Bonds of Light and Fire

71. Horrific Reality

    Sounds filtered in and out of his ears, muffled one minute and roaring the next. Scorching agony raced down his spine and through his limbs. It was as though someone had taken a torch to his back and was slowly melting his skin. Despite his pain, Vaughan couldn't find the strength to cry out.

    He couldn't find the strength for anything. He couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't move his head. He couldn't speak. Everything hurt. More pain was drifting across the Mating Bond, but it was from Luciana. Was she injured too? Vaughan didn't know. He hadn't seen her in the brief moment he opened his eyes. Only Aelin's bleeding wrist.

    A wet nose touched his cheek and he vaguely heard Brin whimper. Sounds were coming back to him now. Rowan and Aelin were speaking, but he couldn't make out their words. He recognized Kyllian and Aeron's voices mixed with theirs. Another voice was loud and clear, ringing in both his ears and mind.

    "Vaughan," Luciana wept. "Please. I know this isn't what you want, but please... Please don't leave me. Not now. Not yet." The pain in her voice tugged at his heartstrings. He wanted to move. He wanted to sit up and pull her into his arms. He wanted to tell her that he was all right. That she didn't have to be afraid. Even if it was a lie. "Vaughan!" Luciana shook his shoulder. Fresh waves of pain rippled through him and a groan broke past his lips.

    "We have to go, Luci!" Aeron had to yell to be heard above the screams and explosions that surrounded them.

    "No! I won't leave him like this!"

    "We don't have a choice. I..." Aeron faltered. "I'm sorry, Luci. We don't have a choice. If he won't take the oath, he'll die before we can get somewhere safe enough to help him."

    "Then you go," Luciana whispered. "And I'll stay."

    Just go, Vaughan thought. Even in his own mind, his voice was quiet. Broken. Dying.

    I won't leave you, Luciana answered. Swear the oath, please. Let Aelin keep you alive, and she can release you once you're safe.

    The burning in his back was giving way to a cold numbness. Vaughan tried to open his eyes once more, to no avail. Vaughan? Luciana's mental presence was fading rapidly. Everything was fading. The bonds in his chest. The scents and sounds around him. The pain in his body. Vaughan, no. No, no, no, no! Hands grabbed his shoulders.

    "No!" Luciana wailed. "No, please, no!" She was trying to move him. He barely felt the jerky movements.

    "We have to go!"

    "We can't!"

    "We'll die if we stay. What can we do for Terrasen then?"

    He could no longer tell who was speaking in the background. He could only hear the desperate, heartbreaking pleas of his mate. The female he had rejected for so long. The female he was leaving so soon. Vaughan didn't fight the darkness that was creeping into his mind. He let it come closer and closer. He let it dig its talons into his heart. His soul.

    "Don't." The darkness froze. "Open your eyes."

    Somehow, Vaughan obeyed. Blurry figures knelt beside him, but behind them, he could see a massive black wolf as clear as day. Connall's onyx eyes glittered with determination.

    "Don't," he repeated.

    "Why are you here?" Vaughan asked.

    "To stop you from making a mistake, as usual."

    "Dying is a mistake?"

    "Dying right now is. You have a chance to survive. Not many are given that opportunity. Aelin is trying to save you, for Luciana's sake. For Fenrys and Nascha's. For your own. Let her."