Kara shivered at the prospect. Sally’s hand found hers, gripping tightly.
“I want to trust him. I want to believe what he says he feels for me is true,” Alice continued. “Do you know how long I’ve been on my own?”
Kara’s heart ached at the despair she heard in Alice’s voice. Kara knew exactly what it was like to have no one.
“I was an orphan. In and out of foster homes. Some good, some not.” She shrugged. “I totally get it. But you’re not alone anymore.”
“That’s what Cain said. He said I’d never be alone again. I guess if your significant other is a supernatural being, they can actually make that promise. But…” She drew out the word. “If he’s a narcissistic vampire, then that’s not really a promise you want him making. Son of a bucket, I just feel helpless.”
“No records exist about vampire-healer bonds,” Sally said firmly. “You two are unique. And he has no power over you now unless you allow it.”
Some of the defeat seemed to leech from Alice’s frame at Sally’s reassurance. Her shoulders lifted slightly.
Kara was happy to see a small spark of hope in Alice’s eyes. She squeezed Sally’s hand. They just needed to keep fanning that fragile flame.
“How have you been since waking?” Kara asked. “Any side effects?”
Alice worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “Yes. I feel off. Unsure. It’s like I don’t fit in my own skin anymore.” She shrugged helplessly. “I’m so tired of feeling vulnerable and weak. I’m ready to walk away from it all, consequences be damned.”
Kara’s chest tightened anew at the despair she heard in Alice’s voice. She knew that bone-deep weariness, that desire to just give up the fight. She’d felt that way many times while she’d been in Ludcarab’s clutches.
“Don’t go there, babe.”Nick’s deep timbre filled her mind.“You need to talk about it, then you talk about it with me, yeah.”This time, the “yeah” at the end was not a question. Kara had gotten to the point that she could tell when his customary “yeah” was meant for her to answer or a command.
“If it will help Alice, then I will talk about it with her. You just be on standby if I start to wig out.”Kara steeled her spine as she opened her mouth to speak. “I was held captive by a man named Ludcarab,” she began. For a moment, she had to pause because it felt like her windpipe was closing. Kara closed her eyes.Justbreathe, Kara. You’re not there anymore.When she felt more in control, she opened her eyes and met Alice’s gaze. “He was the king of the elves once upon a time. But like many who have power, he craved more. He wanted a gypsy healer because our power is unique. He wanted me to bear children for him.” Kara instinctively put her hand over her stomach.
Alice looked down at Kara’s bump as her mouth fell open. “He… He…” It looked like the healer couldn’t force the thought into words.
Kara knew what the woman was asking. “Nick, my mate”—she couldn’t help the small smile on her face anytime she said his name—“and I are going to have a baby girl. She’s been blessed by the Great Luna.” Kara remembered the night the goddess visited her and Nick. She recited the words that had been written on her heart. “This is your child, Kara. Yours and Nick’s. The child you said you would give up when the sacrifice needed to be made. She did not come into being in the way you expected. But she isnota mistake. Nor is she evil because of the conception that was beyond her control. She, like you and your mate, is my creation. And I have known her since before she was even a single cell.” Tears had formed in Kara’s eyes, and she wiped them away as she spoke. “That’s what the Great Luna told us. Something amazing came out of something so incredibly dark.”
Alice simply stared back at her, and tears streaked down her cheeks. She sucked in a sharp breath, as if she’d stopped breathing while Kara had been talking.
“The point is,” Kara continued, “what you’re enduring isn’t in vain. And it’s not insurmountable, nor will it consume you. We won’t let it, and neither will the Great Luna.”
Alice shook her head as she sniffed. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.” She held up both hands. “But I’m happy for you about your baby, obviously. I’m just sorry you went through that.”
Moving slowly so as not to startle the woman, Kara shifted closer to Alice and took her hand. “Sometimes the only way out of the fire is to go through it. There’s no going around, or under, or over. When the fire surrounds us, we just have to walk straight forward. But you won’t go through it alone. We’ll help you endure it and come out on the other side.”
Alice’s fingers tightened almost desperately on hers. The vulnerable hope in her eyes pierced Kara to the core.
No matter how hot the fire burned, Kara silently vowed they would walk through it with this woman. She would not be left to face the darkness alone. Not anymore.
“Thank you,” Alice said simply. “I really don’t know what else to say.”
“We need to know how you want to proceed,” Sally offered. “We won’t dismiss your feelings for Cain, but he’s broken the Great Luna’s laws. And Fane will have him stand before the fae council to be judged.”
“Why the fae?” Alice frowned.
“Because they’re sort of like the supernatural police,” Sally answered. “The high fae, like Peri, are incredibly powerful and can enforce the punishments that a supernatural law breaker has earned. Cain has earned a great deal of punishment.”
Alice’s eyes shimmered with wetness again. “What will happen to him?”
Sally clasped her hands in her lap as she stared at Alice. She appeared to come to a decision. “I think Fane will challenge him. So he will have to fight the alpha of alphas for the right to live. He has directly disrespectedCanis lupuslaws and taken Fane’s people. Every wolf is under Fane’s protection, even the dormants.”
“Who will win?”
Kara dropped her eyes. It was obvious in Alice’s voice that she knew the answer.
“Fane,” Sally said simply. “Cain might be old and powerful, but he doesn’t have the might of our Creator on his side.”
