He took a few shallow breaths and turned toward where Lucie was. He needed to get to her and make sure she was okay. The world around him began to blur, and he blinked rapidly. He couldn’t lose consciousness now.
He heard a sound that sent a jolt through him … the high-pitched scream of his mate. He wasn’t sure exactly where she was, but somehow he found the strength to run to her.
He arrived to see Lucie and Myra kneeling next to Abe, blood oozing from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
“You can’t die now. How am I going to punish you for leaving me in that energy drain for so long?” Myra said sadly. When Abe shifted back from his wolf form, Lucie had rushed over and found the crystal that had bound Myra, then released her from the barrier. Her princess was pleading for her to help Abe, but there was nothing she could do for him.
“Why, Abe? I’m not a wolf. Why?!” Lucie cried as she gripped the demon’s hand.
“We don’t know what effects it could have had on the baby,” Abe said, his voice ragged.
Lucie looked up at Derrick. “Isn’t there a way to contract his soul again?”
Derrick knelt beside Lucie, his body moving before his mind could catch up. She turned her face toward his, and somethingin her expression shattered him. It was something deeper, something that had already moved past hope into grief.
“What about you? Will you be okay?” She bit her bottom lip and looked at his arm, tears falling down her cheeks.
“Shh … I’ll be fine. This can’t kill me, Lucie.”
“He won’t be able to stay conscious for long like that, though,” Myra added, and Derrick shot her an annoyed look.
“Don’t worry about me, okay?” Derrick pursed his lips together as he looked at Abe, slowly shaking his head. “There is no second contract for a soul. I’m sorry, Lucie.”
“No. There must be something. My aunt Reiya and Xander were able to save Caden. Maybe I can do something too. I?—”
Abe squeezed Lucie’s hand as he choked on his blood, more pouring from his mouth. “Lucie, it’s okay. It’s an honor. It’s my penance. I’m just happy you’re safe.”
“You can’t leave us already, Abe. You can’t! Please don’t go …” Lucie’s bottom lip quivered and her nose stung. This hurt. Her chest felt constricted as the pain of this inevitable loss hit her.
“Hey, I already died once. There’s nothing to it,” Abe said with a crooked grin, his teeth stained with blood.
“This potion is working faster than the others. It seems to have been enhanced,” Derrick observed.
“It made him shift instantly.” Lucie watched Abe’s face contort in pain as his breaths became more shallow.
“Thank you, Lucie. Because of you, I felt what it was like to have a family. Thank you … for showing me what real love is.”
“Please, Abe!” Lucie sobbed.
He gave her a strained smile. “Tears don’t suit you, princess. Don’t cry for me.” Abe took a struggling breath, his life fading. His eyes stayed on Lucie, and a faint smile rested on his lips. “I’m happy.” His chest stopped rising, and his face froze. Just like that, he was gone.
Lucie lowered his hand, placing it gently by his side. She then turned into Derrick’s chest and began to sob.
Derrick’s body trembled beside her, each breath shallower than the last. She could feel the exhaustion pouring off him in waves, the poison dragging him under bit by bit. His skin had gone pale, almost gray in the low light, and the hand he had braced against the ground shook under the weight of holding himself up.
Then her energy answered. It rose from somewhere deep inside her. She felt it caressing him and intertwining with his energy again. Only this time, something else rose with it. A second current, softer, brighter, threading through her own like a ribbon of pale light. White magic, gentle and luminous, wove itself into the familiar heat of her power. The two braided together as they flowed into him, her gold and this new white, winding around each other as they slipped beneath his skin.
The effect was immediate. The gashes on his arm began to close, the torn skin knitting itself back together in slow, deliberate waves. The angry red of the poison faded from the wound’s edges. The acid burns stopped hissing against his flesh and quieted, leaving smooth skin behind. She watched color return to his face, watched his shoulders lift as the trembling eased.
He looked at his arm and then back at Lucie. “Thank you. I feel better now.”
Lucie shook her head. “That wasn’t me. I mean, I didn’t know what I was doing. I guess the magic took over on its own, connecting because of our soulmate bond.”
She turned to Abe again, tears flowing down her face. “It’s my fault. He’s dead now because of me.”
“Lucie, this isn’t your fault. It’s that damn witch’s fault.” Derrick pulled Lucie back into his chest and leaned his head intoher neck. He could actually comfort her now that the poison was no longer an issue.
Derrick heard footsteps approaching. He glanced up to see Jasper, with Justice leaning on him for support. That answered his other question about how they were doing. He saw their shock seeing Myra alive. Then their gazes fell to the ground in front of him and Lucie.
