Chapter 36

Xan roared out in rage as he saw Sloan fall to the ground. He moved to where she fell and cradled her head as she landed. She attempted to talk but was unable to. She lifted her hand to his face and tried to smile before her hand crumpled next to her body and her breathing stopped. Her eyes were open, staring at the bright, shining D’Arian sky that contrasted with the horror happening around them.

“You couldn’t protect the woman you loved. I may not have won the throne, but I have ensured that being the king will be a curse you wished you never had.”

Possessed by an anger he hadn’t thought would ever return, Xan rushed his brother, who jumped in surprise and attempted to run. Xan caught him before he made it three steps. He knocked Ragon’s blaster from his hand and pushed him against the giant tree next to them. Xan placed his hands on either side of his brother’s head and channeled every bit of pain, anger, and sorrow he had ever felt into that moment. Ragon let out an ear-piercing yell as his entire body shook. Ragon’s body went taut, and his eyes rolled back in his head, then he writhed as Xan pushed memory after memory into Ragon.

Then Xan hit on the memory that would cause him the most pain for the rest of his life. More than every torture session, every fight in a cage against others, it was seeing Sloan collapse after his brother’s blaster shot. Then an inhumane sound was ripped from Xan’s throat, followed by another more excruciating sound coming from Ragon as blood poured from his nose and his entire body went limp.

Xan let go of him then and let his body slump to the ground. With his brother dispatched, Xan rushed back to Sloan, who was surrounded by Cain and his men. The battle between Cain and the imperial guard and Ragon’s males was finished, and their bodies were strewn all over the garden. Xan pushed them out of the way to get to Sloan, who was still on the ground.

“Majesty, she’s still alive.” Xan knelt eyes riveted to her chest. It rose and fell in stuttering breaths. Placing his ear next to her mouth, he heard her take a thin, reedy breath. “We have called for a healer,” Cain said, solemnly. “Majesty, I am sor—”

“We don’t have time for this now.” Emotions clogging his throat, he put his arms under Sloan’s body and carried her to the palace.

“Majesty, you’re injured. Please allow us to carry her.”

Xan clutched her to his chest and ran faster, pushing his legs to their maximum. The pain from the blaster was nothing in comparison to the pain of losing Sloan. As the palace came into view, Xan pushed himself harder and stumbled as the medical team intercepted them. They had a hover stretcher and placed her on it. They took out their handheld units and ran to Sloan.

“We need to get her to the med-unit immediately.”

“What are you waiting for? Go!” he shouted, and the team took off toward the palace doors with Xan following close behind. They reached the med bay and gently slid her into the unit. The doctor was checking the screens on the side of the unit as Xan paced, trying to stay out of their way. The cover closed on the unit, and there was a frenzy of activity as more than one doctor activated buttons, shouted out orders, and loaded various canisters into the machine.

Xan jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Yaris and his mother staring back at him. He grabbed on to his sister’s arm, and his mother sat beside him.

“She came back,” he said, his voice croaking and heavy with unshed tears.

“She did,” his mom said sadly. “I hoped she would.”

Yaris sat beside him. “Cain told us what happened. What Ragon did,” she said, tears streaming down her face. She hugged him, and Xan winced as she leaned against the blaster wound. Yaris yanked his jacket back and gasped, “You’re injured.” A few of the medics in the med bay noticed his wound.

Xan had completely forgotten that he was injured. He was so completely focused on Sloan that he was easily able to push aside the physical pain he felt.

“Medic, we need a medic here. Xan needs a med-unit,” Yaris said, her eyes never leaving her brother.

“No, I want to be here for Sloan.” Xan shook his head. He wouldn’t leave her side. “I don’t want to go into a unit in case she wakes up.”

“A handheld, at least.” His mother tried to reason with him. Xan nodded. One of the medics approached with a handheld unit and pain medication injector. She attempted to press it to his neck, but he pushed it away. He didn’t want anything to numb what he was feeling in that moment. If he felt the pain of losing his soul mate, his D’Auriel, he would live with it for the rest of his life.

