Lo’s throat bobbed as she looked me in the eyes and whispered, “Drive her through your heart.”
I choked on my spit, completely caught off guard by her idea and spluttered, “Are…are you fucking serious?”
While I knew driving a sword through my heart wouldn’t kill me now that I’d changed, it would still be a pain I never wanted to experience in my life. Healing from that would be an immense process that would probably knock me on my ass the rest of the day.
Tossing her sword to the ground, she came to stop in front of me, holding my shoulders tightly as she reassured me, “If you don’t want to do this, I understand. It’s insane, but I think we’re running out of time to find the connection when you really need it.”
I swallowed, the motion feeling like I was forcing cement down my throat as I contemplated her idea. My eyes danced around her face as I shook my head.
Was I seriously about to run my sword through my heart?
Her warning to keep my mates from hearing this plan made so much fucking sense now. There’s no way they’d ever let me do it.
It was a gamble. Either way, I’d be susceptible as I focused on healing afterward. If anything happened during that time, I’d be shit out of luck without someone to protect me. But what’s the point in having three big, strong mates if I couldn’t get them to dote on me when I was down and out?
Fuck, I was going to do this.
“Have blood ready for me to drink in surplus at the end of this,” I finally relented as I took a few steps back from her to give myself enough room.
“Girl, I’ll force feed you the blood myself if you don’t have the energy,” she answered, placing a hand over her chest as if in sympathy of what a sword through the heart was going to feel like. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you while you heal. You have my word.”
She reached out with her pinky, and I smiled at the simple gesture, glad to see the tradition transcended species. Reaching out with my own, we linked them together and shook.
With a deep breath, I dropped her pinky and took Devorare’s hilt into both hands, guiding the tip of her flaming blade over my heart to the best of my ability with her size.
If this worked, Devorare and I were going to have a stern talk about how fucking insane she was for choosing this as our bonding method.
Chapter18
ALINA
Istood there for what felt like an eternity, trying to hype myself into actually plunging my sword through my heart, but each time I began to press in, I chickened out. Blood dripped down my chest, soaking my sports bra at the small cut I’d continued to reopen from my attempts.
Panic gripped me, and I turned my attention to Lo. “Fuck, I don’t think I can do it. My brain keeps convincing me that I’m a human and that this is going to kill me.”
She blinked once before grabbing her sword from the ground and sighing heavily. “Fine, fine. We’ll stab ourselves at the same time, so you aren’t in it alone, alright?”
My head reeled back, shocked by her suggestion. “Lo, no,” I argued, shaking my head emphatically. “You don’t need to stab yourself too.”
This whole situation was already crazy enough.
Waving her hand as if she was just going to join me in a dance, or something equally insignificant, she moved her own sword over her heart. “It won’t be the first time I’ve been stabbed in the heart, but it will be the first time it’s happened on purpose.”
I stared at her with my mouth open as she tipped her head back and let out a cackle, eyes dancing with mirth as she collected herself and cocked an eyebrow at me. “How much do you think Drake is going to regret introducing us when he inevitably ends up down here the second your pain breaks through the bond, and he finds us with swords in our hearts?”
The image actually got a smile out of me.
“Oh, he’s going to be cursing us out and regretting letting you take over Lincoln’s position as my trainer,” I agreed, chuckling for a moment before I pinned her with a look. “Seriously, though, put the sword down, Lo. I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s not needed.”
A grin I could only describe as insane took over her face as she mused, “What’s that saying, friends who stab themselves together stay together?”
I blinked twice. “That is absolutely not a saying.”
With a shrug of her shoulders, she retorted, “Well, it is now, bestie.”
Clearly, there was no talking her out of it. With an exasperated and dramatic sigh, I caved. “Fine. Let’s do this, but Lo?”
She tilted her head to the side, smiling still, “Yes, Al?”
