Sarah nods, also looking concerned. “Are you sick? Do you need to get back to the Shadow Realm?”
“There’s no excuse to avoid talking about it. There are no patients waiting, and no meetings, so spill,” Arianna adds.
Rosie sighs. Her wings hang off the edge of the bed and rest on the floor, like she has no energy left to carry them. “I – I don’t know. Something feels wrong. I can still feel Irena, but it’s different… draining.”
A chill creeps down my spine. That can’t be good.
She shrugs lightly. “There’s nothing we can do about it, at least until the war is over and we free her.”
Arianna and I make brief eye contact, and she gives me a look as if to say, ‘she kind of has a point.’
I frown, not liking any of this.
“Is there anything we can do to help? Even to ease the symptoms a bit?” Sarah asks, and I beam, thrilled that at least one of us has the social skills required to ask the right questions.
Rosie lifts her cupcake. “This is perfect, thanks.”
“We should get more help in the infirmary, that way you can rest more,” I suggest.
“Do you want a charm for your wings? That way you won’t have to work as hard to lift them,” Arianna offers.
High-pitched bells tinkle through the room, and Rosie’s wings snap up. She huffs at Arianna, “I donotwant a charm.” The bells settle when she turns to me. “I would like a break from the infirmary, but only so I can help in the weapons bay.”
When we all look stunned by her declaration, she elaborates, “I brewed the poison from the plant Irenatouched – the one we were supposed to kill you with. I want to coat weapons with it.”
Arianna’s grin turns manic. “Now you’re getting into the spirit of things!” Turning to Sarah, she adds, “Don’t worry, give it a few more days, and you’ll become homicidal like the rest of us.”
The encouragement in her tone is only slightly disturbing.
Sarah snorts. “No, see this is why I said you need to try surfing. It’s an all-natural stress reliever. Surfers are chill.”
“Have you hung out with Damien yet?” I ask, still convinced they’re two peas in a pod.
“Only briefly,” Sarah explains after finishing off her cupcake. “He was on guard duty while you were here.”
“He’s a runner,” I note casually.
As expected, Sarah immediately squeals and starts going on about how she can’t wait to start a pre-war runner’s group.
Polishing off her cupcake, Arianna waits for a break in Sarah’s planning before turning to me. “Alright, you’ve had enough time to avoid your problem. What’s going on?”
Reluctantly, I sigh and explain the whole ‘Leon shattered my soul, and now Sin won’t touch me until we fix it, but I won’t let him die’ situation. No one interrupts or makes me feel judged. It feels nice to get it out.
“Vivi, I say this as someone who also has a mate bond… Sin has a point. You’re asking him to do the impossible. No mate could willingly watch their other half’s soul wither away and die. This isn’t just the death of your physical body; it’s your soul. There’s no coming back from that… no finding each other in different lives.” Rosie’s tone is tentative, like she’s trying to be gentle with me.
“And you do have a habit of sacrificing yourself for others,” Sarah adds, and her fingers wring together. “I will always be grateful that you risked everything to save us, but it’s okay to let us help you too.”
Tears well up in my eyes, and I stare at my cupcake, unable to take a bite. This isn’t going in the direction I want. I’m not ready to explain how my sacrifices were made out of love, and how Sin doesn’t feel the same way.
“I’m with you, Viv,” Arianna states confidently.
Relief washes over me, and my heart swells. “You agree with me?”
She shrugs. “It doesn’t matter. I’m with you no matter what the problem is. You want to blow up a realm? Sure. You want to outlaw people who make mouth noises while chewing? I’ll start making arrests – no questions asked. I will always take your side.”
Awed, I nearly launch myself at her, but I don’t want to risk knocking over the cupcakes.
I’m definitely going to walk out of here friendless if anyone ends up withonlyone cupcake.
