Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
There comes a moment when trying to save everyone means deciding who will die.
Only I stood between life and the death whispering in Rebecca’s ear.
Her heart thudded in my ears and kept trying to slip through my grasp.
I wasn’t losing her to this ridiculous war.
I refused to accept the price. Time stretched like a metronome while I kept her with us through sheer will alone. Bump, bump, bump.
Ezra stomped around my lab, running his hands through his hair and muttering threats of violence toward my grandmother.
I agreed with each and every one. It couldn’t happen soon enough.
My hand curled around Rebecca’s. I found it grounding to touch her, easier to keep a rhythm that made sure she stayed with us.
But it was taking everything I had, which meant I couldn’t let go or answer the thousand questions people were peppering me with. Couldn’t they see I was busy?
Hudson crouched before me and swiped some damp hair from my forehead. “You still with me, little witch?” I blinked. His lips thinned. “Why is she like this?” he asked.
Liz leaned over his shoulder to get a closer look at me. “My best guess is that she’s exerting herself to keep Rebecca from giving in to death.”
“She’s a vampire, and it’s been hours. She should have healed by now,” Ezra snapped.
Dayna came into view and stood next to her sister. I gave them another blink.
“I smell rotting death magic,” Sebastian added. Where had he been, and when did he get here?
“So Cora is battling Eloise’s magic, which is still trying to kill Rebecca?” Dayna wondered.
Yes. Exactly that.
“I believe so,” Liz mumbled.
My head throbbed, and my vision danced with black spots. My eyes fluttered closed to ward off the rising nausea.
“Cora, open your eyes and drink for me,” Hudson begged, pressing something against my lips.
I parted them and sucked the juice. That was good.
Indigo prodded at the magical residue left behind by my grandmother and figured out how to eradicate it. My hand tightened around Rebecca’s.
Come on, princess. I can’t do this without you.
Plus, you just found your own growly shifter who is going to show you all that you deserve.
This is not the end of your story. It’s the beginning.
Plus, you owe me rent for the last two months.
If you die now, you’ll die in debt. How embarrassing.
Also, I will one hundred percent get married in a white dress from Macy’s.
Too far.
Rebecca?
Who else? No one here is strong enough to challenge the daughter of death about her wedding attire.
A smile flirted on my lips. Can you stop being dramatic and making this all about you? I demanded. Her snort was shaky and faint, but there nonetheless. Tell me how to help you.
Her fingers twitched against my own. Eloise’s magic is wrong. It’s like her’s is oil and yours is water. They are clashing inside me, and neither is winning.
That made sense, since I was first and foremost a water elemental.
I can get the aunts to help with their elements. Fire would set it alight, but would she survive it? That was debatable, which meant it was unacceptable. Earth, though? It was possible that it could absorb the oil. Wind was too unpredictable.
I think you have to let it happen, she said.
What? Not a chance.
Is Ezra here?
Yes.
She described what she needed, and my jaw ticced as my eyes flew open. “Ezra?” I croaked. Everyone froze in whatever useless job they were busying themselves with in my lab. They had better not have rearranged anything.
The burly shifter stepped forward and folded his arms. If he refused, I might actually kill him. It was time to discover if he was infatuated with the vampire princess or actually in love with her.
“She needs your blood.” He nodded and rolled up his sleeve. Of course, this part gave him no hesitation, since it was about nourishment. The next part… “And you need to take hers,” I finished.
He didn’t even pause as he bit his wrist, leaned over Rebecca, and pressed it to her lips. “How much?” he asked. “I don’t want to take too much when she’s like this.”
“The bond,” Hudson muttered. “You’ll trigger the thrall bond.”
Ezra shot his Principal a look over his shoulder. “This woman is it for me. Nothing can trump the mate bond, and I’m already head over heels for her. What difference will an exchange of blood make?”
Dave gripped Ezra’s arm. “Be sure, friend. There is no coming back from this.”
“I won’t survive losing her. There is no choice.”
My eyes caught Hudson’s, seeing the mirroring of their love in our own story. I nodded to confirm what I realized would beat anything Eloise had planted. Love did indeed conquer all.
“She says enough to allow the bond to snap into place. A few mouthfuls will suffice,” I said.
