Slay My Soul
Chapter 43 Garret

All I can see is red. My woman is bloody, beaten, and barely standing. She is too close to our enemies. A male who is not part of our circle is holding her to him. My body vibrates with anger, uncaring that the man just killed two soldiers. Instead focused on his hands on her waist and his lips near her ear. A hand slaps the back of my head and I spin, snarling. Darius points at the King.

"Focus on the real enemy, not the one that's helping her," he growls. Water drips from my hair and runs down my chest uncomfortably. I didn't have time to dry myself when the call to battle came. Hell, I didn't even bother with pants.

"Fine, die if you want to," the King bellows at us. I feel like I missed something and glance at Darius, confused. The Demons resume racing towards us and more of our own men begin to enter the field, roaring their battle cries. Dev shoves Acassus away from the field, and he lopes off in hound form to do god knows what. I shake off the confusion, wishing our own people weren't on the field so I could go dragon. It is what it is. I race forward with my eyes glued on the King. That is where I'm headed. I shove men out of my path, my claws coming out to slice at anyone that tries to engage me. I need to kill the King and get my angel. Demons suddenly surge toward me, but they don't stab me, they seem to be trying to subdue me. I roar and shake myself free, only to be taken down by a bigger surge. Why aren't they killing me?

Darius charges into the Demons that are pinning me and I wriggle free to continue across the field. I will tear the King apart. My fangs tingle with anticipation. I see Carino and his men making progress toward Belestine. Good. As soon as the souls are freed, I'll tear the warlock apart too.

The weather seems to go out in sympathy with my rage, the wind kicking up and rain starting. I see the King glance toward the Demon and yell at him to call the rest of the Legion. The wind blows the Demon's long hair like a flag to his side. The King's face distorts.

"No!" He roars. Taking a menacing step towards the Demon. The Demon claps a hand on his shoulder and neck. Then the King spins in a blur of speed, knocking Hardyn away from Eve and pulling her close. He slaps her face hard and I roar, picking up my speed. Eve struggles weakly against him, then her whole body jerks suddenly and my limp link to her suddenly shrivels like a dried worm. A strange emptiness takes over and a deep-seated pain spreads through me. I hear Darius roar and an echo through the rest of the circle follows. The imprisoned Demon prince roars too. My dragon goes ballistic, bursting out of my skin and swiping people out of my way. Belestine yells and Demons rush toward the King and his men. The King is seized and torn limb from limb, while Belestine grabs Eve and checks her over. He looks up, shocked. I charge towards him and I see a moment where he battles with himself to move or stay. No way is that prick stealing her soul! Survival instinct kicks in and he opens a portal diving through, just as Acassus burst's from the trees behind them. The Demons blink out of existence. I skid to a stop by Eve, moving back to my human form. Her neck is at an unnatural angle and blood leaks from her chest. Lysario runs his hand over the wound.

"Iron splinters." he croaks. "He shot her heart with iron shards." Sirus blurs to us.

"Is she?" He asks the question none of us want to be confirmed. My heart tightens in my chest, struggling to beat against the pain. Darius clutches at his chest, tears flowing freely. Carino kneels and his hands light up as they sweep her body. For the first time since they met, Eve's body does not echo his light. His hand's fist and his light dies away. He averts his eyes.

"No!" I growl. "No! Eve, you cannot give in, you cannot leave me!" I snarl. My legs give out under the pain.

"She has no pulse," Carino says. He swallows hard. "Our Queen is dead." Darius throws back his head and howls and Acassus and Dev join him with a mournful call of their own. Sirus pulls her to him, shaking her, demanding she wakes up as her head flops grotesquely. I can feel myself fading, my dragon now fighting to keep my body going. I wish he would stop. I can't, I won't live without her. "We need to link ourselves, to try and combat the fade, we can't avenge her if we are dead," Carino states. He meets my eyes, his own red-rimmed but filled with determination. "We can die once we kill Belestine and free the Demons as Eve wanted. We can die once we have laid our mate to rest, with the full honors of the Queen she was," I nod. We owe it to Eve to fight a little longer. I pull myself to him and bite. His fangs return the favor. Darius bites on my other side. The rest of the circle moves forward as we lay claim to each other and anchor ourselves for a little longer.

"We need to do Max too," Dev mutters.

"Shit, let's hope his soul hangs on long enough for us to finish this war, or he will take us all out with him," Carino says shakily. I gently peel Sirus away from Eve and gather her in my arms, supporting her lolling head.

"When this war is done I hope he does take me out. I won't stay in a world without her in it. I will carry her to the preparation room and meet you at Max's bedside. Then we will prepare her together." They nod and head towards the hospital, while I stare into my dead mates unseeing eyes and allow my tears to fall. My dragon forces a desperate call from my mouth, a last plea for her to breathe. I bow my head to touch her forehead. My beautiful Eve. I shakily close her beautiful eyes with my fingers and stand on unsteady feet. I roar to the heavens.

"Behold your champion - Fuckers! Are you happy now!"

"Garret?" A tentative voice calls to me.

"Poppy, I want no talk of the Fates. They are nothing to me!" I growl.

"I only wish to walk with my friend one last time. I am happy to help with preparing her body." Poppy's eyes shine with unshed tears as she takes in Eve's unmoving form.

"Fine, but do not touch her," I snarl. I know I'm being unfair, but I can't bare the idea of anyone touching Eve right now. Poppy sniffles and nods. My dragon wants to carry her off to our kingdom and have her entombed with the royals, but I know the others won't appreciate me going all Game of Thrones on them and carrying her off on my own. Eve would want to be with her family and with Reece. I hear snarling and tearing sounds behind me. Acassus and Sirus are destroying what is left of the King. Their eyes are feral. I have to fight my instinct to join them.

"Acassus! Go to Max. This can wait," Poppy orders him. His hound growls at her but swiftly jumps into a portal. He's back before we have even taken a step. Huffing at us, before he dives back into the gore. I'm guessing he shoved everyone out of the way so he could come straight back. "Come on Garret, we need to get you to Max too. Poppy tugs at my elbow and I follow dazedly after her. We reach the preparation room for last rites, Poppy flips on the lights for me and leads me to the metal table in the center of the white room. "Place her here," she says gently.

The room smells of disinfectant and is cold. It's so empty and quiet. I hold Eve to me tighter, unwilling to put her down on the hard metal table. A whimpering sound echo's against the wall repeatedly. Poppy gently pats my back and I realize that I'm the one making that noise.

"I can't let her go," I whisper brokenly, burrowing my nose into her hair.

"It's just for a moment and then we can come straight back," Poppy promises. I reluctantly lower her to the table, Poppy covers her with a sheet, placing her arms gently over the top. She straightens her neck and now Eve just looks as though she is resting. "Come on big man, let's help Max, and then we can help Eve." I bend and kiss Eve's forehead.

"I'll be with you again soon."