vlad, seeing that there are no more victims for his taking, directs his crazed gaze toward us.

"We need to take him out." Bianca shakes her head, her gun up and ready to fire.

"Please don't!" I manage to yell, but it's all in vain.

Vlad is already wrenching the gun from her grasp, throwing it away, his hands on her throat as he lifts her in the air.

"Vlad, no!" I plead with him, though I know he can't hear me.

Adrian is immediately on him, barely managing to get him off Bianca, taking her in his arms and away from him. A shot resounds in the air, and I don't know who hit whom.

I don't care.

It might make me a horrible person, but I don't. I only care about one thing.

Him.

"Let me go to him. I can talk to him." I turn my tear-streaked eyes to Marcello, trying to get him to see reason.

"He's out of control, Sisi. Too dangerous. He'll kill you." His voice is grave as he answers, his gaze on Vlad as he's surveying his moves, slowly backing us away from him.

"He won't." I vigorously shake my head. "He really won't."

"He's not the Vlad you know anymore, Sisi. He's… gone."

"Don't," I gasp, my stomach rebelling, my entire being shattered at those words. "Don't."

He can't be gone.

I don't know what's happening, but I can't breathe. The entire room starts spinning as I gasp for air that won't come. My lungs feel full and empty at the same time, but no matter how much I try, I can't get a hold of myself.

I'm trembling from head to toe and even words fail me as I try to gain some control over myself.

My eyes misted, I feel my brother drag me back to the bleachers. He barks some orders, the words almost foreign. But as I look to the side, I see it.

Men. Soldiers. All armed.

And all pointing at Vlad.

"Marcello…" The words barely make it past my lips. "Wh-what's happening?"

"I'm sorry, Sisi. But he wouldn't want to put you in danger," he says grimly.

"Tell me it's not what I think it is," I whisper. "Tell me."

"I'm sorry, Sisi. He's gone. There's nothing we can do." He continues just as Vlad tackles some of the soldiers, ripping into them like a savage animal.

There's no conscience left. I know that. But he's still Vlad.

He's still my Vlad.

"Let me try. Please, don't do something you'll regret!" I beg him, trying to get my wrists free.

I just need to reach Vlad and everything will be fine. I know it.

Marcello's holding tightly onto me, all the while dragging me back and trying to put more distance between us and Vlad.

"Please, Marcello." I continue to beseech him, all the while trying to escape his grasp.

Looking down at me, he gives me a sad smile and a small shake of his head.

"Now," he yells.

Immediately, shots ring out. I jerk back, turning and watching in horror how Vlad falls to the ground, holes in his naked chest, blood pouring out.

"No, no, no," I mutter incoherently, and for the first time in my life I don't care about anything.

One brief moment of lucidity reminds me of the knives in my boots. Lifting one foot, I prop it on my other leg as I unsheathe the knife from the front of the boot. I don't think as I slash, stabbing my brother and startling him into loosening his hold on me.

Then I just dash.

It's a storm of bullets as I run toward him.

Toward the only thing that matters.

I feel every hit, every bullet that hits my body. And as I fall to my knees in front of him, I can only cover his body with mine. Shield him like he's done to me so many times before.

There's a cacophony of sounds as Marcello orders them to cease fire, my name on his lips ringing into the arena as he yells at me. A voice so near, yet so far away.

Blood is everywhere.

My body. His body.

I lift a trembling hand to his face, urging him to look at me, seeking for some confirmation that there's still life in his eyes.

"I'm here," I whisper, knowing he can't hear me. Knowing deep down that he's gone.

"Where you go, I go." I gently caress his cheek, his hollow gaze staring down at me.

He's gone.

And so am I.