Nyx didn't waste time and hurtled over the hay bales before Jeff even had a chance to announce the obvious results of the match. Shock sobered her, but her thoughts were still fuzzy at the edges.

Never before had she seen such a mess. Blood covered Angel's bare torso. She took a quick survey of his condition; his nose was smashed in and his ribs were broken. His fractured chest rose and fell in a jarring rhythm.

Panic choked her. Nyx swallowed the nausea rising within. Now was not the time. Not taking more than a second, she looked up, desperately scanning the crowd for her sister, but was unable to find her in the sea of cheering faces. No one was paying attention to them. Jeff raised Aluminum Carl's arm to announce victory.

"Hey!" Nyx screamed. "Hey! Jeff! I need your help. Can't you see -"

They didn’t pay her any mind. She was unsure if they could even hear her. Nyx shot to her feet and rushed to the two men, shoving herself between the sweating mass that was Aluminum Carl and the smarmy little weasel Jeff.

The crowd fell into a hushed silence. Some leaned, whispering to each other, while others stared on with morbid curiosity. Aluminum Carl stepped back, unsure what was going on or what to do about it.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" she cried, shoving Jeff for good measure. “He’s going to die if one of you don’t help me -”

"Do you want me to -" Carl asked Jeff.

Jeff held up a finger, a smirk on his narrow face. “Don’t make a scene," he hissed at her.

“A scene!” she screamed. “I’m gonna yell so loud Ivy’ll hear all the way on the mainland.”

“Look little girl,” Jeff growled. “This is the nature of the beast. Ya win some ya lose some. If I catch so much as a whisper you’ve reported this -”

“Cool it Jeff, she’s not gonna say a word.” Cassie stepped out of the murmuring onlookers and hopped over the hay bales to join her sister in the ring.

"We have to help him,” desperation softened Nyx’s tone, pleading. “He’s dying.”

Fear flashed through Cassie’s eyes when they landed on Angel’s body. He gasped in the mud, blood still oozing from his broken nose and the wound on his shoulder.

“We’ll get him out of here,” she said with a frim pat to Nyx’s arm before darting over to Angel.

Nyx hurried after her, and crouched at Angel’s side. She tried to lift him, or drag him, or something, but he was heavier than he looked. Cassie lifted his legs and finally, his dead weight shifted when she pulled on his shoulders. He groaned, coughing up another spurt of blood. They hauled Angel’s limp body out of the ring, pushing through the crowd.

The crowd shifted, thinning as some began to leave. They muttered amongst themselves, shuffling uneasily. No one wanted to meet her eyes.

They don’t want to get involved. Self-centered pricks.

At least the spectators stepped out of their way so they could leave unimpeded. Gawking eyes followed them toward the door.

Once outside, they hurried across the yard. People lingering around who had missed the fight gawked at them in a mixture of curiosity and concern. They whispered questions and speculations, but still, no one made a move to assist.

"Please tell me you brought Alistair's car," said Nyx. She struggled to keep steady while supporting Angel's weight. It was all so surreal. Everything looked distant.

In this moment, she wanted her brother more than anyone in the world.

I can hardly think straight. He’d know exactly what to do.

"I did." Cassie had gone completely pale, with wide doe-eyes. Panic crisped her irises. "Do you think he’ll be alright?"

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Can’t you see he’s dying? Stop asking stupid questions. Don’t make me say it.

"I dunno," Nyx snapped, then was immediately sorry for her tone.

How can I tell Alice? It’ll destroy him. Angel has to be ok, there's no other option.

Nyx opened the car door so they could slide Angel’s body inside. She crawled in after him. In the cramped darkness of the backseat, he looked even worse than when she first saw him. Dried blood coated his face and chest. The bandage across his shoulder came loose, the wound totally reopened, mingling with the rest of the mess. His breath rasped with every strained inhale, gurgling blood.

She cradled his head on her lap, carefully stroking his hair. Tears trailed over her warm cheeks. Blood seeped through her fingers, staining her hands. Their last conversation still echoed in her mind.

