Page 74 of Soul of Salvation

“Draven!” Louder this time, but I’m trapped in one of my worst nightmares as silent screams rage within my mind while I stare at her frozen chest, hearing a muted heart.

“Fuck,” I faintly hear Fynn cursing. “We don’t know when Whiro will be back, but it’s very fucking clear he’s pissed and that this is far from over.” His boots shuffle before me, burning a path into the floor. “We need to properly bury them both. Kye and Emma deserve an honorable ceremony.”

A sniffle before another soft whimper from Cora. “They would both w–want their ashes out to sea. To be free.”

Kye. The one who protected Emma when I couldn’t. The one who ended his life to save her. Kye deserves me on my fucking knees before him, every day, to honor him. But I’m caught in a web of all that is her, feeling like my chest can’t expand until I hear blood rushing through her veins and air pumping into her lungs.

Warmth rushes into me, only to find Cora healing the rest of my wounded body and hating that it didn’t work for Emma. That she’s still growing colder as I cling onto her.

Their words register a beat later. A growl spilling from my lips, vibrating my chest.

Pulling Emma closer to me, I hold her tightly. Refusing to let anyone take her.

“No,” I grind out roughly, digging my fingers into her hair as I clutch onto her harder. “No one is taking her from me.”

Soon, everything drowns out, hours pass, and I never let go.

I never fucking let go.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Draven

One day later

Everything is dark. The room feels cold. Her lifeless body is clean, lying unnaturally still in my bed as I sit in the chair beside it. Watching. Hoping. But life holds no color anymore; all I see is grey. All I see is her. The world is numb to me.

I lost her.

She’s gone…

Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Draven

Five Days Later

Where are you, little demon? I can’t feel you.

The mark of our bond still remains on my hand, though faint. Barely existing. A dull, colorless connection that only holds pain.

The loss of her is a constant ache on my soul, unrelenting. Like a cage of spikes piercing my heart with every beat. Now, I know what my mother and Fynn suffered through.

I don’t want your silent love. I want a love so loud that it can be heard by the stars and pulls me into your chaos. I can’t let go of you.

I never fucking will.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Cora

Light blinds me when I peel my eyes open. For a brief moment, my vision is blurry. All the colors reflecting from the sun blend together as one, but my gaze lands on Fynn beside me in bed. The fractured rays glow against his skin, making him look radiant and otherworldly. He is absolutely stunning. When my vision finally clears and his features sharpen and become more refined, heat blooms in my cheeks.