*Rhys*
Blood dripped from my brow, mixing with the dirt and ash beneath me as I hauled myself up from where I'd been thrown—where Saoirse had thrown me.
My muscles screamed in protest, but the pain was nothing compared to the wrenching of my heart at the sight before me. Saoirse, her fiery spirit now a literal blaze of dark magic, stood surrounded by the terrifying splendor of the dragon staff's power.
"Please," I whispered through gritted teeth, my voice lost in the roar of energy surrounding her.
I knew then with a clarity that outshone the chaos that I would do anything to save her—to save us. With a cry torn from the depths of my soul, I lunged forward, arms reaching for the love that had become my everything.
"Saoirse!" The name that meant freedom became a desperate incantation as I charged, willing it to bridge the chasm of the darkness.
