Chapter 14 The Decision
The Decision
Cora
I was going to die in this bed.
Pain was the first anchor, dragging me back to a consciousness I didn’t want. It was a cold fire that started in my chest and spread outward. An impossible mix of burning and freezing clawed at my skin, as if every nerve ending was being torn apart and cauterized at once.
Fragments of memory surfaced through the agony, not thoughts, but fractures in reality.
The absolute black of the chamber. The viciousness in his eyes.
The memory of my own screams, a sound that felt like it had belonged to another woman, echoing off the stone as he held me down. The taste of his rage.
My eyes cracked open to a world of blurred shapes and harsh, unforgiving light. The Omega Suite swam into view, transformed by the chaos around me.
Cassandra Reed knelt beside the bed, her hands glowing. I flinched as she moved to touch my forehead. The warmth from her palm felt wrong, a sickeningly intrusive heat against skin that was already burning from the inside out.
“She’s waking up,” Cassandra said. “Cora, can you hear me?”
I couldn’t bring myself to answer. My eyes were drawn away from Cassandra. To him.
Damon stood near the window, shadows coiling around his feet like restless hounds. A hot flush of shame and terror crept up my neck, my hands curling into fists under the sheets. The man who had broken me was watching me like I was a problem to be solved.
Cassandra kept her touch gentle, a glowing anchor in the chaos. “Don’t try to move. You’ve been unconscious for three hours. The contamination did a lot of damage.”
Contamination? The word barely registered through the fog in my mind. My chest burned. I tried to sit up, but my muscles were limp, unresponsive. The pathetic attempt sent a fresh wave of agony lancing through my nerves.
“W-What happened to me?” I stammered.
Cassandra pressed her lips into a thin, white line. “An unexpected interaction between Olympian legacies. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t see it coming, even when I was treating you. We went to your laboratory and retrieved your suppressant. I’ve already administered it, but—”
My mind snagged on one detail, a memory that felt like a dream. The loading dock. Soot-covered faces. “Evergreen…” I pushed the words out, desperate. “I thought I saw… Is Theo okay? He’s safe, isn’t he?”
From across the room, Damon finally moved. “He’s fine. The lab sustained damage, but no one was seriously hurt.”
No one except me. The realization was a shard of ice in my gut. I jerked away from Cassandra, wanting nothing more than to chase her off.
Damon took a half-step forward, then stopped himself. “Cora, I know you’re angry. But please, don’t be stubborn. Let her help you.”
I met his eyes without flinching. Even during our worst fights before, even when I’d clawed his face and fought him with everything I had, he’d never actually harmed me. Not like this. I’d genuinely thought he never would. I’d thought he wasn’t capable of what had happened in the Shadow Chamber.
But I’d been wrong.
I bared my teeth at him in a mockery of a smile. “Or what?”
Before he could answer, the suite door slid open. A dark-haired woman entered, her skin so pale it seemed to drink the light. Her sharp cheekbones and the severe cut of her suit were so reminiscent of Damon it made my stomach clench.
Behind the woman came a familiar, heartwarming figure. It was Helena, elegant in House Hera colors, and more frantic than I’d thought she could be.
“Cora! Hera help us…” She rushed to my side, her eyes taking in the scene before her gaze landed on Damon, hard as flint. “Damon. What did you do?”
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He looked… broken. Good.
Helena let out a slow, sharp breath. “Actually, you know what? Whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it. Get out.”
Damon’s entire body went rigid. “Helena—”
“Now.” She straightened, and though she was a head shorter, she seemed to tower over him. “You aren’t helping her by being here.”
The dark-haired woman placed a hand on Damon’s shoulder, a familiar gesture that sent an uncomfortable twist through me. “I’ll stay, Damon. I’ll keep you posted.”
He gave me one last look, and through the chaotic storm in his eyes, I saw an expression of agonizing remorse. Then he turned and was gone.
The woman approached the bed, taking a seat beside Cassandra. “We haven’t met. I’m Elara, Damon’s cousin. I know this is difficult, but we’ll do our best to help you.”
His cousin. I’d heard her speak through the security system before, but somehow, we’d never crossed paths throughout all my time at the estate. I pushed myself up on my elbows, the effort making my own voice crack. “If you’re his family, then tell me. What happened in that chamber?”
“Our House has a unique connection to the Shadow Realm,” Elara answered. “It’s a place between worlds, a font of our power. During the… incident… the realm used the temporary bond as a conduit. It attacked you.”
