Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
It was dark when Zuri woke up. She could tell even before she’d opened her eyes. The presence at her back also told her that once again she hadn’t slept alone.
Fucking vampires . A familiar wave of annoyance mixed with reluctant affection punched her in the throat. Always gotta be touching . She hadn’t pushed Elena away, she realized with a sigh. Hadn’t even tried. Some habits, it seemed, were harder to break than others.
At least this time she was letting her pretend to still be asleep. But the memory of Elena’s touch, the feel of her cool skin against hers, had faded compared to the visions that still blazed behind her eyelids. Lilith. The Aglion.
What the hell did I do?
Zuri’s chest tightened under the crushing weight of responsibility. A weight that settled deep in her bones. She’d stumbled onto something bigger than herself, bigger than her coven, bigger than anything she’d ever imagined. And she had no idea what to do next.
Of course it had fallen on her to carry it all. To figure out the unknowable. To protect Marisol and Elena with incomplete information.
No presh when only everything is at stake and failure isn’t an option. Fuck. It was too much. No one was strong enough to handle the fate of some nearly extinct beings and their problematic ex-girlfriend.
As soon as she stirred, Elena was on top of her. Except it wasn’t Elena. Blinking until her vision was clear, Zuri turned onto her back to realize it was Marisol who’d been curled behind her like the cat she allegedly didn’t have.
Before Zuri could get up, Marisol was on her feet and at the side of the bed blocking her exit. “Lie back. Let me check you out,” she commanded, voice so sure and unwavering that Zuri obeyed out of reflex.
Marisol’s hand was warm and steady on Zuri’s wrist, her fingers pressing lightly against her pulse point while she looked down at her watch. Instead of pulling away and telling her to put away the theatrics, she let Bambi play doctor. Let her keep her brow furrowed in a serious expression. Zuri watched her, eyes on a swath of dark blonde hair that had fallen out of her ponytail and landed on her determined face.
“Nice and strong,” Marisol said to herself before reaching for a flashlight on the nightstand—a flashlight she’d covered with cloth to fashion a penlight.
“I’m checking your pupils’ reactivity. I can’t be sure you didn’t hit your head when you fainted,” she explained while a beam danced across Zuri’s eyes.
“I don’t faint?—”
“How’s your head?” she asked, her brow furrowed with so much concern. “Any nausea? Blurry vision? Dizziness?”
“No.”
“Do you know what day it is?” Marisol was looking at her like she’d give anything for an MRI machine.
She’d never seen Marisol like this. Gone was the flustered, uncertain woman who’d stumbled into her life a few days ago. This woman was calm, collected, in control. Her movements were precise and efficient.
“I’m fine,” Zuri mumbled, pushing herself up on her elbows. She felt a dull ache behind her eyes, a lingering reminder of the mind dive, but she’d live. “I just need to eat something and take a shower.”
“Well, lucky for you, I’d make an amazing housewife,” Elena said, stepping into the room with a plate piled high with something that looked vaguely edible. “I made you dinner.”
Zuri’s gaze snapped to Elena, her heart skipping a beat. Elena was standing, her posture straight, her movements mostly fluid. There was a slight limp to her gait, but she was walking on her own. How long had she been asleep?
Elena smiled, reading her mind in that annoying way of hers. “Marisol healed me after you rewound the tape to the beginning of time in her brain,” she said, her gaze shifting to Bambi sitting at the foot of the bed. “Well, mostly.”
Marisol blushed before shrugging. “It just… happened,” she mumbled, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her tank top.
“It was incredible,” Elena insisted, but there was a heaviness in her voice.
Elena remembered, Zuri realized with a sickening pang in her stomach. Remembered just how much she’d lost the night of the attack. Ugh, damn it . Why did she want to comfort her? Zuri resisted the impulse to do anything to chase away Elena’s grief.
Elena set the plate in Zuri’s lap, the aroma of burnt garlic and something vaguely sweet working against her appetite. “I figured you’d be up any minute. It’s been almost twelve hours.”
Twelve hours, Jesus. She’d never been out that long. Though, to be fair, she also didn’t normally attempt some kind of psychic interstellar travel or whatever the hell she’d done.
Zuri picked up a fork, taking a bite. The eggs were rubbery, the herbs overcooked, but it was the salt that was killer. “It’s... interesting,” she said, her voice neutral.
Satisfied with herself, Elena sat next to her on the bed as if to ensure Zuri was going to choke down her offering. If Zuri wasn’t so focused on chewing without breathing and swallowing while avoiding her taste buds, she would think about the other times Elena had attempted to cook for her.
“So,” Elena said, her voice casual despite the tension that radiated from her. “Marisol told me about your little trip down memory lane.”
Zuri swallowed, the eggs lodging in her throat. “It was more like a free fall into a black hole.”
“It was kind of terrifying,” Marisol agreed after a beat. “Do you think it was real? I mean, those were obviously not my memories.”
Considering it, Zuri shrugged. “I’ve never heard of anything like that happening, though there aren’t that many witches with my gift. And I don’t know anyone who can do what Bambi can… We’re in uncharted territory.”
“How have I never heard of an entire class of beings?” Elena complained as if her knowledge gap was the greatest sin. “And if vampires wiped them out?—”
“And witches,” Zuri added before Elena could take all the generational guilt.
“Not wiped out,” Marisol said as if to remind them she was still sitting there.
Elena glanced at her, dark eyes bleeding with guilt and shame and regret. “Just as good as.” She shook her head. “You’re disconnected from your kind. There’s nothing worse than that. Death is not worse than that.” Her brows furrowed. “Those wars you saw, they must have been ancient. There aren’t many vampires around who are older than I am. It’s the entire reason we developed cartels. To stop killing each other. Those wars were such a waste.”
Zuri agreed, annoyed that not a single tome in her coven mentioned anything about healing beings or cataclysmic wars. “Witches obviously didn’t help.”
“Neither of you were there,” Marisol said, back straightening. “You’re not responsible for what happened before you existed.”
Zuri was surprised to see Bambi so comfortable in her skin. She wanted to focus on that. On her beauty and light and the fact that she hadn’t found an ounce of darkness after accidentally scouring her mind.
“Did I make too much?” Elena’s tone lacked its characteristic arrogant edge. It was a tone she’d only ever used to whisper in the dark with her arms curled around Zuri. It reminded her how fiercely loving she could be. How she must be drowning in her grief, but trying to hide it under a cool exterior.
“No, it’s fine,” she lied before finishing the worst tasting food ever made.
Moments later, she handed Elena the mostly empty plate and stood up. “I’m going to take a shower.” Zuri stood and stretched, her muscles aching from the long sleep, the mind dive, the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Elena’s gaze followed her, a flicker of light in her eyes. “Need a hand? Or two?”
Zuri replied with a wry smile. Her attention darted between Marisol and Elena. The air crackled with unspoken desires, the invitation hanging between them like a promise. Marisol’s cheeks flushed a delicate pink while Elena’s lips curved into a slow smile, her fangs glinting in the dim light.
Zuri watched them for a beat, expression noncommittal. When she turned and walked towards the bathroom, she felt the weight of their gazes on her back.
Later , she thought, anticipation coursing through her, energizing her depleted spirit. We all need a little escape , she decided, knowing exactly how she was going to give it to them.