“I hit my head,” I told the room, because that had to be the only explanation for these weird memories.
Wren. Lena. Lena. Wren.
My mind was a jumbled mess.
“Her life force is thin,” Blake said, looking at me with squinted eyes.
“No!” Castiel growled. “From a hit on the head? It doesn’t make sense.”
“She’s lost a lot of blood, look at her shirt.” Blake pointed and I blinked; there were two of her, each version blurrier by the second.
“It’s Lena’s birthday today.” Natalie reached out and stroked Castiel’s arm, but he shrugged her off.
“I know that,” was all he said.
She was trying to tell him that I was dying. This was it. Whether I was Lena or Wren didn’t matter, I was going to go. Maybe we both were. Maybe Leah was lying in Brayden’s arms right now fighting for consciousness. When Wren had taken Lena’s curse, maybe it went into the both of them.
“In a world where we can live forever, there is no one else I would want to do forever with,” I mumbled, and Castiel froze, turning to face me with wide eyes.
“Wren.” The word was a sob on his lips as he fell to his knees beside me.
“I don’t know. I remember him too,” I whimpered.
“Who?” Natalie peered over at me with concern etched all over her face.
“Brayden,” I mumbled, and it caused Castiel to reel backward.
I fully broke down then. The dizziness, the blurred vision, my impending death. Brayden, Castiel, Lena, Wren, it was too much for me. I sobbed as my heart shattered into a million pieces.
All I wanted was to be loved, and neither of these men would do that until they knew who I was. It didn’t matter anyway. I was dying and I wanted Brayden. Someone I couldn’t have.
Blake slipped her hand over my chest and a single tear fell from her cheek.
“If she’s Lena and the curse is taking her, I can’t stop it,” she said. “But if it’s blood loss, we might be able to save her.”
Axel placed a hand on my left ankle and Gabe on my other ankle, as if trying to tether me to this world. Castiel pulled my hand in his and brought it to his lips.
“Whether Lena, or Wren, we love you,” he said, and that finally broke me.
“Always,” Blake agreed as she placed a hand over my forehead.
I was loved, I realized. Lena and Wren were both beloved wives to amazing men and sisters to these beautiful women.
My head rolled to the side and a sharp pain sliced through it. Castiel watched me with a gut-wrenching expression.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, my fingers reaching for him when everything went black.
TWO
I awoke with a start, my body jerking as my eyelids snapped open.
“Why isn’t she dead!?” Lora screamed.
I felt the cool marble floor beneath me and noticed my blurry vision and headache were gone. Reaching up, I probed the place I’d been injured only to find there was no wound. Just a faint thick scar.
“Something has happened to the curse,” one of the other Fae Lords said. I think it was Ellaria.
I froze, lying there as still as a corpse while the click-clack of heels reached me.
