Chapter 28
Karrick
It had been three days since the raid on the Emberwood Estate, and I was still sore.
I wasn’t sure if it was due to the dagger plunged in my gut or the sudden outburst of magic that I’d used against Phoenix’s parents.
Either way, my whole body was sore from head to toe, and it didn’t seem to want to disappear.
Of course, the way things were not made it hard for me to care.
Phoenix had given his all to save me, poured every last drop of his magic and energy into the wound in my belly.
He’d managed to give me the antidote too and somehow killed Thomas in the process.
It was a spectacular show of power. Up until that point I knew he was a firebug, but not much else.
I was not aware, however, that he possessed a conflagration inside him that could burn a powerful witch to cinders in a matter of seconds. It was terrifying and awe-inspiring.
But now that was over. I was back at the mansion that belonged to Atlas and his tetrad. They’d given me a room to myself filled with plush furnishings and an ethereal servant that would give me anything except what I really wanted.
Phoenix.
I felt the tears form at the corners of my eyes as I thought of him. I just wanted to hold him again, to breathe in his scent, to kiss him. But that wasn’t possible now. Not until…
There was a soft knock at the door that pulled me from my thoughts. I glanced up, sniffing the air. The scent of werewolf greeted me. It was Atlas.
“Come in,” I said, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.
Atlas stepped into the room, his golden eyes immediately finding mine. I could see the concern written across his features, the way his shoulders tensed when he took in my disheveled appearance. I probably looked like hell. I felt like it too.
“How are you holding up?” he asked, closing the door behind him with a soft click.
I let out a bitter laugh, the sound harsh in the quiet room.
“How do you think I’m holding up? My mate is in a magical coma because he nearly killed himself saving me, and I can’t even be in the same room as him.
” My voice cracked on the last word, and I had to look away, focusing on the ornate wallpaper instead of Atlas’s pitying expression.
“Caden’s with him now,” Atlas said gently, moving closer but keeping his distance. “He’s stable, Karrick. His breathing is steady, his heartbeat is strong. The magical exhaustion will pass.”
“Will it?” I snapped, whirling to face him.
“Because it’s been three fucking days, Atlas.
Three days of him lying there like he’s dead, and I can barely feel him through our bond.
What if—” I couldn’t finish the sentence.
What if he never woke up? What if I’d lost him anyway, despite everything we’d overcome?
Atlas’s expression softened, and for a moment I saw past the Alpha authority to the friend I’d known.
“He’s going to be okay. Magical exhaustion takes time to recover from, especially when someone expends that much power at once.
What Phoenix did...” He shook his head in amazement. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Neither had I. The memory of Phoenix’s magic erupting from him, consuming Thomas from the inside out, still made my skin crawl.
Not because it disgusted me, quite the opposite actually.
The fierce protectiveness in that moment, the way he’d destroyed anyone who threatened us, had awakened something deep within me.
My mate was powerful, more powerful than any of us had realized. More powerful than… me.
“There’s something else,” Atlas said, and something in his tone made my stomach clench. “About Phoenix’s condition.”
I was on my feet instantly, every muscle in my body coiled tight. “What? What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Atlas said quickly, holding up his hands. “But Caden thinks... he thinks Phoenix might be in some kind of healing trance. His magic is still active, just turned inward. He’s not just recovering… he’s changing.”
“Changing into what?”
Atlas just shook his head. “Something new, I guess. He’s being reborn in a way, free of his past life completely.
Seems kind of ironic considering his name.
” Atlas shrugged. “But Caden thinks it might’ve weakened the bond between you two.
He wants you to go to Phoenix and be with him.
To call him back to us using your bond.”
My heart nearly stopped at his words. “Weakened the bond?” I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. The thought of losing that connection with Phoenix, even temporarily, made my chest feel like it was caving in.
“It’s not permanent,” Atlas assured me quickly. “But Caden says the longer you stay away from him, the weaker it might become. You need to be there when he wakes up, to anchor him to this world.”
I was already moving toward the door before he finished speaking. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
“Because Caden wasn’t sure until now. And honestly?” Atlas caught my arm as I reached for the handle. “We were worried about you too. You’ve been through hell, Karrick. We needed to make sure you were stable before—”
“I’m stable,” I growled, though we both knew it was a lie.
I hadn’t slept more than a few hours since we’d brought Phoenix back.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him collapsing in my arms, felt that terrifying moment when our bond had gone silent, that moment I feared the worst. “I need to see him.”
Atlas studied my face for a long moment, then nodded. “It’s the room three doors from the second hall on the right. Caden’s been keeping watch, but he’ll give you privacy.”
I didn’t wait to hear more. I practically ran down the hallway, my heart hammering against my ribs. Three days. I’d wasted three fucking days wallowing in self-pity while Phoenix lay unconscious, possibly slipping further away from me with each passing hour.
The door to his room was slightly ajar, and I could hear the soft murmur of Caden’s voice from within. I knocked gently, not wanting to startle him.
“Come in,” Caden called softly.
I pushed the door open and immediately froze.
Phoenix lay in the center of a massive four-poster bed, looking impossibly small and fragile against the dark wood and rich fabrics.
His skin was pale, almost translucent, with a faint golden glow that seemed to pulse in rhythm with his breathing.
His dark hair was spread across the pillow like spilled ink, and his eyes were closed, long lashes casting shadows on his cheeks.
“He’s beautiful,” I breathed, not realizing I’d spoken aloud until Caden smiled sadly.
“He is,” the blonde witch agreed, rising from his chair beside the bed. “And he’s been asking for you.”
