#Chapter 290: Gone

Alexander’s POV Lilith wasn’t moving. “No!” I dropped to my knees beside her on the grass. Lucien’s face was red and blotchy from screaming and the heat of the fire, but he was alive. He was breathing. He was okay. But as for Lilith… “No,” I whispered. I reached out with my free hand and pressed my fingers to her neck, searching for a pulse. I felt nothing—just burnt flesh that was rapidly cooling. “No, no, no.” Before I could process what was happening, another paramedic rushed over and dropped to his knees beside me. He immediately started checking her vitals, but I already knew. I could see it in his face. The way his mouth pressed into a thin line. The way he looked at me and shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “She’s…” He didn’t need to finish. I didn’t want him to. Lucien was still crying in my arms, and I held him tighter, burying my face in his soft hair. He smelled like smoke and the acrid scent of terror, but he was a