Page 118 of A Cruel Kindness

Everything happened so fast. Before I knew it, Clover was up again, a trail of blood trickling down her side. I was on the ground, blood pouring out of my leg with concerning speed.

“Oh, and by the way,” Elijah’s voice crooned from above me while he reset his crossbow. “The Prince offers his apologies. The wedding is canceled.”

He was off then, disappearing into the woods.

Shit, shit, shit.

We were safe when I was engaged, protected by the marriage. Without it, they could do whatever they wanted. They would launch an attack. That much was clear now.

And I’d be here, dying. Unable to get to Soren.

I tried to push myself up, but my arms gave out. My body felt bruised and numb from the force of our fall, but broken bones or bruised ribs would be nothing compared to a severed artery that would have me bleeding out in minutes.

Clover whined loudly, calling out for help. I was sure she was trying to reach Lucky, drawing on their mating bond. The problem was, I had no idea how far away he and Soren were.

“Clover,” I said, the words difficult to choke out.

She didn’t listen, continuing to whine. She brought her head down to my chest, nudging me and trying to get me to stand. “I can’t, sweet girl,” I said, pain stealing the strength in my voice. “You need to go help Soren.”

The sound of that explosion still hadn’t left my mind. Soren could be hurt. Based on the rush of blood leaving my leg … it was the better option for Clover to try to go help him.

If I had a chance at all, it would be to send her on her own. I couldn’t ride like this, maybe at all, let alone at the breakneck speed she’d need to catch Lucky and Soren.

I took off my shirt, ripping it down the middle. As I tried to make a makeshift tourniquet from the fabric, I begged Clover, “Please. Go find Soren. I’ll be okay.”

I didn’t believe that and Clover knew it. Her big eyes were filling with sadness, hesitant to leave me and knowing the chances that if she did, she’d never see me again.

But if she didn’t, those chances were certain. “Go,” I begged again, my voice thick with my own tears. Clover hesitated for another second, before she turned reluctantly and took off into the field in search of her mate and mine.

As I watched her run away, her coat shining in the setting sun’s light, I could only pray to whichever deity would listen that she’d make it in time. I couldn’t think about anything but that sliver of hope.

Certainly not Soren.

I focused on my leg, feeling around it despite the pain. The bleeding had dropped to a steady flow. Even as agony ripped up my limbs, I had to poke around and see where the blood was coming from. If it was from bleeding muscles, I might have a chance.

If it was a major artery, I had no more than a handful of seconds before my vision got spotty and my breathing slowed, before I’d fall into the soft grass around me and drift off.

Panic seized my chest, unable to comprehend that reality. The view of my leg, obscuring the grass below me with a dark red, got a little hazy, and I was convinced that this was the end.

Tears pricked my eyes, regret the prominent feeling in my chest. I wanted Soren here. I wanted him to be the last person I talked to. I wanted my last words to be that I loved him, that I was grateful for him. Nothing else seemed important.

Delirious thoughts started to set in, dreams of running off with Soren to elope now that I was free to marry, uncaring about the implications of my broken engagement.

My breathing quickened suddenly, fighting against the rest of my body, slowing down as I descended further towards death.

My chest clenched, my hands flying up to see if I’d missed an arrow that Elijah shot through my chest, only to find my skin intact.

It felt like fire was entering my veins, rather than energy leaving them as I bled out. This was cruel. Death was supposed to feel peaceful, not like being set on fire. Addled by the pain, my senses started to feel dull and out of reach. The last thing I noticed before my vision went black and I passed out was that my leg stopped bleeding.

I had no time to figure out if that was a good thing, or if my blood had simply stopped pumping through my veins, before I slipped away into the darkness and collapsed into the grass.

Chapter 31

Soren

Lucky was whining underneath me, reflecting the torment that was in my own chest. I still thought it was fucking stupid to separate me and Bellamy.

I was alternating between watching out for Lucky’s steps, looking out for people behind trees, and trying to ignore the sinking feeling that fell deeper with each step away from Bellamy.