Sin doesn’t like the sound of that, and he turns to Morgana. “There is no guarantee this will work. The easiest way to break the bond is for me to kill Leon. He’s still collared, and it would be easy for me to take him out.”
Morgana frowns at him. “Sin, you already know why we aren’t taking that path.”
Sin rakes his hands through his hair, agitation mounting. “Absolutely not. This isn’t happening. Killing her is unacceptable.” His tattoos flare, and he turns to me. “You are NOT dying. It’s too great of a risk to take.”
Looking around, I see that Rosie and Arianna look equally upset. Rosie is crying, and Arianna has created a puddle of darkness beneath her.
I swallow back the tears, threatening to break free. I never thought I would be so lucky to have so many people who cared about me. For so long, I thought I didn’t deserve happiness. That my past made me unworthy of ever finding love or friendship. And yethere I am, in a room full of people who are ready to go to war if it means not risking my life.
And that’s precisely why I need to do this.
I need to die.
I am far too much of a risk while bonded to Leon. I know full well how close I was to going to him back in the Underworld Realm. Once back in the grips of the Council, who knows what they would do to me to extract information about my friends? I’m a liability, and I refuse to put them at risk.
I turn to Sin, giving him a small smile. He shakes his head, and the glimpse of fear I saw in him earlier is back. “No. I’m not losing you.”
“It’s not your choice, Sin. It’s mine,” I say softly.
The rest of the room fades away. No one else matters.
Sin shakes his head again, taking a step towards me. “Not this choice. You don’t get to make this one.” His voice is hoarse, and his hands are shaking. Whether from rage or fear, I’m not sure.
“If you take this choice from me, you’re no better than they are,” I whisper back, feeling a tear fall.
Sin looks devastated by my words and stands in front of me. His hands cup my cheeks, and I can see the moisture in his own eyes. His gaze searches mine for a moment before he finally speaks, “You can’t ask this of me, kitten. I can’t do it. I can’t kill you.” His voice breaks in the last sentence.
My hand comes to his cheek in return, another tear spilling free. “I know, Sin. I’m not asking you to kill me.”
“I’ll do it,” Morgana finally weighs in on my decision, her words pulling Sin and me out of our embrace.
I turn to her and find her staring at me with a solemn expression.
“I’ll kill you, Vivian,” she finishes, standing from her desk and walking towards me.
Chapter 43
Rule forty-three:If you’re going to die, go out with a bang.
Morgana walks towards me, but I’m surprisedto see Rosie jump in front of her, holding out her hands.
“Absolutely not!” she chirps, sounding furious, as she sniffles through tears.
I sigh, “Rosie, I’m sorry, but this really is my choice and…”
Rosie interrupts me, sounding once again like the hard taskmaster she was the day of the party. “You are not dying without a proper send-off, Vivian. We celebrate birthdays, and I’ll be damned before we pass up the opportunity to celebrate your death.”
Her face is set in hard determination, and I know there’s no way we are going to talk her down fromthis. Not to mention, a tiny part of me is grateful to have a bit more time alive.
Just in case.
Nodding, I give in. “That’s a great idea, Rosie. Thank you.”
She beams before fluttering her wings. “Oh, this will be great. Don’t you worry, Vivian. I’ll make it perfect.” Rosie glares at everyone in the room. “Vivian has made her choice, and you will all celebrate her. Understood? We celebrate tonight, whether you like it or not.”
Sin gives me a furious glare before storming out of the room.
Rosie clears her throat. “Correction – ALMOST all of us are celebrating tonight.”
