Chapter 143: Chapter 143

Heartbeat ROYCE.

We hear a thud and Leo turns sharply.

Something’s wrong.

A sudden wave of dread fills me, and I stride. towards the bathroom and Malevolent runs to the bathroom door, meowing.

Leo turns sharply as I push past him, splintering the door with a powerful bolt of lightning that sends splinters/everywhere.

Blood.

The powerful coppery smell of blood hits me and all I see is red, spread everywhere.

“KIARA!” Leo shouts, as I stare at the scene before me. 1 Blood covers the floor and walls, the shower is still running and there on the floor, curled up with her hands around her throat as her heartbeat fades away, is Skyla. 1 “Sky!” I shout. 1 I drop to my knees, placing my hand to her neck, before I look down. It’s not a stab… she My stomach twists as I realise, she tried to rip her throat out. 1 There are bits hanging out and her fingers. are still wrapped around her veins.

The sheer weight of what she tried to do hits. me fucking hard, and I don’t even realise I’m shaking as I remove her fingers from her throat, trying not to pull on anything.

Why?

My own vision blurs as I manage to free her gaping throat from her grip and try to stem the bleeding as I watch the blood pour out mercilessly.

Power swirls around me as it glows purple, and the moment it touches Sky, I let out a breath I never knew I was holding.

She’s got to be ok!

The sobbing of the woman healing her echoes in the room. The sound of the shower water is thumping in my mind. Everything is heightened.

“We need to lock her up. For her own safety and keep her sedated. This can’t be happening!”

“She has got to be ok!”

I don’t know who is speaking as I hold onto Skyla.

“Her heartbeat is fading!” Kiara screams.

A woman in despair.

No.

“No. She isn’t leaving me.” I say. My hands crackle with lightning as I roll her onto her back.

You will not leave me like this.

My eyes blaze as I place my hand over her heart, sending a jolt of electricity through her. A thump of a weak heartbeat reaches my ears or so I think… is it just in my mind? 1 “Again!” Kiara commands in a shaky voice.

I do so again as Delsanra and Raihana begin chanting something.

She’s on the edge, teetering between life and death.

I just need her heart to beat for Kiara to be able to heal her. Another ten jolts or so later, I hear a thud.

It’s stronger this time.

Kiara’s aura blazes as all three women’s auras fill the room and before my very eyes, I see her throat begin to heal, moving back into place, as the blood spilling from her neck lessens.

“Again!” Kiara shouts, as she looks at me with pain and worry in her purple eyes.

I don’t stop. Every jolt of electricity makes. her body arch before it hits the bathroom floor.

Why?

This is what I was afraid of. I knew her insecurities… I knew what she thought of herself.

She is a queen… who fought against everything, but in the end… it became too much for her… in the end, she gave up… because she was filled with pain she never deserved. Burdens she should never have had to carry.

The thudding of a weak heartbeat reaches. my ears and I look at her chest, my own soaring.

She’s breathing, she’s come back!

I let out a shaky breath, looking at her throat. It’s healed, but the blood and the emotions in the air are a dark reminder of the fact she tried to commit suicide.

“She’s alive.” Kiara sobs, Alejandro is behind her, his arm around his queen, who I didn’t realise is shaking, until now. It’s obvious he has just got in from the council meeting.

Kataleya and Azura are beside her head.

Trying to stifle their own tears.

I pull my shirt off, placing it over my angel before I scoop her up. Kiara looks up at me, grabbing Skyla’s hand.

“Come on,” Alejandro says, helping her to her feet and I turn, not looking at anyone who is gathered.

I’m not waiting anymore.

He’s dead.

I place Skyla on the bed before I turn, ready to leave, when Alejandro blocks my path.

“Move,” I say.

“Calm down.” He warns me quietly.

“Step aside, please,” I reply icily, my eyes blazing.

“I know how you’re feeling. She’s my pup, I know it’s fucking hard, but this isn’t the way to fucking go about it.” He growls, and for a second, I look past the rage that clouds my vision. His eyes are red, and they swim with emotions.

