But instead of telling me that I was overreacting, Kole tugged me, and we began walking back to my chambers. But the entire time, his jaw pumped.
“What happened at the Council?” I asked hesitantly.
He took a breath, held it, then slowly let it out. “You were right. That vamfeer’s blood infected me. The lead healer confirmed that I have foreign, powerful magic coursing through my bloodstream.”
I froze, my feet planting to the floor. “No,” I whispered. “No. No. No.”
Everything around me began to blur.
The walls were closing in.
The ceiling was crashing down.
Kole was going to turn into a vamfeer.
My mate was going to die.
And all because he’d come with me to my uncle’s, in hopes of protectingme.
Not Kole.
Not Kole.
Not Kole.
Warm hands cupped my cheeks. A voice from far away called my name. Love, fierce and devoted, surged toward me along the golden bond billowing inside me.
“The Council is actively working to stop this.” Kole’s words finally infiltrated the fog encasing me. “I gave them that trunk of Arnel’s documents and the remaining potions. They’re combing through them as we speak. They’ll do everything they can to find a remedy to stop my infection.”
I blinked. “A remedy?”
“Yes, they have Arnel’s potions and findings. They’re going to try to find a way to reverse what’s happening inside me.”
I blinked again. “Could they do that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“What if they can’t? Or what if they don’t find a remedy in time, before you...before you—” Tears flooded my eyes. I couldn’t continue. I couldn’t bear to voice what was coming for him.
“I know.” He sounded resigned. Accepting.
Because we both knew that the chances of the Imperial Council finding a cure or developing some kind of anti-potion to counteract the vile concoction coasting through Kole were near impossible. It’d taken Tenevris’s help for Arnel to create that potion, and as strong as the Imperial Council was, they weren’t a god.
I gripped his tunic tightly. “I can’t lose you. Ican’t.”
His arms were around me before I’d finished my sentence. “I know, my love. I know.”
Sadness. Regret. Fury. All of Kole’s internal emotions flowed to me, and I knew that all of my despair and fear were flowing right back to him.
“But we still have a little time,” he said quietly. “I’m not turned yet.”
“It’s not fair,” I muffled against his chest. I wanted to punch something. Wail at someone. Curse the damned stars. “It’snot fair. You don’t deserve that.”
“I know.”
“And if I hadn’t asked you to go with me, if I hadn’t?—”
“Shh, none of that.” He squeezed me more. “I made my choices, and they were mine. I could have asked for other warriors to join us, but I didn’t.”
