Lyana couldn’t move as the building behind her started to crumble. All she could do was stare as the rocks spilled loose, slowly at first, one dropping and rattling across the street, then another and another, until all at once the entire façade toppled, dropping almost in slow motion as the wall of solid stone made for her head, falling, falling, falling—
Something slammed into her from the side.
Lyana rolled painfully across cobblestone. Arms wrapped around her, holding her to a hard chest and closing her wings. The world disappeared as onyx feathers arched overhead.
“I’ve got you.”
The words were rough, raspy, and gone in a flash.
They reminded her of a dark cave back home.
They made her feel safe.
Two seconds later, they were replaced by a groan as the stones fell. The crunch of bones and the snap of feathers filled her ears. Lyana closed her eyes as though she could make the sounds fade, but they didn’t. The fact that it wasn’t her pain that she heard made it worse. Rafe was crushed, but still, he kept his elbows bent so he held the weight of the debris away from her body, keeping her safe against the ground beneath them. He trembled with the exertion. Another scream tore up his throat.
It was her turn to whisper. “Hold on. Hold on.”
Lyana managed to twist her palms and press them to his chest. The dark shadows receded as the area around her hands shone gold and she pushed her magic beneath his skin, trying to give him strength.
“Hold on.”
He had no breath for words, but it didn’t matter. His magic rose to meet hers, sizzling beneath his skin, so familiar, so forbidden, so frantic, a long-lost lover coming home. Their gazes met fiercely across the subtle shine of power, a moment that extended into infinity.
Then his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed. The weight of a hundred men landed on her as his muscles gave out. Her chest burned beneath the pressure. Spots filled her vision. The last thing she saw was her magic extinguish before the world faded completely.