Chapter 222: A Contingency Plan
Mai’s P.O.V.
The world around me was crumbling.
I could hear gasps, feel the weight of a dozen stunned eyes on me, but all I could focus on was the ringing in my ears. My body felt hollow, like someone had carved out my insides and left nothing but a shell behind.
Eldur. My mate?
No. No, that wasn’t possible.
The goddess had to be wrong. Had to be mistaken. Had to—
A choked sound left my lips as my legs buckled beneath me. The only thing keeping me from hitting the ground was Liam, his body trembling against mine as I clutched at his shirt. His grip was weak, barely there, but I could feel his warmth, his presence. It was the only thing tethering me to reality.
I turned to look at him, desperate to find something—anything—that could contradict what I’d just heard.
And then I saw his face.
Liam looked like he had died. Like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, staring down into a darkness so deep, so endless, that even breathing was painful. His bright blue eyes, usually filled with warmth despite the weight of his past, were empty now. A vacant kind of sorrow, like someone had stolen the last thing keeping him alive.
I tried to say his name, but my throat was too tight.