Page 324 of The Edge of Darkness

Time slowed.

A Benmoori male fought next to an Elandish female, both of them striking true and taking down one of Lyceius’s multi-legged monsters, but they were no match for the shadows that lurked behind it, waiting to strike. A Dionach saw what was coming and was fighting his way toward the fae, but the shadow got there first. The fae were not quick enough. Both bodies fell to the ground as the shadow cut through them with claws as sharp as glass. The distress and the pain in the Dionach’s face sent an ache through my heart. His eyes met mine, and I could see the defeat in them just before they widened and he yelled, “Behind you!”

I spun, and sank my dagger into a shadow being’s fleeting form not a moment too late. The darkness within the creature scattered to the wind, leaving no trace that it ever existed. When I turned back to thank the Dionach, he was on his knees, and his head was lying next to him in the dirt. Whatever creature had cut him down had moved on without a second glance.

I fumbled for words, bile rising up my throat—not at the gore, but in disgust that another innocent life had been stripped from the world.

A hand gripped my arm, and I whirled to find Maeson’s vibrant green eyes staring up at me from beneath splatters of ink-like blood. Releasing a breath, I reached out and pulled her into my chest, digging my chin into her hair as I let her presence ground me. She was still here, still safe.

Her skin was burning hot from using too much of her power.

“You need to rest,” I said, “or you’ll burn up.” I pushed my shield out to encompass her so that she could give her power a break.

“It wouldn’t be very efficient if a fire-wielder could burn up from her own fire, now would it?” she replied, panting. “I’ll be fine.”

A sharp yell, followed by a chorus of vicious snarls, had us both turning in place, searching for the source.

Maeson stiffened.

The cry had come from Senna. She was hunched over, frozen in pain as a shadow being stalked toward her. There was an iron arrow sticking out of her abdomen, embedded deep—too deep to try and pull out without injuring her internal organs. If her power was already mostly spent, she would struggle to heal if she removed it, but left inside her, the iron would nullify what remained of her power.

A few feet away from her, Laurent was being thrust to his knees by two keres who had wrapped his wrists in iron to stifle his ability to control the elements. He was bleeding from his mouth, yanking at the chains, not daring to take his eyes off his mate.

I broke into a run, desperate to try and help them, but the shadow being sent out a pulse of dark energy that hit me like a stone wall, knocking me backward into the dirt. Maeson was instantly at my side, helping me to my feet. Both of us watched as the entity turned its sights back to the Lady of Drastia, twirling a wisp of its own essence around its finger as it approached her.

Senna looked up at the shadow, her lips pulling back from her gritted teeth as she mustered her strength. She raised her sword, but the shadow being swatted it out of her grasp and seized her by the neck, closing its oversized, clawed fingers around her throat, and squeezing as it lifted her off the ground.

A small sound squeaked out of her.

“NO!” Laurent yelled, jerking against the keres.

Senna’s feet kicked at the air relentlessly, and she scratched at the shadow’s grip as her face turned purple. And then, the entity snapped the Lady of Drastia’s neck.

Laurent roared.

“SENNA!!”

He thrashed at his captors like a wild animal, eyes wide with feral rage. Pure adrenaline and fury were now fueling his body, and he ripped his restraints from the keres’ grasp, taking the chains with him as he struggled on an injured leg to get to his mate.

The shadow released Senna’s limp body, and it collapsed to the ground with a sickening thud.

Laurent staggered forward, and the sound that was coming from his throat . . . I’d never heard a sound like that before. It was pain and anguish and heartbreak all unraveling in the bleating groan of someone who had just lost everything. He paid no mind to the entity. All he wanted was Senna.

The shadow dispersed, leaving the High Lord to languish.

Laurent collapsed at Senna’s side and gathered her into his arms, pushing the golden hair away from her face with one hand, and supporting her head in his other. His whole body shook as he wept.

I was so caught up in watching the way he held her, that when an arrow pierced his chest, I jolted.

I lifted my eyes to where the shadow being had re-materialized further away, next to another sinister creature that held a black bow, its string still quivering from the arrow it had just shot. When it reached for another arrow, I started forward again, ready to launch to Laurent’s defense, but Maeson held me in place, planting her feet as she shook her head.

“There’s nothing we can do,” she said, her voice breaking with sorrow.

A second arrow struck Laurent’s chest, but he hardly even flinched. He didn’t even lower his eyes to it. His focus remained on Senna, who stared up at the sky. He was smiling through his tears, knowing he would be reunited with her soon. He slumped forward until his forehead rested upon hers, and he drew his last breath.

My Aura pulsed on my skin as my emotions began rising inside me like a flood. What I had just witnessed was more than tragic. It was every mate’s worst fear.

Anxiety tightened in my chest, and my heart rate sped up. My vision tunneled. The sky became dark. The voices, the noise, the pounding in my head, all of it bubbled up and threatened to drown me.