I wish things were different. Why'd I have to go and say anything at all.

Once Cassie was in the driver's seat, she threw the car in reverse and peeled down the dirt road, out of the woods. Dirt kicked up behind the tires.

"Where do we go?" Cassie asked. "Do we take him home? To Julian?"

Stop asking me so many damn questions. I don’t know anything!

"What's Julian going to do for him?" Nyx couldn't take her eyes off his face. "He'd find a way to berate Angel's corpse if he could."

"The clinic? They could do something? Right?" Desperation tightened her voice. "We don't have enough time to get Aiden to send us to the mainland."

They’ll report this to Watcher Liz for sure.

"What other choice do we have?”

Fuck, I hope Jeff doesn’t make good on his promises.

A shiver crawled up her spine.

“Jeff never should have let him fight Carl. That was ridiculous," said Cassie.

"They have no fucking sense," Nyx muttered. "He’s a greedy piece of shit. Honestly, I can blame Jeff all I want but Angel put himself in there. I don't know what goes through his head sometimes."

She imagined an alternative evening. One where she hadn’t brought up moving, hadn’t snapped and stormed off. When he’d asked her what she wanted for her birthday, all she’d say is, ‘you.’

He’s all I’ve ever wanted.

Their high-school’s final dance came vivid to her mind. She’d thought he wasn’t going to go. He’d complained for months how lame it’d be, he’d hardly graduated to begin with and there were far better parties to attend, but he showed up anyway. He had looked so proper in a suit, she could hardly believe it was the same person. Angel danced with her until they decided to slip out and spiked some punch with the flask he’d snuck in. They left Alistair and Cass on the dancefloor and crouched under the bleachers outside in the field. She didn’t mind the dirt on her dress.

Every bump of the dirt road jostled the car and Angel groaned in pain. At least he was still alive, and for that she was grateful. Nyx intertwined her fingers with his, but his hand was limp. The road was so dark, she couldn't even see the trees. Their headlights lit a narrow strip of dirt road. Cassie drove far faster than she had any right to on these back roads.

Angel gasped. He coughed, blood pouring from his mouth. His chest stopped rising. Nyx leaned forward, listening closely for his breath. Every crunch of gravel or gust of wind against the vehicle deafened her.

"Fuck, he isn't breathing!" Nyx exclaimed. Her voice trembled like the words were spoken by someone else.

"What do we do?"

"Just keep driving."

Paying no mind to Angel's injuries, Nyx leaned forward, locked her arms and put her hands on his sternum. She pressed in with all her weight, pumping compressions. It had been years since she had taken the course in high school, but she figured something would be better than nothing.

"How long can you keep that up?" Cassie asked.

"I don't know." Nyx's arms were already heavy. Sweat coated her chest and back. "Please hurry Cass."

Each thrust was weaker than the last. She panted with the effort, refusing to give up. Her muscles burned.

Don’t die. Don’t die.

Life flashed before her eyes, a mixture of memories gone melding with a wave of longing for a future he may never see. All the hope she’d woven through the years unraveled into a tattered disillusionment. The Angel she yearned for was lost under a tidal-wave of self-destruction.

Don’t let it be too late. It’s not too late.

Angel lurched, gasping.

A flare of blue light glowed in the center of his chest. Nyx yanked her hands up and away.

"What the fuck?"

Cassie jerked the steering wheel, pulling over to the shoulder of the road. The light grew and expanded throughout the rest of Angel's body, washing him in electric blue waves.

"What's going on?" Cassie exclaimed.

The blue fire reflected in her eyes.

"I dunno." Nyx's heart sat in her throat, throbbing. Her fingernails dug into the fabric of her jeans.

The light continued to expand, swallowing them all. There was only warmth and weightlessness. A sense of dreamy calm washed over her. Eternity passed across minutes within the light. It enveloped her vision and swallowed her up. Angel glowed azure in the center like the heart of a flame.