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I barely had time to step in and deflect the man away from Rumi. I was skilled with a sword, something I’d learned in my early days, but when another turned soldier, then another, rushed at my beloved, it was all I could do to fend them off.

“Take cover!” I shouted to Rumi, desperately hoping he would listen to me. “There has to be a way to reverse whatever spell these men have been put under. ”

There was always a way to reverse spells, even the most evil spells, but as the battle raged on and more of Osric’s men were turned against each other, I had no idea what that could be.

I searched for my brothers among the noise, the dirt, and the blood.

Diamant and Leo were fighting as bravely as any of the other soldiers, which didn’t surprise me.

Azurus had whisked a terrified Misha off to the far side of the conflict.

I was surprised they hadn’t escaped to the magical world entirely.

My other brothers and their mates continued to rush through the camp, doing what they could to help the soldiers who were still in their right minds defend themselves without unnecessarily harming their allies.

Gildur and Selle were in the heart of the conflict with Osric.

From a distance, it looked as though Selle was explaining the situation to Osric, but whether Osric could do anything about it was another story.

“We need to get out of the center of the battle and regroup,” I shouted to Rumi.

When I heard nothing in reply, I turned to find my mate.

He wasn’t where I left him.

Deep panic filled me and I pushed the soldier I’d been battling aside so that I could dash off in search of my mate. I was able to follow him through our bond, but every time I thought I was close to him, something yanked him farther away.

“Rumi!” I called out, shoving aside a few other soldiers who attempted to attack me. I couldn’t use magic offensively, but without even thinking, I used it to armor myself so that whatever blows were aimed at me deflected without leaving a scratch.

I spotted him moments later, much farther away from me than I liked.

He was locked in battle with none other than Nikkos.

Both Nikkos and Rumi wielded swords inexpertly, but that didn’t make the weapons less deadly.

Whatever training Rumi had done of late served him well as he blocked and deflected blow after blow from a crazed Nikkos.

“Rumi!” I shouted again, rushing toward the two omegas as Nikkos bared his teeth in a vicious snarl.

Something caught my feet and I tumbled forward just feet shy of the battle. I crashed to the ground, the wind knocked out of me, and could do nothing but watch as Nikkos’s attack grew more and more furious.

Rumi did his best, countering each new blow, but I could feel how strained and exhausted he was becoming. It was all he could do to defend himself against the enchanted omega. He had nothing near the strength that was needed to fight back.

And then Nikkos hammered down with a blow that knocked the sword from Rumi’s hands completely.

“No!” I shouted as Nikkos raised his sword once more, then brought it slashing down diagonally across Rumi’s torso.

I felt a searing slice of pain across my own body as Rumi cried out and stumbled back. Instantly, a dark line of blood welled up, staining the entire front of my omega’s tunic. Rumi’s eyes were wide with horror for a moment before fluttering closed as he sagged and sank to his knees.

“No!” I shouted again, launching myself off the ground and straight toward Nikkos, who raised his sword for a death blow.

I pounded into Nikkos shoulder first, knocking the sword out of the omega’s hand.

The force of my blow knocked both of us off our feet, but when we hit the ground, hopefully hard enough to knock Nikkos out of the enchantment that had him in its grip, I rolled immediately to the side and scrambled for my omega.

“Rumi!” I shouted, perching protectively over him where he’d fallen into a heap on the bloody grass. “Rumi, no!”

“Emmerich?” he asked, his voice far too weak, fear and pain radiating through our bond.

“You’re alright,” I told him, not because I believed it but because I wanted it to be true. “Everything is alright. You are well, I swear.”

I moved him gently to his back and brushed aside the bloody fabric of his tunic to be certain.

I should have insisted my mate wear armor for the fight.

I should have cast the same sort of protective spell around him that I’d automatically shielded myself with.

I should never have let him out of my sight.

“It hurts,” Rumi said, panting shallowly. “I didn’t realize dying would hurt so much.”

“You’re not dying,” I insisted, brushing a hand over his face to comfort him before returning to my examination of his wounds.

My mate was hurt far worse than I could have imagined.

The slice that traveled the entire length of his torso was at least an inch deep and oozing blood so fast I panicked.

I laid hands on my mate, channeling as much of my magic as I could into healing.

“You’re going to be fine, my love, you’re going to be fine. ”

I wanted desperately to believe it, but even the full force of my magic barely did anything to stop the bleeding or knit Rumi’s body back together. The best I could do was to hold him precariously on this side of life.

“Why isn’t it working?” I demanded of no one .

I raised my head and searched the area, but none of my brothers were near. Nikkos had run off as well. I hoped he really had snapped out of the dark sorcerer’s spell and had gone to help Osric, but he could just as easily have gone off to fight more of his own men.

“I need to get you away from here,” I said, looking down at my mate again. “I cannot figure this out in the middle of a battlefield.”

I couldn’t very well create a door where I was, with soldiers scrambling and fighting all around me either. Someone would stumble through the door before it closed, which could cause any number of problems.

The only thing I could do was to scoop my groaning, fading omega into my arms and stand. I searched for the closest clear area, then rushed as fast as I dared with Rumi in my arms, crying in pain that I could feel as though it were my own, toward it.

“Hang on, my love,” I said as I created a doorway once we were in the clear. “I will not let you die. You are mine, my heart and my soul. I will find a way to heal you, and we will live the long and happy lives we are meant to live.”

I prayed with everything I had that that was true, then stepped through the doorway into the magical world.