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Again, Amaryn screams a pained cry as her brother's life drains out of him, soaking the earth he once had command of. As he stills, the Decay around Viola's chin seeps out of her, leaving only a thin ring around her neck where his hands had gripped her moments before.
With only one God left, I survey the area and I am sickened at what I see.
A large vine, covered with thorns the size of blades, wraps around my brother's abdomen. The thorns dig into his flesh, and blood oozes down his sides as he tries to Decay the cursed plant. Every time he makes headway on it, Amaryn fixes the damage he caused.
I feel sluggish from siphoning so much devotion to Viola, but that's my fucking brother. I dig deep and throw Fire toward the vine, watching it swiftly burn. Mace collapses in a heap on the ground. He bellows in pain, hand on his side and blood gushing fromthe wound.
Morrow holds a screaming Tulip to his chest, a small shield surrounding the two of them. It's a sign his magic is waning and that this is all he can manage.
So much is happening all at once, it's hard to know where to look, what to do.
I'm overwhelmed in the worst kind of way.
Viola rises to her feet, satisfied that the God of Autumn is dead. Her eyes immediately fixate on Mace, and what she sees has a snarl jumping out of her throat.
She throws Shadow magic at Amaryn, restraining her, as she runs to Mace and drops to her knees. On shaky feet, I follow, trying to maintain my tenuous hold on the small amount of devotion that is present in Feria.
The Shadowweaver screams, her voice breaking with devastation, as she places her hands on Mace. "It's too deep. I don't have enough power!" she wails, furious tears running down her face. She charges at Amaryn, wrapping her hands around the God's neck. Without ceremony, she pulls the Bloomtide's magic and essence from her body.
I feel the overload of Spring magic as it transfers into Viola, and she collapses. Her body is falling apart. It was not built to take on the magic of three Gods in such a short amount of time while simultaneously fighting off their attacks.
Still, she lifts her head and crawls to my brother, dragging herself through the dirt by her fingertips to the background noise of Amaryn's wails of grief at the loss ofher magic.
I weave the devotion from Feria into Viola, giving her enough strength to pull Mace into her lap when she reaches him. Shadow slithers over, having destroyed the last of the flying stag beasts, and wraps his body around the newly mortal Amaryn, squeezing her tightly.
"Mace, no, no, you can't. You're not allowed to leave me," Viola cries, running her hand down the wound. His eyes are foggy as he looks at her, his skin so incredibly pale.
A puddle of blood surrounds my brother's body, crawling through the dirt towards my feet, soaking the bottom of my shoes.
I've been here before.
I've seen the way blood travels.
"Please, Mace," she says, her hands on the wound, pushing all of the power she has left in her to heal it. He's practically ripped in half, bones and viscera visible as she fights to staunch the blood flow.
Her magic is nearly gone.
I pull all of Rainworth's devotion, begging no one and everyone for it to be enough to save my brother.
"You asshole, you can't leave me," she says, holding his face. "Please, please don't make me do this alone. I can't do it without you, you know that. You're the best part of me. Please, Mace, please don't leave me."
Tulip sobs in Morrow's arms, and he holds her back from running to comfort her best friend.
"You can't leave me, Mace," she cries, her forehead dropping to his. "Don't yousee you've ruined me? You've made me want a future. You've made me dream and make plans for who we could be together. I was fine without them. And then I met you. You have to come back to me."
Her voice is cracked, stretched thin with emotion that is not from a God but from a woman who loves the man who is fading fast in front of her. She places her hand on his cheek, the hot tears that pour from her eyes creating tracks in the blood and dirt on his cheeks.
"You have to come back to me, Mace. How am I supposed to be happy in a world without you?
I feel frozen at her words, my breath stuttering in my chest as I fight to keep any in my lungs. I drop to my knees beside my brother, put my hand on Viola's back, and push devotion into her.
The wound is knitting together slowly, but at least it's moving now, and Viola continues to refuse to give up on the man she loves.
On my brother.
She keeps urging her Healing magic into him, and I feel a sharp draw for devotion that is no longer present.
There is no more devotion for Viola in Krillium.