I don’t care…

“How much longer do you want me to wait? I can’t. Fuck it!” I snarl, pushing past him.

My aura swirls around me and I push past Leo when a much taller man blocks my path. 4 “Step aside,” I say coldly.

“You won’t be able to kill him,” Dante says quietly.

“Watch me!” I snarl.

“You can try… you can keep trying, but you won’t succeed… trust me on this one. She is stronger than you think.” He says.

I glare into his black shades, my heart racing. Never have I hated anyone more than I do Aleric right now.

“Then I will keep trying, even if it’s the last and only fucking thing I do on this planet. I will keep trying until the end of fucking time to kill him!” I thunder. A violent wind whips. through the hallway, knocking over a few vases.

“There is far more you need to do… and foremost, that is staying by her side because when she awakes… she’ll need to be told that she deserves to live. My sister needs you, so control your temper and be there for her. You wanted her as your mate. Now act like she is yours.” His voice is powerful and beyond that controlled tone, I hear the glimmer of emotions he’s trying to mask in I look away, glaring at the ground.

I know they’re hurting but this?! Sure; we have a fucking plan but we need to move faster!

“What are we waiting for? Can things get any worse?” I snarl.

“We have a plan, remember? We’re waiting for him to be freed, and then he’s fuckings ours.” Leo says.

I clench my fists, trying to calm my emotions.

“Royce.” I look up to see Mom with Winona and Charlotte. “They are right… think calmly,” Mom says.

“Until his release then,” I say icily before I turn and walk back to Skyla’s bedroom.

Kiara has wiped her face and neck clean of blood, tears still spilling down her cheeks as Kataleya hugs her mother. They’ve put a bathrobe on her.

“She tried to commit suicide. I’m with Royce on this one. He deserves to go to hell.” Rayhan says icily, now appearing in the doorway. 1 I don’t say anything, remaining silent as the reality of what almost happened replays in my mind.

Another event that I’ll never forget…

How much does she need to suffer?

“Sky is stronger than this,” Alejandro says quietly.

“Those who may be suicidal… aren’t weak, but tell me, how much did you expect to handle?” I ask.

She made the ultimate sacrifice to save us. 7 “Why not sedate her?” Maria asks from the doorway.

Call me selfish, but I just want to be alone with her, to hold her and never fucking let “We can’t sedate her because we need her to overcome this because she is the one who can defeat Apophis,” Liam says.

“The crystals and symbols helped…”

Delsanra says. “Not in the way we wanted, but instead of hurting others, she hurt herself. That was Sky, meaning maybe she’s able to break free or already has. The darkness around her, I can’t sense it.”

“We’ll find out when she wakes up,” Leo adds quietly. “So, how about we give her some space? I’m sure Royce can handle her.”

“Good plan, come on Kia,” Azura says, going over to her. Raven follows and both women guide Kiara up from the bed.

Kiara looks at me, her eyes filled with tears before they guide her away. 1 Once everyone begins to leave, I look at Alejandro.

“The meeting. How did it go?” I ask, I know my answer but I’m still asking. We have no fucking proof, and that dropped our chances.

Alejandro’s face falls, a deep frown settling on it.

“Not great.” He says curtly.

Meaning it went fucking bad.

“Without any proof, they won’t believe he isn’t innocent,” I state the unspoken truth.

“And there was another serpent attack in the woods,” Rayhan says.

I sit down beside her, frowning.

So the council meeting hadn’t gone well either… which means ultimately it comes down to his release tomorrow.

“Then tomorrow, we kill him.”

Alejandro looks at me, “I know Skyla is meant to be the one who can do this… no doubt she’ll need our help… but are you able to do that? Will you be able to kill your own brother?”

I look him dead in the eye and raise an eyebrow. “Did you not kill your own mother?”

He frowns slightly and I smirk coldly. “I’m not a saint like you might think. For her- I’ll kill anyone and after what he has done… even death is not enough for him.”