There comes a moment when trying to save everyone means deciding who will die.
Only I stood between life and the death whispering in Rebecca’s ear. Her heart thudded in my ears and kept trying to slip through my grasp. I wasn’t losing her to this ridiculous war. I refused to accept the price. Time stretched likea metronome while I kept her with us through sheer will alone.Bump, bump, bump.
Ezra stomped around my lab, running his hands through his hair and muttering threats of violence toward my grandmother. I agreed with each and every one. It couldn’t happen soon enough. My hand curled around Rebecca’s. I found it grounding to touch her, easier to keep a rhythm that made sure she stayed with us. But it was taking everything I had, which meant I couldn’t let go or answer the thousand questions people were peppering me with. Couldn’t they see I was busy?
Hudson crouched before me and swiped some damp hair from my forehead. “You still with me, little witch?” I blinked. His lips thinned. “Why is she like this?” he asked.
Liz leaned over his shoulder to get a closer look at me. “My best guess is that she’s exerting herself to keep Rebecca from giving in to death.”
“She’s a vampire, and it’s been hours. She should have healed by now,” Ezra snapped.
Dayna came into view and stood next to her sister. I gave them another blink.
“I smell rotting death magic,” Sebastian added. Where had he been, and when did he get here?
“So Cora is battling Eloise’s magic, which is still trying to kill Rebecca?” Dayna wondered.
Yes. Exactly that.
“I believe so,” Liz mumbled.
My head throbbed, and my vision danced with black spots. My eyes fluttered closed to ward off the rising nausea.
“Cora, open your eyes and drink for me,” Hudson begged, pressing something against my lips.
I parted them and sucked the juice. That was good.
Indigo prodded at the magical residue left behind by my grandmother and figured out how to eradicate it. My hand tightened around Rebecca’s.
Come on, princess. I can’t do this without you. Plus, you just found your own growly shifter who is going to show you all that you deserve. This is not the end of your story. It’s the beginning. Plus, you owe me rent for the last two months. If you die now, you’ll die in debt. How embarrassing. Also, I will one hundred percent get married in a white dress from Macy’s.
Too far.
Rebecca?
Who else? No one here is strong enough to challenge the daughter of death about her wedding attire.
A smile flirted on my lips.Can you stop being dramatic and making this all about you?I demanded. Her snort was shaky and faint, but there nonetheless.Tell me how to help you.
Her fingers twitched against my own.Eloise’s magic is wrong. It’s like her’s is oil and yours is water. They are clashing inside me, and neither is winning.
That made sense, since I was first and foremost a water elemental.
I can get the aunts to help with their elements.Fire would set it alight, but would she survive it? That was debatable, which meant it was unacceptable. Earth, though? It was possible that it could absorb the oil. Wind was too unpredictable.
I think you have to let it happen,she said.
What? Not a chance.
Is Ezra here?
Yes.
She described what she needed, and my jaw ticced as my eyes flew open. “Ezra?” I croaked. Everyone froze in whatever useless job they were busying themselves with in my lab. They had better not have rearranged anything.
The burly shifter stepped forward and folded his arms. If he refused, I might actually kill him. It was time to discover if he was infatuated with the vampire princess or actually in love with her.
“She needs your blood.” He nodded and rolled up his sleeve. Of course, this part gave him no hesitation, since it was about nourishment. The next part… “And you need to take hers,” I finished.