My breath hitched. “Why? Why would it do that?”
Helena let out a weary sigh, her fingers finding my wrist. “Oh, child. It doesn’t hate you. That’s the problem. The affinity between House Hades and House Demeter is ancient. Normally, that would be a protection. But you… you are different.”
Elara looked down at her lap, choosing her words with care. “The Realm sensed an unclaimed, unharnessed Demeter bloodline connected to a Hades Alpha. It tried to consume you.”
All those years fighting my own gift, trying to suppress it, to deny the part of me that was different. And all I’d managed to do was make myself look like an easy meal. What a fool I’d been. “So for your Shadow Realm… I’m a nice snack.”
Elara flinched but didn’t deny it. Wonderful.
“Don’t think about that now,” Helena said, tightening her hold on my arm. “We won’t let it touch you. I’ll stabilize the bond to prevent it from connecting with the Realm any further. That will keep you safe.”
There was so much certainty in her voice that I couldn’t help but believe her. She’d stood up to Damon for me. She was the first person who’d been willing to do that, other than, perhaps, Alexander. And he didn’t count.
I nodded and forced myself to answer. “Okay.”
Even those two syllables came out harsh and painful. The brief exchange had drawn out every ounce of strength I’d had left.
Fortunately, Helena didn’t need me to be strong. “Just relax,” she whispered. I tried, but it was easier said than done.
Her energy flowed into me, cold at first, then a chasing warmth. A frantic pulse beat in my throat, fighting against her power. A phantom energy clawed inward from the bruised skin over my bonding gland, grasping for something deeper.
The claiming mark at my throat throbbed. I felt it reaching, trying to dig deeper into my skin. Helena’s power met that invasive force and contained it, wrapping around it like invisible chains. “Hold her,” she said tightly.
Elara’s hands came down on my shoulders, keeping me pinned to the bed with Alpha strength. I hated the touch, but needed it just the same. The bond stabilization felt like something inside me was being pulled taut, stretched to its limit but not allowed to snap.
An involuntary sound of pain escaped my lips. Cassandra leaned closer, her entire body emanating healing fire. “Just a little longer, Cora. You can beat this.”
My chest tightened until I couldn’t breathe. For one terrifying moment, the world went black. Then, something inside me settled. The invasive energy receded. The darkened patch of skin on my throat pulsed one last time and went quiet.
The cold burning receded to an isolated spot at the mark. No longer spreading. No longer life-threatening. Just contained.
Cassandra smiled, her eyes warm with relief. “The Realm won’t be able to attack you now. Not unless something destabilizes the bond again.”
I sagged against the pillows, exhausted beyond anything I’d ever felt. Every fiber of my being seemed to hurt. “Get some rest,” Helena said, giving me a knowing look. “We’ll be right here when you wake.”
Elara didn’t speak. She just left quietly, the door closing behind her with a soft click. I knew she’d be going to talk to Damon, to let him know I would breathe another day.
But just thinking about that drained me more than the entire healing process. I closed my eyes and forced myself to relax once again.
The memory of Damon’s angry eyes was still a gaping wound, and that was something no power could fix. But for now, just for a little while, I wanted to pretend.
When I woke again, the world was quiet. The crushing weight on my chest had lifted, and I could breathe without pain.
For the first time since the crisis began, my mind was clear, my thoughts no longer scattered fragments.
I had survived.
Nearby, Cassandra was packing her tools in a pouch carrying House Hestia’s symbol.
Helena stood on the other side of the room, and with them was Damon.
At some point while I’d been unconscious, he must have returned.
Dark circles shadowed his eyes. His customary perfect appearance was disheveled, his shirt wrinkled, stubble darkening his jaw.
He must be exhausted if he had yet to notice I was awake.
“The contamination is contained at the claiming mark,” Cassandra said, glancing toward him. “Six hours ago, I wouldn’t have believed this outcome possible.”
“The stabilization worked,” Helena added with a careful nod. “The bond is no longer trying to become permanent. That should prevent another attack.”
A tremor of relief went through Damon’s shoulders. “Thank you, Helena. I owe you more than I can ever express.”
Helena’s gaze snapped to his, cold and unforgiving. “Don’t thank me. I didn’t do it for you. This is unacceptable, Damon. You must know that.”
To his credit, Damon didn’t try to explain or provide excuses. “Believe me, I’m well aware.” He paused, clenching his jaw. “How long will it take for her to recover?”