KODA'S POV
The palace doors burst open like thunder breaking through silence. My bare feet slapped against marble floors as I stumbled into the great hall, blood coating my tongue and lungs screaming for air. The moonstone's poison still crawled through my veins like liquid fire, but nothing could have stopped me from getting here.
Not when I saw her.
Ayasha knelt at the execution block, her dark hair spilled across the bloodstained wood. The executioner stood over her like death itself, his massive axe catching torchlight as he raised it high above his head. The blade gleamed sharp and hungry.
Time slowed to a crawl. I could hear my heart hammering against my ribs. Could taste copper and desperation. Could feel the mate bond screaming through every fiber of my being as it recognized the threat to what was mine.
"No!"
