Free Burn With Me (Legend of the Sun Whisperers) by Christle Gray Page A

Maddelyn’s heart stopped.
    Silence.
    There was too much silence .
     

Chapter Five
     
    Maddelyn shoved a stunned Draco aside as she stumbled over to Serra’s bed, pure terror slashing at her gut.
    Please, no.  Not yet.  I ’m not ready .
    Her heart hammered as she knelt down beside the silent child. “Serra, sweetie. Wake up.”
    A hand wracked with tremors brushed aside a blond curl from Serra ’s forehead. Her niece didn’t stir.
    “ I need you to wake up, Serra.” Maddelyn’s voice shook almost as much as her hand as she struggled to remain in control. Serra’s chest was still, the familiar sound of her raspy breathing absent from the room. Maddelyn caressed the child’s cheek lightly.
    She was still warm to the touch .
    “ Please, Serra. I need you to open your eyes for me. Wake up.” Maddelyn’s voice cracked with a sob as she pleaded for her niece to open her blue eyes. Those same blue eyes had sparkled as her brother Jared teased her growing up—a trait he’d passed on to his daughter.
    A warm presence beside her brought Maddelyn back to the present. Draco kneeled beside her, a finger searched Serra ’s neck for a pulse. He cast a stricken glance Maddelyn’s way, confirming what her heart already knew.
    No pulse .
    Maddelyn fell backward to a sitting position, the room going blurry. At first, she thought it was because she was going to faint. But when she touched her face and found her cheeks wet with tears, she realized she was crying.
    Draco swiftly tore the covers off of Serra and brought his ear to her heart. Then he rose up on his knees and clasped his hands, palms out, and placed them over her chest. His arms stiffened and he used his weight to repeatedly press downward.
    At first, Maddelyn was confused by what he was doing. But when he paused for a moment and placed his mouth over Serra ’s to cause her chest to rise and fall with his breath, Maddelyn understood.
    He is trying to save her .
    Minutes ticked by as Maddelyn watched Draco struggle to save her niece. The image had played itself out before her so many times before. People trying with extreme desperation to save the ones they loved.  But in the end, death always won the battle.
    Maddelyn was acutely aware of Draco’s exertion as he continued his lifesaving efforts.  His breathing was labored, a faint glisten of sweat on his brow. How long would he try? Would it even make a difference? Could he save her niece?
    Draco lowered his ear to Serra ’s chest once again. For a split second, Maddelyn allowed hope to wiggle into the cracks of her shattered heart. Surely this was the reason Draco had appeared in her life. He was meant to save them!
    But when he glanced over at Maddelyn, the sadness in his amber eyes reached out and kicked her in the gut. “I’m sorry. She’s gone.” His shoulders collapsed in defeat.
    A guttural moan escaped Maddelyn ’s throat, so full of anguish, she was unsure it had come from her own mouth at all. She lurched forward and grasped Serra’s shoulders, shaking the little girl.
    “ She’s just sleeping, that’s all! Playing a little game, aren’t you, sweetheart? She just needs to wake up, doesn’t she?”
    Draco ’s eyes widened in pity and surprise. Maddelyn must have sounded deranged. She had just watched Draco try to save her niece, had witnessed him offering his own breath to make her live again, yet she couldn’t accept that her last surviving family member was gone.
    Maddelyn ’s heart raced wildly as she continued to shake Serra’s shoulders. It had to be a prank. Serra had just been awake, been talking to the both of them. Only moments ago Maddelyn had tucked her in and wished her good night. She can’t be dead .
    A warm hand lighted on Maddelyn ’s shoulder. “She’s gone, Maddelyn. Her little body couldn’t fight anymore. She’s at peace, now.”
    His words were meant to comfort, but burned her heart like acid instead. “Peace? What do you know of her being at peace? She