A Kingdom of Bloodshed (A Crimson Court Series)

*¬*Chapter Twenty Four*¬*

         Quickly. It happened so quickly. One moment Thea was throwing herself onto Persephone charging into the trees to get them away from us, and the next she was falling over the edge of the ravine. My brawl with one of the male's pauses, Ryder now wrangling Augustus closer to his body as Fin grips his wrist, all three of them also watch as Fawn and Thea fade from view.

Something sinks in my stomach. Like a stone hitting the murky bottom. Quiet enters my mind. A stillness that I haven't felt in a very long time.

Forever is composed of moments. Moments of time that break and cling together until you get the whole picture. Althea was my forever. She was my moment. And now she's plummeting to her death and there is not a single thing I can do to stop it.

Go after her!

This time I do not balk. I lunge for the cliff edge, roaring in pain as I aim for the open air. My fingers have just kissed the misty wind when my body is knocked off course. My fingers now diving into rocks instead of cool salted air.

"No Kaz," Ryder hisses. His breath is in my ear. But it's my heart that I can't ignore. The raging beat in my chest as I snarl at him, "Get off me. I need to save her!" Raven reaches us next, her boots coming into view, "There is nothing we can do Kaz. We have not Folded in this place before, we could get lost in-between."

"No. No, I can't just let her plummet to her death." I wrestle Ryder off me, scrambling to my feet once more and lunging for the edge. This time my face gets blasted by the wind and strong arms wrap around my waist. They hold me in place as Ryder once again states, "No, Kaz. It's too late."

"I need her... I can't lose her. I can't... I can't..." The wind ripples through my hair, the booming silence sending chills along my bones. "I can't lose her, Ry... I love her." And there it is. The truth of it all. I am wildly in love with Thea but I may never get to tell her that again. I'm too overthrown by my grief that I don't bother to stop Augustus as he reaches Persephone and mounts her. I don't bother to react to the remaining male who smirks at our disheveled group.

Ryder does that for me. He releases me and strides for the male, slicing his sword through the air and severing his head from his neck before the male can even blink. The sound of wet flesh hitting the ground makes me nauseous. Augustus tuts, his tongue clicking against his teeth, "Shame that Thea had to die, but you do what you must when reaching a goal. Something you should be able to relate to Kaz, since you rule an entire kingdom."

I'd love nothing more than to slit his throat. The violence ripples along my ribs, caressing my tendons and creeping towards my lungs. When I meet his eyes, I sneer, "You think that you're going to get away with this?" My brother smiles at me, "I'm the one with the wings to fly down there." Persephone, as if on instinct, flexes those leathery wings, her eyes snapping towards each of us.

Find her. A voice whispers within me, but the agony of her loss is far too great. The fire that had begun to burn within snuffs out and I don't bother to stop my sibling from flying off as my knees hit the ground; my head bowing forward to weep.

⤗

         "Are you sure she's dead?" Raven speaks after long moments of silence. My eyes are swollen from the tears, and my heart lay heavy in my chest. "What?" I rasp. "Are you certain she's dead?" Again that absurd question. "Did you not see her plummet to her death a few minutes ago?" The viciousness in my tone is unwarranted, at least towards her. Raven crosses her arms over her chest, her lavender hair whipping in the breeze as she glares at me, "Reach for her Kaz. The bond will tell you if she's dead."

"She's right." Ryder whispers. His own agony written across his face. He lost his mate a few years ago. There was a disturbance within the war camps, hidden in the mountains behind my palace, and he went to check on it. But upon his return, his dear mate had been slaughtered in their own home. Ryder never stopped searching for the male responsible for her death. He never stopped even after he'd found him and killed him slowly.