Chapter 221: Please Bring Her Back

Rhydor’s POV

I reached my hand out, my fingers hovering just a fraction of an inch above her pale, clean skin.

The air between us felt heavy, freezing, and utterly empty.

I did not touch the hand. Not yet. I was too terrified of what my skin would feel like if I pressed my palm against it.

I was terrified of the coldness, of the lack of a pulse, of the finality that a single touch might bring.

Instead, I channeled all of my frantic, chaotic energy into the pile of smoking black bodies around it.

I dug my fingers into the leathery, charred flesh of the creatures, lifting their heavy limbs and tossing them away into the bubbling water of the shallow stream.

I kept moving them. I kept digging deeper, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps that burned my throat.

I kept pushing the dark, ruined bodies out of the way, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped wild animal trying to escape its cage.

Then, my entire body froze.

There she was.

She was lying flat on her back, uncovered now. Her beautiful grey eyes were wide open, staring blankly up at the colorless sky.

But those eyes looked completely numb. The bright, fierce light that usually burned within them was entirely gone, replaced by a dull, dead glassiness.

Her skin was a sickening, pale shade of white, and her lips were almost purple.

She was just lying there in the mud and ash. Still. Motionless.

She looked so small, so fragile, like a delicate flower crushed under a heavy boot.

I reached down and touched her, my hands trembling so violently I could barely get a grip on her shoulders.

Slowly, with a gentle care I didn’t know my brutal body possessed, I lifted her from the pile of ash.

The remaining dead bodies of the monsters fell away from her, sliding back into the stream with heavy, wet splashes.

I did not care about the mud. I did not care about the blood coating my skin, or the fact that I was half naked and, for the first time, shivering in the freezing wind.

But I did not care about anything else in this godforsaken valley. My entire mind, my whole existence, was focused entirely on the cold, quiet body resting in my hands.

My fingers shook as I touched her hair, brushing the tangled little white strands away from her face.

There was no movement. She didn’t blink. Her head just tilted back limply against my arm.

I shook her gently, my chest heaving as I waited for her to gasp for air, to look at me, to do anything.

No movement.

The soft sound of footsteps splashing through the shallow water broke the heavy silence beside me.

I looked up, my eyes burning. Torin was standing there in the stream, his hands hovering at his sides as he stared down at the quiet body in my arms.

His eyes were incredibly wide, filled with a hollow, disbelieving horror.

I looked back down at my Azura’s pale face, then snapped my gaze back to Torin.

I lifted her body higher, bringing her closer to him, desperately trying to force him to look at her.

"Do it," I demanded, my voice raw, urgent, and thick with panic.

"Do something. Bring her back."

Torin just stared at me. He looked completely confused, his face pale and his lips parting as if he wanted to speak, but no words came out.

The lack of action made a violent spark of anger flare up in my chest. I shook Azura’s body at him, my grip tightening on her waist as I stepped closer.

"Bring her back!" I yelled, my voice turning louder, echoing off the canyon walls.

"Do something!"

When he still didn’t move, I grabbed Torin’s wrist with my free hand. I dragged his hand down, forcing his palm flat against the center of Azura’s cold chest, right over her still heart.

"Use your spell!" I screamed, the sound tearing at my throat as I pressed his hand down hard.

"Do something!"

Torin did not move. He did not call upon his magic. He didn’t even try to pull his hand away.

Instead, a single, heavy tear slipped from his eye, cutting a clean path through the gray ash on his cheek.

The sight of his grief made my blood boil with a furious, ugly rage.

"Do not cry in my presence!" I roared, my face twisting into a snarl as I glared at him.

"When I order you to do something, you do it! Now! Bring her back!"

Everyone on the riverbank was completely silent. The warriors who had followed me stood frozen in the shallow water, their expressions shocked and horrified as they watched me unravel.

Silas slowly stepped forward, his boots sloshing through the stream as he approached me with cautious, open hands.

"Rhydor, you need to calm down," Silas said, his voice quiet, careful, and incredibly soft.

I snapped my head toward him, my red eyes flashing with a dangerous promise of violence.

"Do not tell me what to do!"

I turned my back on him, dismissing him entirely as I focused all of my burning attention back on the young mage.

"Create the portal," I said, my voice dropping into a cold, flat tone.

Silas stepped closer, his voice rising with an urgent, desperate edge.

"You know he cannot do that. He is not a wizard, Rhydor. Why are you..."

"Not a single word from you," I said, cutting him off without even looking back.

I kept my eyes locked on Torin. My eyes were burning, the tears finally starting to blur my vision, but I refused to let them fall.

"Create the damn portal," I whispered, my voice incredibly low, dark, and absolute.

Torin swallowed hard, his gaze shifting from my face to the lifeless girl in my arms.

Without a word, he raised his trembling hand. He traced a circle in the cold air, and a shimmering, golden portal ripped open over the water, humming with a low, magical energy.

The warriors behind us stared in complete shock, but I didn’t give them a second glance. I didn’t care if I exposed his secret to everyone there.

I stepped through the glowing light, carrying my mate away from the ash-filled wasteland.

The portal closed behind me, and I was instantly running through the wide, polished hallways of the pack house.

Azura felt terrifyingly light in my arms, her head resting limply against my shoulder as her dark hair trailed behind us.

Several house servants carrying laundry baskets turned the corner. The moment they saw me half naked, covered in black blood, ash, and carrying a quiet, pale girl, they stopped dead in their tracks.

They stared at us with wide, horrified eyes. As I sprinted past, they began to whisper frantically to one another, their voices buzzing like angry bees.

I did not care. I did not care about their whispers, my lack of clothing, or the trail of dirty water and blood I was leaving on the clean floors.

I reached the heavy wooden doors of the grand study. I didn’t bother knocking. I raised my foot and pushed the door open with a loud, violent kick, the wood slamming hard against the interior walls.

My mother and father were inside, standing near the large fireplace. They had been talking quietly, but they stopped the very second the door slammed open.

I walked into the center of the room and stopped directly in front of my mother.

My knees, buckling under the sheer weight of my exhaustion and grief, completely gave out. I dropped heavily to the floor, my knees cracking against the hardwood, but I made sure to hold Azura tightly, keeping her safe in my arms.

I bowed my head, unable to look my mother in the eye as the first sob finally tore through my chest.

"I know I have been your worst son," I said, my voice completely broken, stripped of all the pride and arrogance I had carried my entire life.

"I know I have done absolutely everything that could make a mother disown her own child. But you still kept me."

My voice cracked, a heavy, painful sob choking my words. I squeezed my eyes shut, my forehead resting near Azura’s cold shoulder.

"I know I have not been respectful to you or to Father," I continued, my shoulders shaking violently.

"I have made you regret so many moments. Please, find it somewhere in your heart to forgive me for all of it."

I slowly lifted my head, my eyes red, raw, and pooling with tears as I shifted my grip.

I moved Azura forward, holding her limp, quiet body out toward my mother, offering her up like a shattered treasure I was begging to have repaired.

"But in return," I begged, my voice dropping into a desperate, trembling whisper.

"I ask for something else."

My mother stood completely frozen, her eyes incredibly wide and her hands trembling as she stared at the lifeless girl in my arms.

"Bring her back, please," I whispered.