“No. You didn’t.” I kept my voice steady even though everything inside me was coming apart. “The demon did that. Not you.Youdidn’t do it, Rocco.”
His eyes—god, his eyes. Red-rimmed, destroyed, looking at me like he was begging me to make it true. “It’s the same damn thing.”
"No, it's not." The voice was barely a whisper. Hoarse. Wrecked. But alive. "I'm not fucking dead yet."
Lucien stirred in Rocco's arms and winced. "Damn, you've got one hell of a bite, vamp."
A sound tore out of Rocco — half laugh, half sob. His arms tightened around Lucien for just a second before he let go, and I watched something unknot behind his eyes. Not forgiveness. Not yet. But the first breath of it.
"Lucien?" Raven dropped to her knees beside me, stretching out her arms.
He went to her immediately, pulling her against him, pressing his lips to her cheek. "I thought I lost you."
"You'll never lose me," she whispered.
I pulled Rocco into my arms. His whole body shook. I felt his tears, hot and silent against my shoulder, and I held him tighter. He held onto me like he was afraid I'd slip through his fingers.
But I wasn't going anywhere.
He was mine.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Rocco
I held tight to Selena. I could still taste the demon's presence — sulfur, thick and rancid, coating my tongue. But worse than that, so much worse, was Lucien's blood. Still on my lips. Still in my mouth. It should have surged through me like fire, given me strength the way a vampire's feed always did. Instead it sat in my gut like poison. Every swallow tasted like what I'd done.
He was my friend. And I would have killed him if it hadn't been for Selena.
Another nightmare to live down. Another face I'd see when I closed my eyes.
Selena pulled back and stared into my eyes. "We need to leave. Stay here." She ran across the chamber, scooped up the shard, and slipped it into her back pocket.
I nodded. Couldn't speak. Couldn't look at her for too long either, because the way she looked at me—like I was still worth something—made it worse.
How was I going to face the others?
I was a monster.
Again.
She came back and helped me to my feet. I put my arm around her shoulders, leaning into her more than I wanted to admit.
Across the chamber, Lucien staggered to his feet, one hand pressed to his torn throat. He grabbed the other stone—the one Vex claimed held the black magic cursing the Keep—and tucked it under his arm.
Lucien and Raven hobbled up the stairs, her arm wrapped around his waist, his hand still pressed to his throat. We weren't far behind, though every step cost me more than I'd ever admit. Selena's shoulder dug into my ribs and she never once complained. She just kept moving, kept holding me up, kept breathing like that was enough to keep us both alive.
The night air hit my face when we reached the courtyard and I nearly buckled. Clean air. No sulfur. No smoke. No screaming.
We made it out. We actually made it out.
A flap of wings echoed above us. My head snapped up, fangs baring on instinct. Vex.
But the wings that caught the light were gold, not black. Darius landed in the courtyard, folding them behind him—and stopped dead.
His face changed. I watched it happen—the easy confidence draining out of him like someone had pulled a plug. His eyes moved over Raven first, then Lucien's torn throat, the blood saturating his shirt, the way he could barely stand. Then they locked on me. On the blood smeared across my mouth and chin.
Accusation. Instant and sharp.
