Rook choked on a sob as she swayed, the familiar signs of her condition trying to steal her from me.

Stumbling forward, I cupped her cheeks.

The second I touched her, she started to cry.

She clung to my wrists, clutching at my silver cuffs, mumbling and quaking.

Another punch of agony ripped through me.

The guards continued their mania in the background.

But no one fired because they thought she was pregnant.

No one tried to snatch her off me because if I was dying, she became absolutely vital.

Pain continued to build and burn, but I dragged her into me. Running my thumbs under her wet eyes, I kissed her forehead in utmost fucking gratitude. It flooded me like the hottest wave, fierce and unbearable, burning hotter than the pain.

Finally.

Fucking finally.

She’d given me such mercy, such a gift—

She seized in my hold.

Her eyes rolled back.

She fainted.

I had no strength to hold her up.

I fell with her.

We tumbled together like two useless creatures who’d reached their limit.

The impact jarred the knife—

Pain surged so violently, my vision exploded with colourful static.

I twitched beneath Rook as she landed half on top of me. Her cheek rested on my lower belly; her hair spread over my chest, sticking to the blood seeping through my shirt.

Whisper howled, prowling tight, frantic circles around us, snarling and snapping at any guard who tried to come close. He roared again, deep and thunderous—warning the guards to back the fuck up.

The men wisely backed the fuck up.

The world narrowed to nothing more than pain and rain and the girl breathing weakly against my stomach.

My hands shook as I tried to move, to shield her and pull her close, but my muscles weren’t listening anymore. The vitalsync core delivered another wash of fire, tangling with the flames already blazing in my bloodstream, hissing with heat as it escaped through the hole in my chest.

The action of filling my lungs suddenly felt far too dangerous—almost as if the dagger pricked my lung. Every instinct screamed to tear the blade out, to get medical aid, to not die, but I wanted this to look bad.

I needed this to look like I was dying because only then—only if I was moments from death—would they risk taking me out.

Another thunderous roar smacked my ears as Whisper launched at the redheaded guard—James—as he tried to get to me. James was one of the regulars who came to collect my blood on harvesting days. He’d always been pleasant and polite but never once cared that I was trapped and tortured and today, he would pay for that.

“Call off your beast!” he bellowed. “Let us help you!”

Whisper’s hackles turned his sleek pelt into a wire brush of rage, his tail whipping in the rain. With a snap of his fangs, he stalked toward me and stood directly over me and Rook. His black legs braced over my body, his giant paws planted on the grass.

I chuckled even though it cost me.

The dagger fucking hurt.

I hadn’t been prepared for it to drain me of energy so quickly. To bleed me far too fast.

Glancing down my body, I focused on Rook. Her skin was ghostly pale and icy, her lips colourless and parted.

I wanted to curse her for being so useless.

To rage at her for letting stress control her system but...a different kind of emotion cloaked me instead. A fiery kind of ferociousness that centred directly in my heart that had nothing to do with the vitalsync core.

“Lucien. Mr. Ashfall. Please.” James tried again. “Mr. Ward is on his way. Let us get you inside. He’s bringing doctors to treat you.”

What?

In here?

No.

Fuck no.

That couldn’t happen.

I’d done all this to get out there.

My heart pounded, triggering another dose from the vitalsync core.

Black spots danced over my eyes as my system singed with fresh misery. The flames in my blood did their best to compete with the savage steel in my chest, overloading me, making me twitch. Fat droplets fell from the sky, splashing onto Whisper then onto me, diluting my blood until it ran in pink rivulets into the grass.

If they didn’t take me out of here...

If all of this was for nothing?

I couldn’t fucking breathe.

Whisper glanced down as I choked on twenty years of panic. His whiskers twinkled with droplets, his eyebrows drawn together so tightly.

If this plan was failing...I’d just have to go with another one.

And that meant, I needed her again.

Looking away from the panther’s golden eyes—blocking out the guards as they continued to fight amongst themselves on how to remove Whisper without harming him or getting bitten—I arched my leg just enough to bump Rook off my stomach and send her rolling onto her back.

Her backpack arched her spine as she lay half on it, half on the grass.

I went rigid as my gaze landed on her slack, gorgeous face. Wet thick eyelashes like phoenix feathers. Dusky perfect skin like honey.

My feelings chose that ridiculous moment to betray me because...there was no going back from this.

Either I died or survived, but even dead I didn’t stand a chance against her.

Looking away from the unconscious girl—the girl who’d been the key to unlocking the door—I fumbled in my pocket for the one thing that would hopefully let me walk through it.

Narrowing my eyes on the guards as they continued to squabble about how to safely take me back to the palace, I used my last remaining strength to slip my hand into my pocket and fumble with the silk pouch I’d taken from beneath the drawer when Rook drew my blood.

My teeth chattered violently as agony sent me closer to death. The grass beneath me felt impossibly cold. The rain too loud.

My fingers quaked as I withdrew a large silver pill.

Whisper looked down from where he guarded me, his eyes glowing bright as I slowly brought it to my mouth.

I didn’t care what the guards were doing or how much time I had before Marcus arrived. I just focused on staying the fuck alive as I placed the pill on my tongue and worked up enough saliva to swallow.

The pill tasted bitter and sour and was so big it was a choking hazard.

I winced as it went down unwillingly, then turned to look at Rook.

How was I supposed to get her to swallow one?

I’d stupidly given Rook one of these highly treasured painkillers when she first arrived at Cinderkeep. She didn’t know the value of what I’d given her. And who knew how many we’d need before today was through.

The guards threw me another worried look as they huddled in a group, going over the pros and cons of the situation, held at bay thanks to Whisper.

“You’re a good friend, you stupid beast,” I choked, wrapping my hand around Whisper’s leg. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

He huffed as if telling me to save my thanks. Narrowing his gaze on the guards, another rumble echoed in his chest.

Leaving him to guard us, I shuffled closer to Rook.

My teeth almost severed my bottom lip, doing my best not to cry out from the pain. Black spots turned to black sheets, yanking me from the world of the living and straight to the world of the dead.

Not yet.

Not.

Yet.

Rook couldn’t swallow the pill in her current condition, and I couldn’t fucking do this without her, so...with shaking fingers, I scooped up the blood soaking my shirt instead.

Whisper huffed as if questioning my sanity as I gathered what I could then pushed my fingers into her parted mouth.

She frowned in her sleep, wincing as I painted her tongue with my blood.

I did it again. Fighting unconsciousness.

Gathering more crimson directly from my wound, I inserted as much as I could past her lips.

She coughed, her body’s natural reflex kicking in so she didn’t choke.