“Don’t do this,” Brynleigh begged.
Begged!
That was the final straw.
Jelisette was done. Done with talking. Done with fighting. Done with this night. Done with it all.
Do it, love.
Jelisette raised the stake.
The fae captain screamed. His rage and fear spurned her forward.
Without a second thought, Jelisette plunged the weapon towards Brynleigh’s heart.
CHAPTER 38
Is it Over?
“No!” Ryker roared.
The hands restraining him tightened, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered at all except for Brynleigh.
He thrashed and kicked and pulled. His shoulder burned, the pain getting worse with every passing second, but he could be on fire right now, and he wouldn’t care.
He had to get to her.
Brynleigh had fought her way to him. She couldn’t die now. What kind of cruel fate was this?
Ryker had promised he’d always be by her side, and he was a fae of his words.
So, he fought.
He dug within himself, and despite the prohiberis blocking his magic, despite the pain and agony and exhaustion running through him, he pulled up every last ounce of strength in his possession.
As Jelisette lowered the stake, he funneled every bit of power he had into breaking free from his captors. He shoved his arms up, slamming his good fist into the rebel’s nose. It broke, blood gushing, and Ryker used the commotion to push the armed rebel away.
Ryker barreled to his feet. His arm moved oddly, and he was prettycertain it was broken in several places, but he didn’t care. He raced across the room towards his wife.
He was vaguely aware of the other men yelling and using his escape as a distraction to fight back against the rebels, but he couldn’t focus on them.
A gun went off. Then, two more. Someone screamed.
None of it registered.
He moved as quickly as his fae feet would allow, throwing himself over the table.
The older vampire didn’t seem to notice.
“No!” he yelled again.
Finally, Jelisette looked up. Her eyes sparked with alarm before hardening once again.
It was just a moment, but it was enough.
Ryker grabbed Jelisette, one arm wrapping around her neck and the other around her middle. He landed awkwardly behind her, the weight of his body enough to shift her back a few inches. It wasn’t much, but it bought Brynleigh distance between her and the stake.
“Fight, love!” he yelled as the older vampire screamed and thrashed against his hold.