Blamed

Chapter 63

"What just happened?"

I glanced back at Theo before returning my gaze to where the man disappeared. The air felt stale and the familiar stench of death lingered. If I stared long enough at the corner he went in, it was like I could almost see him.

"I... I am not sure," I said. I gazed down at the wrapped sword, blowing out a breath. This is Crimson's ticket? What does that even mean?

"Let's go. We're almost at the cells." I said, gesturing for them to follow me.

We made our way up the stairs while being careful not to fall through the broken steps. Every time I stepped on a stair, my foot would pulsate with pain from the pressure. My foot had stopped bleeding and it was nearly numb.

'Are you there, Leo?' I searched our link but came up empty-handed.

My worry was just increasing further. Crimson could have possibly cut Leo's and I's ties to each other. Is that even possible? She seemed to know what she was doing when she did it. Stuck her nails right below my shoulder blades and dug until something snapped.

"So, Lucifer, huh?" Theo's voice brought me out of my thoughts. I shook my head, blowing out a breath.

"It is a long story. A story you don't need to know actually." I said, glancing back to look at him. He walked beside Maggie with a curious glint in his eyes.

"That had to be scary," Maggie mumbled. I scoffed, nodding.

"Very." Was all I said. Silence filled the air as we made our way to the floor we've been trying to reach. I grimaced from my injuries and grunted lowly. Every time I took a breath, my ribs would ache.

"That guy healed me," Theo suddenly said.

He ran past the others to catch up to me. I nodded, sparing a glance at my injured hand. There was no longer any blood flowing from the wound, but there was a nasty scar left on my right hand. Shit, he could have healed me too.

"I know. What does it feel like?" I asked. He rubbed his arm, shrugging.

"It feels okay, but when the cloth touched me, it felt... weird," He mumbled.

I slowed down my steps as we reached the hall that led to the cells. There was no one in sight and the guards Poe had taken out were still here, lifeless.

"Hopefully it doesn't have any side effects," I mumbled.

"That is the last thing I—"

A deafening cry echoed through the castle and following right after, pain pierced the mate bond. It knocked all the air out of my lungs which caused me to wheeze. My hand latched onto the wall as my knees buckled.

"Paxton! Are you okay?" Theo quickly appeared at my side, lending out a hand. I inhaled sharply, placing a hand on my stomach. The covered sword made a small clang noise as I tried to pull myself up.

"I'm fine. Just a little pain." I breathed out, blinking rapidly.

My vision was becoming slightly blurry and Theo's face was starting to split into two. Something in the distance caught my attention and my eyes drifted above his head. I widened my eyes, trying to clear the blurriness away.

I simply pushed him behind me with the others, trying my best to shield them away from the person approaching us.

Another cry sounded and my jaw clenched from the wave of pain that flowed through Crimson's and I's bond.

"Paxton?"

Karlos' face appeared out of the darkness and I released a breath in relief.

"The... kids." I managed to get out before I collapsed to the ground. He rushed to me, trying to help me up.