Looking to his mother, who Xan saw nod, the medic worked on his chest. The medic was crouched in front of Xan as she worked to repair the damage done by Ragon. She ran the handheld unit over his wound, and Xan grimaced. He felt small pinpricks run through the blaster wound as the handheld unit worked to repair the damage. Yaris reached out and handed him a tissue. Xan eyed her questioningly.

“For your eyes, Xan,” she said through tears. Xan touched his face and felt wetness cascading from his eyes. He had been so worried about Sloan, he hadn’t even realized he was crying. He wiped away the tears and prayed that the medics would be able to heal her in time. Xan couldn’t lose her now.

“Sloan is a tenacious woman, Xan. She will live.” His mother held Xan’s hand. Xan peered at her, his eyes bloodshot and drooping.

“I would have thought you would be relieved, Mother. Her death would ensure there would be no more disruptions to my life and no obstacles to the life you’ve envisioned for me.”

“Xan, I know we had differences of opinion when it came to Sloan.” He shot her a withering glare. “I am sorry. I’m sorry for all of it. It’s my fault she left in the first place.”

Xan dropped his gaze at that. “No, Mother. It’s my fault. I didn’t prove to her how much I needed her here. I didn’t work hard enough to show her that I would do anything for her.”

“Xandru, please look at me,” his mother implored, squeezing his hand. “I made her an offer, son.” That drew Xan’s attention.

“What kind of offer?” Xan whispered.

“I offered her five million credits if she left and never contacted you again.” She wept as she said it. He could feel her body trembling.

“You what?” Xan shouted, then dropped her hand and jumped up from his seat, nearly knocking over the medic who was working on him. Xan reached out to steady her and shot a glare at his mother.

“It was before our conversation in the throne room. It was before you showed me everything you showed me about her,” Venu said, biting her lip.

“You offered the woman I love—the woman I live and breathe for—five million credits to leave me?”

“Xan, please understand. I was only trying to protect you. I’m not proud of it. Especially after what you showed me and what I learned about her. I wish I could take it back, but I thought if she was willing to take the credits, perhaps she didn’t love you as much as you loved her.”

“No, Mother. That was the sacrifice she was willing to make. I’m sure she knew what she could do with those credits. What she could do for her crew and the humans she recovered. How many other people held captive could have released with that money? You touched on her one weakness when it came to those credits—her drive to help anyone and everyone she could.” Xan shook his head in disgust.

“I know. Sloan came to me after I offered it to her, on the day she returned from her ship, and told me she wanted it. I knew how you felt about her, but I didn’t want to tell you what happened,” she said, shaking her head.

“I gave her the imperial override landing codes in case she ever wanted to return. I knew how much she meant to you, but the chance that she didn’t feel the same was too much of a risk for me to take when it came to you.” She ran her hand down the side of his face. Xan knew his mother meant well, but her interference had lost him precious time with Sloan. She had played directly into Ragon’s hands, and now they may lose everything.

The med-unit alarms beeped wildly, and lights were flashing. Medics ran in from other rooms. They removed the cover of the unit and used handheld units on Sloan. Her skin was so pale. It seemed they had healed her external wounds. Xan could see the blood on her clothes, but the wounds were completely healed. Even still, the beeping and rushing medics told him that something had gone wrong.

Xan held his breath as the frenzy continued until it began to fade and medics walked away from the unit. The head medic ran directly into Xan, tripping and narrowly avoiding crashing to the floor. He needed to be close to her. He hadn’t even realized he was up and walking toward her until he reached out for her hand.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. We did everything we could, but it seems there was too much damage.” The medic tried to comfort Xan. Pushing past him, Xan roared out, then braced his hands on either side of Sloan’s head. He caressed her face.

“Please don’t leave me. Don’t leave me! I can’t do this without you,” he said, cradling her face. He brought his lips to hers, tears pouring on her face, and showed her what he envisioned for their future. He showed her how he saw her on their wedding day, glowing and walking toward him, toward their future together. He showed her how he would caress her belly when it was heavy with his child, and he envisioned their family.

He pictured the life they would have and dragged it all from the depth of his soul to push all those dreams and hopes into her. Without her it wouldn’t be possible; he needed her like he needed to breathe. Pressing his lips to hers one final time, he felt the hands of his mother and sister at his back. Sloan had come back to him only minutes ago to save his life, and now he’d lost her forever.