The doorbell chimes, scattering all of my thoughts.
The sound makes my heart race. My hands are trembling as I pull my phone out of my pocket. I tap on the app, and my heart sinks. It’s not Ned.
But it is two of his friends. Lello and Pink, I think. I didn’t get a good grasp of everyone’s names. But even if I didn’t have a good memory for faces, I’d know these were Ned’s friends. People he was imprisoned with, because they are both incredibly stunning. The type of people you’d definitely notice if you passed them in the street. Exactly who a crazy billionaire would kidnap.
I abandon the shopping and go answer the door. I open my mouth to invite them in. But Lello starts talking before I can say a thing.
“Ned has not been feeding and now he is not getting out of bed. He is really weak. Brodie thought he would be okay, so he left with Red to hide Jade from the Council, but Ned is not alright and he is not listening to us, but he will listen to you.”
I stare at Lello as my mind tries to make sense of what he just said. But all that I’m understanding is that Ned is in some sort of danger. And I suddenly realize that it is the only thing I need to understand.
My stomach rolls and my chest tightens. I take a step towards Ned’s friends and then I freeze.
“The kids.”
“I can watch them,” offers Pink.
Shit. I don’t know this man. But Ned needs me. I take a deep breath and try to gather my thoughts. Ned needs me. I don’t know Pink, but Ned does. He called him his brother. And while my trust in Ned has been wounded, my faith in his love for the kids is unshaken. Ned would not be friends with someone who could be a risk to his grandchildren. It just would never happen.
“Okay,” I nod. “Come in and meet them.”
It doesn’t take long to introduce Pink to the kids and the moment he agrees to play dress up with them, they are enthralled. I leave them to it and jog back to Lello, who is waiting on the doorstep and hopping foot to foot.
He has my every sympathy. Rationally, I know I’ve been gone less than ten minutes, but my heart is adamant I’ve been absent for an ice age.
“Your car?” I ask.
“Oh no!” says Lello as his eyes grow wide with alarm. “I can’t drive.”
I duck back inside, grab my keys, and hurry over to my car. Lello slides into the passenger seat and I reverse out of the driveway far quicker than I should. Lello doesn’t seem worried, though.
As I tear down the street, he starts talking again. Something about fairies and portals and Ned saving the world. And Baltazar being killed.
Wait, what? Ned saved the world?
Somehow, I’m not surprised. It’s exactly the kind of reckless, wonderful thing he would do.
“Ned saved the world and it made him weak?” I attempt to summerize.
“Kind of. He was weak before because he hasn’t been feeding. Using glamor on Jade used the last of his strength. Brodie checked him and said he’d be fine as long as he fed as soon as he woke up. And then Brodie had to run with Red to take Jade somewhere safe because he is going to be in big trouble with the Council now, because he tried to let the fey in and he killed Baltazar.”
My head is spinning. “And Ned?” I prompt. It is the only thing I care about.
“We got him home, and he did wake up, but he won’t feed. Even though Gray brought him a human. He is just lying in bed, all sad and fading away. He mutters your name sometimes, but that’s it. Carter went to try and find Brodie because they used to be Enforcers together and he knows some of the hiding spots Brodie might use. They didn’t take their phones because the Council could track them. And Gray says they are somewhere warded, so he can’t sense them.”
I suck in a breath while I try to process all of that.
“Me and Pink had the idea of coming to get you. Because he will listen to you if you tell him to feed. And he’ll be happy again if you tell him you don’t hate him.”
I wince. I don’t hate Ned. I couldn’t. It’s impossible. I was hurt. Confused. Overwhelmed and conflicted. But I never bothered to explain that to him. He might very well believe that I hate him, and I cannot bear the thought of that.
We reach Ned’s home and I throw the car haphazardly onto the driveway. I jump out of the car and follow Lello into the house and up the stairs. He flings open a door, revealing a bedroom, and my heart stops.
All the air leaves. Gravity takes its place. It pushes me to my knees and tears a scream out of my lungs.
I’m too late. I didn’t get here in time.
Ned is lying on his back on the bed. Motionless. Head tilted up slightly. Mouth hanging open. Eyelids open a tiny slit, revealing pale, lifeless, milky eyes. He is dead. Very dead.
