Thornhill Academy (By Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 226

“No,” I plead. “Stay. Please. Stay with me.”

His fingers twitch once more against my cheek… Then his hand falls. His grip goes slack. The one good eye closes… And Cage goes limp

in my arms.

Something inside me fractures completely. The wraith surges, power exploding outward in a wave so violent the battlefield recoils, shadows screaming as they tear free, my grief pouring into them unchecked. Soldiers are flung backward like dolls, bodies breaking against trees and stone, magic snuffed out mid-cast as the world bends around my scream. I clutch Cage to me, rocking back and forth, my face buried against his, chest, tears soaking into his bloodstained shirt. Cassian is there, right in front of me, face pale, eyes blown wide, horror cutting straight through his composure. I reach for him blindly, fingers clawing at his jacket as if he’s the only solid thing

left in a world that’s just shattered.

“Help me,” I scream. The words rip out of me, raw and broken. “Cassian, help me. What do I do? What do I do?”

The wraith thrashes around us, responding to my panic, my grief, my terror, shadows lashing out violently as the bond inside my chest

screams for relief.

“I don’t know how to fix this,” I sob, pressing Cage tighter against me like I can force life back into him. “You’re the professor. You’re the

one who knows. Please. Please help me.”

My voice collapses into a broken sound as I cling to Cassian, shaking, bleeding, unravelling.

“I can’t lose him,” I choke. “I can’t-please-don’t let this be it.”

There is nothing left in me but the sound of my own sobbing and the weight of him in my arms.

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20:34 Thu, Jan 15

Thornhill Academy

I Love Like War

Allison

(2)

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