Chapter 76: Your tears shred my heart.
Thorns lashed mercilessly at Kai, tearing his clothes and leaving raw scratches that wept crimson trails down his skin. Yet he hardly felt the sting, consumed instead by the scorching fire erupting within his chest, it was a maddening inferno ignited by her pain. What made her so sad that he could feel it so profoundly?
How in the gods’ names had she wandered into this cursed garden?
Returning from Alvonia, he’d reached for Reneira through their mind link, panic gripping him when silence answered. Without hesitation, he followed her fragrance, propelled by fear, anger, and a substantial dread he’d not known since he’d last entered this damned place.
"Find her," he growled, releasing Shadow into the tangled gloom. "Burn this garden to ashes if you must."
Charging into the darkness, vines and roses twisted and lunged, sensing the threat, but Kai cut them away ruthlessly, heedless of the sharp agony they caused to his body. This was nothing compared to what he went through in his entire life. Halfway in, Shadow’s voice broke into his mind, urgent and sharp.
"Come quickly, to the fountain."
Kai’s heart lurched. A stabbing pain shot through his chest, stealing his breath as he sensed Shadow’s shock. Nothing could have shocked his demon to the day. "Reneira!"
A blast of magic slammed into him, staggering him back. But suddenly, the hostile vines recoiled, parting swiftly as if bowing before him. He didn’t pause to question, surging forward in a blur of movement, finally spotting her trembling figure near the fountain.
Her dress hung in tatters, her porcelain skin smudged and marred with dirt and roughness of the place. Before she could collapse, he caught her frail body, crushing her protectively against his frantic heart.