Page 49 of The Last One Standing (Rogue X Ara #4)

As the scaled body in front of me moved, shedding light over my small bubble, the metallic scent of blood filled my nostrils.

I grimaced, my fingers trembling as I reached for the growth on my leg. When my fingers hit it—hit wood , a fucking chunk of it, searing pain pierced my delirium.

I slapped a hand over my scream, my stomach rolling and consciousness wavering.

Adonis.

I blinked away stars and took a few steadying breaths.

Stay awake.

Rogue and his two wyverns faced Adonis, and I limped the remaining few feet around the dragon that blocked my view.

When my gaze landed on him, crushing disappointment sank in my gut.

He was…fine.

Bleeding from a few cuts, but fine.

Alive.

He stilled, eyes flashing between the three of them before meeting mine. The wyverns’ growls were low—so low, my bones vibrated as they stalked forward. The navy one simmered with so much rage, his energy bled into mine.

Adonis backed into the destroyed treeline, but he didn’t look away. I didn’t understand his hesitation at first, but a heartbeat passed, and it was painfully clear.

He didn’t want to leave me—his leverage, his plaything.

The bastard hadn’t tortured me enough?

My ears rang, my nerves shot, the pain in my leg waning under fury. Pure adrenaline kept me upright, and I clenched and unclenched my fists when tingling pricked my cold fingers, the ache in my wrists and ankles resurfacing.

The wyverns matched each step with one of their own, but they didn’t attack.

They were letting him leave.

“No,” I tried to scream, but it came out muffled and distorted. Rogue’s head swiveled in my direction. “Why aren’t you?—”

I let the useless question die on my tongue when Rogue’s eyes fell to my injured leg, and he shifted down to his Fae form, naked and covered in blood.

His shoulder was reduced to open flesh, and on instinct, my magic knitted it closed, causing him to miss a step as white veins of energy raced beneath his skin.

When my power receded, flames consumed the ground beneath him, firelight flickering over his face from his rage-filled eyes.

He screamed my name when I turned away from him, but I ignored him.

If we couldn’t kill Adonis yet, then he’d spend the rest of his miserable life as a husk until we could kill him.

As quick as lightning itself, a bolt of my magic struck Adonis, flooding his veins, his muscles, his bones. His heart hammered as my energy wrapped around it like a serpent before constricting, crushing it. He released a choked sound, meeting my gaze, and I viciously rent the life from his body.

A second passed. Two seconds. Three.

His life force slammed into my chest like a sledgehammer, and my magic’s well exploded into the sky. I wheezed, clawing at my sternum as it grew hotter, burning a hole through my blouse. Burning flesh assaulted my nose.

It felt as if I’d tried to drain the damned sun, and its fire was incinerating me from the inside out.

Black clouds churned, spinning and reaching toward us as crack after deafening crack sounded. Bolts of blue and white struck the tunneling clouds until they spun with it, the air ripping through the clearing. Pine needles flew around us like blades, slicing my skin and clothes.

Yet Adonis still stood in his beast form, bracing himself on shaking legs, jaw tight enough that his teeth had sunk to the bone, the wounds bleeding profusely.

I flitted in and out of consciousness when I finally released my hold on his heart, falling to my knees. Despite the sweat rolling down my spine, my skin grew cold, fingers and toes numb —then, I saw him running, and what little blood I had left roared in my ears.

No.

Rogue’s form grew larger in my peripheral vision, his flames brighter, hotter, but he moved like he ran through molasses, slower than natural. Heat caressed my frozen skin, and a whimper escaped my lips at the urge to let go and fall into him.

I refused to look away from Adonis.

The wyverns stood guard and watched him flee.

“No,” I whispered.

No, he didn’t get to flee. He didn’t get to live.

He didn’t get to take my memories, upheave my entire existence, and live.

He didn’t deserve any of it, not even air.

He deserved to drown, too.

I shot my hand to the sky, and when lightning struck my palm, I held. Gritting my teeth, I used it to stagger to my feet, and with another roar of pain and every ounce of strength I had, I wrenched a weapon from the bolt.

A spear of crackling energy appeared in my hand, as strong and deadly as steel.

My eyes tracked Adonis. Years of training flooded my body as instinct took over, and my arm snapped forward, launching the spear with stunning accuracy.

It tore through the clearing in a flash, swift as light.

He barely had time to widen his eyes before it lodged in his abdomen, cracking a few ribs as it found its target.

My chest rose and fell quickly, the world quiet enough that I heard the blood gurgle and sizzle in his lungs.

Drowning in his own blood.

“Finally,” I said, swaying on my feet.

Darkness rapidly consumed my vision, but I fought to stay conscious. I needed to see him fall. The world tilted on its axis, and I staggered, crying out when my weight shifted onto my injured leg.

I needed to watch him choke and drown.

Time resumed when my knees hit the ground with enough force to clack my teeth together, but I didn’t feel my leg anymore.

Rogue scooped me up, and the movement sent fresh blood pouring from my wound, soaking through his shirt. Stars sparked in my vision again, sad, twinkling stars that did what they always did. They watched and witnessed every travesty, yet did nothing—could do nothing, and neither could I.

My head lolled back, and I blinked a few times, swallowing hard against my roiling gut.

Rogue sprinted away from them, away from a blurry, swaying, drowning Adonis.

Stop, I tried to say, but no sound came. I tried to lift my head, but that didn’t move, either. No, I need to see…

My body failed, too exhausted and cold and empty.

Hallucinations started—or maybe dreams. I couldn’t tell if my eyes were open or closed anymore. I couldn’t feel them or any other part of my body.

A fiery creature dove into the clearing, a small bird with wings of flame. It screeched and sliced at Adonis’s face. He swiped and bit at it, but he was weak, and when the bird dipped its wings and turned to us, its talons smoked, blood burning.

In one claw was a small ball…an eye ball. It blackened before it popped in the heat.

My lips parted—the only reaction I could manage.

Then, my vision went black, and I was blind until the darkness swallowed my head, too.