My eyes snapped to his face. “Asking? But I thought he was unconscious.”
“He is, mostly. But he talks in his sleep sometimes. Your name, mostly.” Caden moved toward the door, pausing to place a gentle hand on my shoulder. “His magic is still very active. I think part of him knows you’re not here.”
The guilt hit me like a physical blow. While I’d been nursing my own wounds and fears, Phoenix had been calling for me, and I hadn’t been there.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Caden said quietly, gathering his supplies from the bedside table. “The bond between you is strong, Karrick. Trust in that.”
I barely heard him leave, my entire focus consumed by the figure on the bed. Phoenix looked so peaceful, so vulnerable, that it made my chest ache. I approached slowly, afraid that any sudden movement might somehow disturb whatever healing process was taking place within him.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, settling carefully on the edge of the mattress.
“I’m so fucking sorry I wasn’t here sooner.
” My voice broke on the words, three days of suppressed emotion finally spilling over.
“I was scared, Phoenix. Terrified that I’d somehow make things worse by being here.
Terrified that I’d have to see you slip away… ”
His breathing remained steady, but I could swear I saw his eyelids flutter slightly at the sound of my voice. Hope flared in my chest, fragile but persistent.
I reached out with trembling fingers, gently brushing a strand of dark hair away from his forehead.
His skin was warm to the touch, that golden glow seeming to intensify where we made contact.
Through our bond, I felt the faintest whisper of recognition, like an echo of his consciousness reaching out to mine.
“That’s it,” I murmured, my voice steadier now. “I’m here, pup. I’m not going anywhere ever again.”
Carefully, so carefully, I shifted onto the bed beside him, lying on top of the covers so I wouldn’t disturb his rest. I turned on my side, studying every detail of his face as if I could memorize it completely.
The gentle curve of his lips, the way his lashes cast shadows on his cheeks, the almost imperceptible rise and fall of his chest.
“You saved me,” I told him, my voice barely above a whisper.
“You saved me and then you nearly died doing it, you beautiful, reckless, incredible man.” I felt tears threaten again, but this time I didn’t try to stop them.
“I need you to come back to me, Phoenix. I need you to wake up so I can tell you how much I love you, how proud I am of you, how sorry I am for not being strong enough to protect you in the first place.”
The golden glow around his skin pulsed brighter for a moment, and through our bond, I felt something shift. It was like watching sunrise break through storm clouds, gradually, but unmistakably there.
I settled in beside him, one hand resting gently on his chest where I could feel his heartbeat, strong and steady beneath my palm. Whatever was happening to him, whatever transformation Caden had spoken of, I would be here for it. I would anchor him to this world, to me, to us.
“Take all the time you need,” I whispered against his temple, pressing the softest kiss to his skin. “But remember that I’m waiting for you. We have a whole life to build together, you and me.”
I must have dozed off at some point, because the next thing I knew, I was being gently shaken awake by a familiar hand on my shoulder.
“Karrick,” the familiar voice was soft but urgent. “Karrick, are you awake?”
I must’ve been dreaming. I had to be, right? The voice… it couldn’t be who I thought it was.
I blinked my eyes open, certain I was still dreaming. But there he was. Phoenix, propped up on one elbow, gazing down at me with those orange-amber eyes that seemed to glow even brighter than before.
“Phoenix?” I whispered, afraid that speaking too loudly might shatter this beautiful illusion.
His lips curved into a smile that made my heart stutter in my chest. “Hey, big guy.”
I sat up so quickly I nearly knocked heads with him. My hands hovered uncertainly between us, desperate to touch him but terrified he might disappear if I did. “You’re awake. You’re really awake!”
“I am,” he said softly, reaching out to take my trembling hand in his. The warmth of his skin against mine was like a jolt of electricity through our bond, suddenly vibrant and alive again. “Thanks to you.”
“Me?” I choked out a laugh that was half sob. “Phoenix, I didn’t do anything. You saved me. You nearly killed yourself saving me.”
He shook his head, his fingers tightening around mine. “I felt you, Karrick. Even in the darkness, I felt you calling me back. Our bond...” He paused, his eyes taking on that distant look that meant he was feeling something through our connection. “It’s different now. Stronger.”
I nodded, feeling it too, the heightened awareness of him, like he was somehow closer to me than ever before, despite the physical distance between us. “Caden said you were changing. That your magic was doing something to you.”
Phoenix looked down at his free hand, turning it over curiously. Small flames danced across his fingertips, but they weren’t just orange anymore. They shimmered with gold and blue, colors I’d never seen in his fire before.
“I feel different,” he admitted. “Like something was burned away inside me.” He met my eyes again, and I saw a new confidence there, a certainty that hadn’t been there before. “The last thing holding me back from being completely yours.”
I couldn’t hold back anymore. I gathered him into my arms, pulling him against my chest as gently as I could while still satisfying the desperate need to feel him, whole and alive and mine. He came willingly, his smaller frame fitting perfectly against me as if he’d been made just for this purpose.
“I thought I’d lost you,” I murmured into his hair, breathing in his scent, smoke and cinnamon and something new, something wild and untamed that hadn’t been there before. “When you collapsed, when the bond went silent... I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
Phoenix pulled back just enough to look at me, his hands coming up to frame my face. “You’ll never lose me,” he promised. “Not now. Not ever.”
Then he was kissing me, and it was like the first time and nothing like the first time all at once. His lips were familiar but the magic that sparked between us was new, desperate, and powerful.
It felt like a new beginning and a promise that we’d always be together.