Page 218 of Jagged Souls

“But is he still alive?” Can we find a cure eventually?

“They don’t seem to be,” he says, and my heart shudders, wanting to break. But I do not have that luxury.

Because even with Aleric helping with his knives, we’re not going to win. Varius is slowing down, starting to get cut. The smokey blackness isn’t trading places with his flesh anymore.

His timer on his curse is running out.

If he doesn’t feed, I’m going to lose him.

I stumble forward just as Aleric vanishes.

And doesn’t reappear.

“What the fuck!” Maddox shouts. But Aleric was never one to hang around on the losing side.

Antonio pivots and slices his arm across Varius’ face. He shifted his half-severed arm, healing the open wound so it no longer bleeds. He’s weakened, but not weakened enough.

He turns to me. “Dayne” jumps on his back and bites him. He doesn’t have any powers in his husk form. He’s just a mindless zombie. Antonio pays him little mind. I call on my fire, and his eyes widen. He pivots and dives for the window. My mouth drops open first in shock, then utter rage. He’s trying to leave. To fight another day. A tactical retreat.

“No!”

He crashes through the glass, taking Dayne with him. I run to the ledge, wanting to jump after him, but someone grabs me and hauls me back.

“Wait,” Sau says.

She barely finishes speaking before Aleric appears back in the room, having brought Antonio with him.

But no Dayne.

The wolf falls to his knees, defeated, one blade through his stomach. Aleric raises the other one to cut off his head.

“He’s mine,” I hiss as I walk forward.

“Pretty sure he’s Antonio,” he says with a cheeky smile. He cocks his head, his smile drops. Then he vanishes to who knows where.

The wolf lunges, and Sau shoves me to the side to take the hit. I remember how easily he tore her to pieces. He isn’t as fast, and he’s more wounded due to me and Aleric, but that trauma must still be imprinted in her mind. And yet, she did not hesitate.

He tackles her to the ground. Shadows open up beneath her, sucking her down. She can’t bring out her monsters, but she can sure as hel take him to them. His teeth dig into her neck, then rip free. A fountain of blood shoots up high. Her shadows die, and with severed feet and hands – those parts that touched the ground, he lunges for the window.

And I lunge for his back, refusing to let him go. I’ll kill him even if it kills me.

I land on top of him. He tumbles through the window. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I push out my fire.

And together, we fall into the sea.

I gasp as the impact of the waves knocks into me. Water fills my mouth. I hold my breath as we go under. I let go of him instinctively.

I try to swim to the surface, but my arms won’t work. The fire I pulled on to burn him also burned me. I start to sink, going down, my eyes closed tight but still able to see all the sharks circling me. Imagining the worst. An end of torn limbs and eaten misery.

After all that’s happened… how funny would it be if this is how I go?

I imagine Dayne’s body floating beside me, beckoning me.

Perhaps there are worse ways to die...

Hands grab me as my head grows heavy and my lungs burn. They pull me to the surface as I struggle to keep my mouth closed. They push my head above the water, and I gasp, sucking in a huge gulp of air. A wave comes, hitting me in the face.

Varius turns me in his arms. “I’ve got you,” he says. “It’s over. We’re going home.”