Page 105 of The Huntmaster

Suddenly, a sharp yell and a chorus of harsh, guttural swearing shattered the standoff, coming from the shadows near the bone gate.

My head snapped back. A small faction of loyalist Vakra guards who had stayed hidden in the perimeter had emerged. They had Tyler. The human male was forced down onto his knees on the dirt floor, his hands bound, while a massive warrior held a heavy iron axe high above his exposed neck, ready to swing it down.

Toren’s back went entirely rigid. A low, thunderous growl ripped from the vanguard's throat, his massive chest heaving as his eyes locked onto the boy.

Sila sniggered, a wet, bubbly sound. "Unlock the console, star-meat. Initialise the transmitter with your bloodline, or I will have them paint this dirt with his throat before your lungs can take another breath."

Tyler looked up, his face pale and slick with sweat, the raw terror in his eyes undeniable. Yet, as his gaze found Lyra on the platform, his jaw locked in defiant bravery. "Don't do it, Lyra!" he screamed, his voice cracking. "Don't you dare do it!"

Lyra hesitated. Her chest rose and fell in short, panicked hitches as she looked from Tyler to the console.

It was a second too long.

Sila’s eyes narrowed, and she gave a sharp, definitive nod toward her men. "Do it."

In slow motion, the heavy iron axe began its downward arc toward Tyler's neck.

"No!" Lyra screamed against Sila's palm.

But Toren was already a blur.

With a terrifying, explosive display of speed that defied his massive weight, the vanguard warrior launched himself off the platform. He crossed the distance in a fraction of a heartbeat, throwing his own massive frame over Tyler’s body like an iron shield. He curled over the human boy in the nick of time.

The heavy iron axe came down.

CRACK-CRUNCH.

The blade buried itself entirely into Toren's raised forearm and hand. The force of the blow mutilated the limb, shattering the bone and tearing through the muscle until a few weeping shreds of tissue barely attached his hand.

A choked, horrified scream tore from Lyra's throat, and I let out a deep, furious huff, my teeth bared as the scent of Toren's blood filled the air.

"Stop! Please, stop!" Lyra sobbed, her defiance completely fracturing into pure, unadulterated agony. "I'll do it! Just stop hurting them! Stop!"

She looked at me then. Her eyes were swimming with an overwhelming, catastrophic mixture of guilt, desperate love, and absolute apology. Through the bond, her spirit wept. I'm sorry, Kaelen. I have to do it. I can't watch anyone else I care for get hurt.

"Lyra, no—" I lunged forward, but Sila’s blade drew a bright line of crimson on her throat.

Keeping her tear-filled eyes locked entirely onto mine, Lyra slowly extended her uninjured hand toward the ancient interface. Her fingers trembled against the cold, metallic plating.

"I love you," she whispered.

The admission rushed through the mate bond like wildfire, a sudden, blinding illumination that made my entire soul flare to life. It was the first time she had ever said it. The raw, staggering truth of those words anchored itself in the core of my being, rewriting my universe in a single heartbeat—and then, her palm pressed against the glass.

The world ended.

The ground beneath our feet jolted violently, a massive, tectonic shudder that threw the remaining Vakra guards off balance. The ancient console roared to life, its green light turning a blindingly white.

With a deafening, thunderous boom that split the air, a massive, concentrated beam of pure energy shot out from the centre of the transmitter. It rocketed straight up, cutting through the thick sulfur smoke, piercing the cavern ceiling, and tearing completely through the layers of the earth's crust before skyrocketing into the heavens.

On the primary display, a dizzying flurry of bright numbers and unknown, ancient translations began to scroll at a manic, uncontrollable speed.

The cavern shook, dust and debris raining down around us as the blinding light reflected in our eyes. The mate bond hummed between us, stronger than the roar of the transmitter. I drew a breath, desperate to reach her one last time⁠—

I know, my little star, I poured back into the bond, my own soul reaching out to twine desperately with hers through the noise and the shaking earth. I love you. I have you. Hold on⁠—

But before the final promise could reach her, Sila's face twisted into a monstrous, venomous sneer.

With one savage pull, Sila ripped the blade across the soft flesh of Lyra's neck.