Thorne could barely see.
Blood trickled down his forehead, blurring his vision as he struggled to lift his head. Every breath felt like fire in his lungs, and his body screamed in protest whenever he tried to move.
Across from him, Adina lay motionless on the shattered ground.
"Adina…" Her name escaped his lips as little more than a whisper.
He tried to crawl toward her, dragging his battered body forward, but a sharp pain tore through his chest. He collapsed, his fingers scraping against the blood-soaked earth.
No. He had lost too much already. He had buried the woman he once loved and the child he had never gotten to hold. He had spent years carrying that grief, allowing it to turn him into a man who feared nothing because he had already lost what mattered most.
And now, after everything, he was about to lose Adina too.
"Adina!" he roared.
