I’m excited until I realize no one else is cheering with relief. There’s something else he isn’t saying.
“It could cure me or?” I ask, bracing myself.
Gideon flexes his jaw.
“... Or it could kill him too.” Callum steps out from the shadows with a look of pure unfiltered agony on his face. Gideon snarls at him. “If you bond now it could either save you or kill him, depending on whose fate rises to the top.”
“It’s worth the risk.” Gideon stands to square off against his friend.
“It isn’t,” I insist, sighing as Gideon glares down at me. “I’m at peace with... running out of options if it’s only me who goes. I won’t be your death sentence.”
His expression is hard, and I can tell his mind is made up. So I play my trump card.
“Would you leave Callum all alone?”
Gideon’s face shutters, and he looks from me to Callum with a kind of helpless desperation. It’s hard to see him brought this low, but there are people who need him. I can’t be the reason his life is cut short. After a silent standoff, Gideon shoulders past Idris and leaves the room. I don’t want him to be alone right now, so I shoot Sarah an anxious look, and she follows her son out.
“So that’s it?” Callum’s voice cracks through the air like a whip. “You’re just going to give up?”
“She’s not giving up,” Idris snaps before I can argue.
“It’s not like that,” I say, keeping my voice gentle. “I’m just out of ideas.”
“I can’t... I can’t...” Callum’s voice breaks. “I promised to protect you, sweetheart. I swore that as long as you were with us, you wouldn’t have to be scared anymore.”
His devastation breaks the tight grip I had on my emotions, and a tear slides down the side of my nose.
“And you kept your promise. I’m not scared anymore, Callum, but there’s no one for you to fight. You can’t protect mefrom this,” I say. If we can’t find a talisman, I don’t want him remembering me with a cloud of guilt.
“We’ll keep looking for books, rumors, anything,” he assures me, gritting his teeth with determination. “All these talismans didn’t just fucking disappear. I’ll find them.”
I force a smile through my tears. I try to believe there’s a way through this like he does. Despite how awful my body feels, I’m able to muster up a tiny sliver of hope. It’s a fraction of the amount I felt last night when the book finally opened for me, but it’s something.
When I reach for Callum, he falls to his knees, burying his face in my neck. He takes in deep lungfuls of air like he’s trying to breathe me in and confirm I’m still here.
“I will question the folk,” Idris adds. He stands as a silent witness above us, and for some reason, his presence doesn’t bother me. “If any of my people know of a talisman, we will find it.”
“If you save her,” Callum says, lifting his head and giving Idris a long, searching look. “Gideon and I will pay anything.” For once, his tone is completely respectful, but his words seem to offend the fae anyway.
“You will owe me nothing.” Idris bites each word off angrily, but his face doesn’t show any emotion.
He steps back into my space and slides his hands to my temples. I feel the cool rush of his magic, and a little burst of energy flairs to life in my tired body.
“I’ll be back first thing in the morning,” Idris assures me, and I smile gratefully. “If you give her your blood, demon, it will help her fatigue.”
“I know that,” Callum hisses, his polite cease-fire at an end after Idris’ obvious dismissal. “Do you plan to stay for that part too?”
A blush spreads across my face as I realize Callum’s meaning.
“I wasn’t intending to linger any longer, but if you’re concerned you won’t be up to the task...” Idris drawls, rolling his eyes as Callum jumps to his feet with clenched fists. “In that case, have a wonderful evening, little djinn.”
Idris takes my hand, kisses the back of it, and then flips it over to press another kiss to my wrist. It makes my pulse race, and I know he can feel it. Before I can think of something to say, Idris disappears.
CALLUM
As I carry Sheenathrough the hallway, my mind loops through a living nightmare. Her arms around my neck are proof that she’s still here—still mine—but I’m running out of time to fix this.
Sheena is dying.What if I can’t save her?
