Page 125 of A Bond So Deadly

I scan the darkness around me. At where my mates are still reaching for me, like they’re frozen in time. Emorie’s wings are outstretched, and Blake and her mates are still trapped. I look over at Kenzie and the other shadow warriors. At the zenali who chose to fight when we needed them most. Who stood by us in the end. And then there’s the oracle…trapped inside the shadow queen forever.

More of my tears fall, because I know the shadow queen is right.

I’m no goddess.

I couldn’t even save one girl when it mattered.

And now I can’t save them.

The darkness curls around me, and I feel the power leeching from my body. Flowing from me as it’s carried away by Queen Krosia’s shadows.

My head grows light, and I know I don’t have long. The moment Queen Krosia has had her fun, it’s over for all of us. I was so stupid to think we could make it…

…Except…the shadow realm deemed us worthy. It gave us our immortality.

Light flashes from somewhere to my right.

A tiny glow.

A flicker of movement.

“Did you see that?” I rasp.

Queen Krosia’s lips twist as she observes me. “See what? Your slow death that I’m so gloriously enjoying?”

The light comes again, this time taking form, shaping and molding into…

My heart nearly stops as a figure comes into view.

“Holy crap,” I whisper. “I must be dead.” I stare at the ghostly girl with long blond hair that reaches past her shoulders, and ears full of piercings. She brushes her pale hair out of her face.

“Not yet,” Alina’s voice is soft but unmistakable. “But you will be if you don’t get your shit together.”

I blink, because I’m sure I must be going mad.

Going by the way Queen Krosia looks straight through the girl, I’m guessing the shadow queen doesn’t know she’s there. Yep, I’m definitely dead.

“Are you death come to take me?” I murmur.

“What? No. That’s dramatic. No, I’m just here to give you a little inspirational pep talk seeing as you’re so crap at them, and to lend a helping hand.”

Despair curls around me, and I think of Alina dying in that alleyway. As if reliving the memory wasn’t bad enough, now I’m projecting her image just to torture myself. That’s what this is, right? “What’s the point?” I say, humoring the hallucination. “I’m not a hero. I can’t save them. I killed you, didn’t I?”

She arches a brow, looking unimpressed. “Hang on, is that what you’ve been telling yourself? That you killed me? Wow, you need more help than I thought.”

“Alina, you’re dead,” I state simply.

“Okay true, that is a bit of a bummer,” she replies. “But it’s not so bad. The shadow realm is a fascinating place. Did you know foxret cubs have the cutest little squishy faces?”

I stare at her, realizing that maybe I’m not dead after all. Maybe I’ve just lost my mind. That must be what this is. Or I’m dead and I’ve lost my mind. “You’re dead,” I say more forcefully this time. “I got you killed.”

Alina’s expression becomes serious as she stares at me. “It’s not your fault I died, Shay. Before you arrived in that alleyway, I already knew my chances of making it out of there alive were slim. You know, most people would have simply walked away when they saw me cornered like that, but you didn’t…”

“I was stupid.”

“Oh, definitely,” she agrees. “You should have walked away, too, but you didn’t. You made the choice to try and save me, and even when you realized you couldn’t, you chose to stay with me. You risked your own life trying to help me. Do you know how rare that is?” Her expression softens, a small smile lifting her lips. “You didn’t fail me, Shay. In my final moments, you gave me hope instead of fear. You gave me a fighting chance. You might not have saved me, but I didn’t die alone because of you.”

It doesn’t seem enough. “But it wasn’t fair.”