"Lucian, no!" My scream tore through the smoke-cloaked battlefield as he collapsed to his knees. Blood dripped from the gash on his side, staining the ground beneath him. His eyes found mine—glazed but still burning with that fierce determination I had always loved.
"I’m fine," Lucian rasped, but his trembling hands betrayed the lie.
I was by his side in an instant, pressing my hands to the wound. Heat radiated from his skin, but it was the flicker of light beneath it—the glow of the bond—that had me more afraid than anything. It was dim, fading, like a dying ember struggling against the darkness.
Killian appeared beside us, his silver eyes scanning Lucian’s injuries with grim efficiency. "We can’t stay here. More are coming."
Elias’s voice rang out from somewhere in the distance, lace
