“I won’t leave you,” I muttered, refusing to part from her side.
“You will if I ask,” Ava replied, with what I hoped was all the love she had left for me. “I can handle things, and so can the rest of us. I have enough help, but I won’t be able to focus if I’m worried about you. I’ll come to you when I’m done.”
I had to honor her request, because my body wasn’t giving me any other choice. I wasn’t well enough to fly, so the guys helped me off of Oberi and into a royal van. I couldn’t sit up, so I was laid on a stretcher in the back.
“Oberi, go with him,” Ava commanded. Oberi transformed into a husky to hop into the back.
After a moment’s pause, I heard Ava add, “Eddie, you better go, too.”
“Absolutely, princess.” Eddie didn’t fail to follow her order, jumping into the van beside me.
Every bump in the road made my stomach lurch, and the weaving of the car made me dizzy. I let out an involuntary moan at the jarring of the van.
Surprise dashed through me when I felt a rough and callused hand hold my own.
“I’m here, sire.” Eddie squeezed my fingers tightly. “I’m not going anywhere. I never will.”
Though my mouth was dry, I managed to rasp, “I know.”
There were tons of medical staff waiting once we got back to the palace. I was rushed to the hospital, where a multitude of healers started working on fixing me and mending my back.
It took a while, but eventually, I recovered from the worst of my blood loss and was able to stand on my own. I was still exhausted, but the flesh on my back was completely clean, like I’d been remade brand-new.
I was thanking every god in the Blessed Haven for the miracle that was magic. Without it, I’d definitely be dead. I was sad I didn’t get to be with my grandfather… but happier I’d made it through, because I got to stay here with Ava, and my son.
Eddie didn’t part from me for a second. He stayed with me constantly, and helped me back to my quarters once the healing was done. He helped me change out of my bloody, ragged clothes and into new ones, aiding me into bed. I laid down against the pillows, and finally, the world managed to right itself again.
Sprigs jumped onto my chest. He emitted a tiny wail, then threw his twiggy arms around my chin in a little plant hug. He couldn’t understand what had happened out there, but he seemed happy to have me back.
Eddie sat at my bedside. “Are you truly sure you’re all right, sire?”
Through my cracked lips, I gasped, “I wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for you. You bought me time. You saved me.”
Eddie sniffed. “Well, sire, it was simply what I had to do. I heard you cry out, and I knew it was for me. I couldn’t resist your screams. They cut into the core of my soul. So I came.”
I unsurfaced the one thing I’d been wanting to say to him for months. “I’m so sorry, Eddie. For everything.”
“I’m sorry, too.” Eddie cried at the simplest of circumstances, but his tears were justified now. “I never wanted to be apart from you. Our bond breaking was a bitter division that I regret with the fullest of my being now.”
“I regret it, too. I wish I hadn’t done it. It was a hasty decision.” I tasted salt as a bead of water dripped against my mouth. “I was blinded by rage when Alistair escaped. I couldn’t understand that you didn’t have any part in it.”
Eddie cleared his throat. “I am upset with Alistair as well, but I cannot ask him why he did what was done. That is in the past. We must move forward now.”
“You didn’t have to come to my defense, because we’re not bonded anymore, but you did. You didn’t give up on me even after everything I did to you.”
“Of course I did. I cared for you through everything, and I care even now,” Eddie insisted. “I could never be truly angry at you for what you did. I was devastated that you had lost your way, but you seem to have found it again.”
“I hope so. I… I want to make things right with everyone. Especially her.”
“She will forgive you, as I have,” Eddie promised. “Our magical bond may be severed, but no one can break the bonds of friendship. I have learned the valuable lesson that the magical bonds one is born with are not nearly as important as the emotional bonds one cultivates through life.”
I nodded slowly. “They’re not. I thought I was alone, and that I didn’t have anybody to help me get through this world, but I was wrong. I have great brothers that keep taking care of me, no matter how much shit I put them through. Chancey. Marcus. Ez. And you.”
Eddie’s voice wavered, on the precipice of great loss, and rediscovery of what we’d once left behind. “Magical bond or not, you will always be my brother.”
Eddie threw his arms around me, squeezing me to him. I hugged him back and knew he was right about the brotherhood we shared. I hated not having Eddie around, but his intentions were clear. He didn’t serve me because he had been obligated to, and never had. He’d been here for me because he wanted to be. And to be honest, that was all I wanted in the first place.
“Brothers for life,” I promised. “And even beyond.”
