“No! I don’t want to die alone!” she sobbed. Those words pierced my chest like a knife.
She blinked, her eyes wild and terrified, and for a moment, she seemed to realize where she was. I supported her as her body spasmed and twitched, and she felt over herself frantically. She gasped for air, suffocating in whatever vision she’d lost herself in. The terror she felt overwhelmed me, our proximity sending resounding, icy dread down our bond. I lowered her to the ground as her knees gave out.
Cassie sobbed as she twisted in my arms to press her face into my chest, gripping my sleeves tightly, too afraid to let go. My eyes met Zephyr’s, then lowered back to her as I embraced her, giving her the time she needed.
She muttered something, so low I almost couldn’t hear her. Panicked words escaped her lips with each breath. “I don’t want to die alone… don’t want… alone.”
The recovery of her memories had never been so violent before. In the past, they had been more of a merging of thoughts, fitting in as if they had merely been forgotten pieces of a puzzle, falling into completion. However, her human mind struggled with the weight of them. It was unnatural for her mortal body, and it resisted with each new memory. The pleasant ones had been easier for her, but the more painful ones...
It had been difficult to watch, for that was all I could do. I wished I could share the burden she carried, that I could take the pain from her. Unfortunately, I could only be there to catch her when she fell.
Her hazel eyes rose to mine finally, bloodshot and glassy. She looked over her shoulder at the others, and her body tensed when her eyes landed on Zephyr.
She cupped her hands over her mouth as she pushed away from me to stand, and she rushed to him, stopping before she reached him, as if she were afraid to get any closer. “I’m so sorry, Zeph. I—” Her voice broke, and I watched as sorrow rammed into Zephyr, his black spruce and wintergreen scent overwhelmed with the musky scent of fallen rain.
“It’s ok, Cas. This is nothing. I’ve suffered worse.” He forced a weak smile, attempting to comfort her. “Areyouok?”
Her eyes drifted around us; our gazes all focused on her. Barrett and Vincent were silent, shaken at how she’d fought while trapped in her vision. Thalia and the nearby recruits had ceased their training, now standing in horrified silence.
If I hadn’t known she’d been suffering, I would have been overwhelmed with pride at the skill and strength she’d displayed. It had taken every one of my brothers to stop her, to contain her. Her desperate cries had shattered me in those final moments, though, as I held her back. The question lingered on my lips; I wished I could let it go, but I needed to know. “What did you see?”
She turned to me, those beautiful hazel eyes full of agony. “It was Moonhaven again…”
I bit back my own despair, knowing from her reaction what she’d seen. My eyes moved to Zephyr, feeling his own pain at her words. He knew as well as I did why she’d reacted the way she had, why she’d fought so desperately.
She’d been fighting for her life... and had failed.
“I tried to save a little girl—” The moment the words left her lips, her voice cracked. I knew who she spoke of, remembered the child’s lifeless body when I’d found her.
Children were, unfortunately, a rare gift for our race, often cherished above all else. We’d been too late to save either of them, to save many lives. When Zephyr and I had found Elena, her body was ravaged almost beyond recognition amidst the countless darklings she’d taken with her into death.
Zephyr didn’t speak, his eyes burning into the ground at his feet.
I drew a deep breath. “Training’s done for today. You guys can go rest. Zephyr?” I glanced toward him, and he lifted his eyes to me. He nodded in response, understanding my meaning. He’d been hesitant toreallytalk with Cassie, to get to know her more, but he needed to. Elena’s loss had been painful to endure for him as well.
For while Elena was my mate, she washissister.
Flames crackled in the fireplace, warmth filling the room, driving out the harsh cold of winter. It had taken a few hours, but Cassie had finally settled and was resting easy in the crook of my arm, legs propped up under her as she watched the fire. Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. It was in these peaceful moments I found the most solace—just hearing her breathe, feeling her skin against mine.
If only it could remain like this.
Her eyes danced around the room before her gaze settled. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but we’ve been so busy, we haven’t really spent time here lately. Who’s that painting of?” She pointed to the painting hanging near the fireplace. She straightened, glancing back at me. “When I first saw it, I thought it was some great grandpa of yours or something, but now that I know what I know, I figured it’s you, but who’s the woman?”
I looked over the delicate skin of her painted face. The artist had been talented, but the portrait paled in comparison to her natural beauty. Her moon-like eyes burned into me as I stared, the rich, black wavy hair framing her face as she leaned against me in the picture. I remembered sitting with her as if it were yesterday.
“It’s Lucia. It was painted shortly after The Fall of Kingdoms. You were pregnant then, and after the daughter of Matthias fell, the darklings had gone into hiding for a while. It was a happy time for us, we had a chance to finally enjoy peace.”
If only our dreams had become reality. If only we had gotten to experience the joys of raising our family together. She would have been an amazing mother, and I regretted more than anything that she hadn’t even been able to hold her own child before she took her final breath.
She rose from the couch, gravitating toward the painting. I saw so much of Lucia in her, sawallher past lives in that sweet face. The striking features were more subtle in her human form, hazel eyes instead of the moon-gray ones common for our kind, eyes every immortal inherited from Selene herself. Her warm rosy cheeks took the place of the delicate, pale porcelain skin each of her reincarnations had shared before her.
No matter how much her mortal form tried to mask it, I would have known her regardless—the electric current that sparked between us with each brush of her skin, the gravity of her presence, the voice that drove me crazy with each word that slipped from her lips. She was like a drug—one I’d suffered the worst withdrawals from while awaiting her return.
“When is your next therapy session?” I asked.
She lingered a moment before glancing over her shoulder at me. “Tuesday.”
“That’s still a few days away. Do you want me to call Salwa in early?”
