POV: Soraya
Night in Ashra always felt heavy—like the desert exhaled its heat and sorrow into the halls at once. I had finally started breathing easier after the long, exhausting day. Vienne slept across the fortress, Tazir likely curled around her like a shield. Kaide was on night patrol. Baltimus… Baltimus had retired earlier than usual, claiming he wanted to meditate before dawn decisions.
I drifted into sleep with the soft hum of Zehrael magic under my ribs.
Then—
A sound.
A sharp exhale. A wet thud. My wolf shot upright inside me. My eyes snapped open.
“Baltimus?”
Silence. Then a ragged, strangled groan.
I bolted out of bed, bare feet hitting the cold stone.
“Baltimus—?”
I pushed open the door to the adjoining chamber—
And the world came apart.
Baltimus knelt on the ground, one hand pressed to his stomach. Blood—too much blood—spilled between his fingers, pooling on the floor like poured ink. His bronze skin looked pale under the torchlight.
A shadow fled out the open balcony window—light-footed, swift, vanishing into the night.
“NO!” I screamed.
I dropped to my knees, hands trembling as I pulled Baltimus toward me. His head fell against my chest, breath shuddering.
“Soraya…” His voice was a rasp. “A man… Saren colors… Zarek’s crest… he came for me.”
“Don’t speak,” I begged, already pressing glowing palms to his wound. “Don’t—just hold on. Baltimus, hold on.”
Warm magic surged from my hands, desperate, frantic.
Silver light spilled over his torn flesh.
But the wound didn’t close.
It barely even responded.
“No,” I whispered. “No, no, please—let me fix this. Let me—just let me—”
He lifted a shaking hand and touched my cheek.
“You’ve done enough.”
Tears blurred the entire room.
I shook my head, refusing the words. “Baltimus—don’t you dare say that. Don’t you dare leave me. Not after everything. Not after you—after Zehrael—after—”
I couldn’t breathe.
His eyes softened, that same warm, steady strength I had come to rely on.
“Soraya… you were the blessing of my people. You brought life back to us.”
“Then let me save yours!” My magic cracked, flaring too bright. “Let me—”
He gripped my wrist weakly.
“Listen to me. A wound poisoned by Zarek’s assassin cannot be undone. Not by regular healing. Not by Zehrael magic.”
“That’s a lie.” My voice broke. “It has to be. Baltimus—please—stay. Fight.”
He exhaled a faint, broken laugh.
“I fought. I always fought. But now… now I trust you to continue what we started.”
Footsteps thundered down the hall. Doors slammed open.
Kaide burst in first, sword drawn, face pale.
“What happened—?”
Behind him, Vienne gasped.
Tazir cursed.
Healers rushed forward.
Then Raevan entered.
His gaze cut through everyone, then landed on the blood, on Baltimus, on me—and something wild flashed in his eyes.
His voice ripped out like a storm.
“WHO DID THIS?!”
The question vibrated through the room, his wolf clawing beneath his skin. But I couldn’t focus on him. I couldn’t focus on anything except the fading pulse beneath my hands.
“Baltimus,” I whispered desperately. “Stay with me. Stay—”
“Soraya,” he breathed.
His eyes—normally sharp, calculating—looked blurred, dimming.
“I know you never loved me as a mate. But you cared. And that… was enough.”
“It wasn’t enough for me!” I sobbed. “I wanted you alive. I needed you alive. Baltimus—please—”
He smiled faintly, the corners of his mouth lifting with the softness of a man who accepted fate long before it arrived.
“You were… my greatest honor.”
“No—no—don’t—”
His breathing hitched.
Raevan stepped closer, voice shaking despite its harsh edge.
“Soraya… the healers need space—”
“DON’T TOUCH ME!” I screamed without looking at him.
He froze.
Baltimus’s fingers brushed my arm one last time.
A slow exhale left his lips.
“Soraya… my Luna…”
His hand fell.
His body went still.
“No.”
The word ripped out of me raw.
“NO. NO—BALTIMUS—PLEASE—”
I clutched him to my chest, rocking, sobbing so violently the world shook around me. My magic burst uncontrolled, cracking the floor beneath us with silver fissures. Vienne cried out, shielding her face. The healers staggered back.
Raevan didn’t move.
Kaide knelt beside us, head bowed, grief tightening his jaw.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Soraya… I’m so sorry.”
But I couldn’t hear.
I couldn’t think.
I pressed my forehead to Baltimus’s, tears falling onto his silent skin.
“You didn’t deserve this,” I whispered. “You didn’t deserve any of this. You gave me a home. You saved my life. You taught me peace. You—”
My voice collapsed.
Raevan slowly approached, kneeling inches from me. His voice came low, rough, as if dragged across broken glass
“We will find who did this,” he swore. “Zarek or whoever he sent—Ashra will tear the desert apart. I swear on my life.”
I didn’t answer.
Baltimus’s blood still stained my hands. Stained my clothes. Stained the stone.
A healer quietly covered Baltimus's face.
I shook my head violently.
“Don’t,” I whispered. “Not yet. Please—not yet.”
Raevan’s jaw clenched. His breath trembled.
“Soraya…”
He reached toward me—slow, careful.
I didn’t pull away. I didn’t push him off. I was too broken to move.
His hand hovered near my shoulder, but he didn’t touch me. Not while my grief filled the room thick as moke.
Vienne cried softly. Tazir wrapped an arm around her. Kaide stood guard like a silent mountain.
And I—
I held the man who had been my safety.
My anchor. My unexpected friend. My partner in survival. Baltimus.
Baltimus, who didn’t deserve this end. Baltimus, who should have lived beside me for decades.
My voice cracked open as I whispered into the quiet:
“I loved you, you know.”
Not the romantic kind. Not the kind Raevan had burned into me. But a deep, tender, unwavering loyalty. The kind that made grief sharper than knives.
And in the silent, broken chamber of Ashra, with blood cooling against my palms, I cried until there was nothing left inside me except a hollow, echoing ache.
Baltimus was gone.