“This is not how I imagined proposing,” Ezra whispered into Rebecca’s ear. “But then, life with you will be an unexpected ride. Unconventional, exciting, thrilling—and perfect.”
He kissed her softly on her pale lips and moved down to her throat. The ripple of power was immediate and made the hair on my arms lift. This was an intensely private moment.
The supernaturals in the room waited with bated breath as Ezra took her blood and completed the circle of blood sharing. I felt the oily power buck against the new magic. While Eloise’s was strong, this was absolute and left no room for interlopers. Rebecca’s fingers tightened around my own.
The door opened, and Norbert appeared before me. “You can let go now, Cora,” he whispered. “She’s okay.” I blinked back tears and studied the pack doctor’s face for deception. I found none. “That’s it. Ezra has her. Right now, I need you to let her go so I can check you over.”
Hudson frowned. “Why isn’t she doing it?”
“She’s afraid and in shock. Let’s clear the room,” Norbert said. “Just Hudson, Ezra, and Rebecca.” The sound of feet shuffling and concerned mutterings filled the room before dying away when the door clicked shut.
“Look at me, Cora,” Hudson demanded. “You did it. She’s going to be okay.”
But this was just the tip of the iceberg. Eloise wouldn’t stop until she’d stripped away everything that I love. I can’t protect them all. So stop hiding, stop reacting, and start planning.
“We won,” Rebecca said from above me.
I tilted my head back to stare into the blue eyes of my friend. “No, we lost.” Couldn’t they see that survival didn’t equate to a victory? We had to stop counting each breath as a gift. It should be a given.
“You can let go,” Rebecca whispered. “I’m okay. I promise.”
“If you don’t, you’ll be the next patient,” Norbert advised. “And we all know what bad patients doctors make.”
My lips twitched. I forced my fingers to release their death grip on her, and with it, I withdrew my magic. Rebecca’s shoulders slumped, and Ezra scooped her up in his arms before carrying her out of my lab.
“And then there were three,” Norbert said. “Hudson, lift her onto the examination table.”
I shook my head. I didn’t have time for them to fuss over me. We were at war, not at a spa.
“All warriors need to be at their best,” Norbert said, reminding me of his ability to know what I was thinking without saying a word. “You have an expressive face.”
I chuckled and let the doc check me over. Ten minutes later, I stumbled into my crowded office, clutching my mate’s arm for support.
Harry floated in the corner, back to his spirit self. I pressed my lips together and forced back the tears. “I’m sorry I’m not strong enough to keep you here,” I said.
His eyes swung to mine. “This is the natural order, Cora. Do not apologize. While it was nice to feel something solid for a moment, I have come to respect my position in this fight and your life. I have skills and benefits none of you with a heartbeat possess. So I repeat—don’t apologize.”
I flopped into my chair. Everyone was here. All my aunts, plus Dave, Sebastian, Robert, and Karen. Wait. I gave the bar owner a double-take.
Karen shrugged at my wide-eyed expression. “What? Did you think we don’t all know what you are? It didn’t take a supernatural curtain call to reveal that White Castle is the epicenter of the weird and the wonderful.”
Well, that shut me up.
“Plus, your granny trashed my trashy bar. Now it’s war.”
Priorities. We all had something to fight for.
“Were there any other casualties?” I asked.
Harry floated forward. Karen glowered at him, still clearly a little creeped out by the creepy. “We lost a few of the spirits when they held their solid form. If they got hit, they went down.”
“How is that possible?” Sebastian asked from his position leaning against the door. “They can’t die twice, right?”
Harry shook his head. “Maybe they were able to pass to the other side.”
He didn’t believe that, and neither did I. I also didn’t think my grandmother had harvested their souls. It was a terrifying thought that they had simply ceased to exist, which meant I wouldn’t be using this newfound skill again. I wouldn’t risk those poor souls’ afterlifes.
“My sister tested limits,” Aunt Sophia said as she cast a new row of stitches, this time in a white wool. “Yours specifically.”
I nodded, already having figured that out myself.
“I’ve given word that no one should return to White Castle in the meantime,” Robert added. “I think it’s wise to keep the battlefield as clear of civilians as possible. I have some people stationed on the main roads to turn folks around.”
“That’s good,” I answered.
“Most of the pack has been relocated out of state,” Dave added.
We were clearing the chessboard.
“My mother is still here, the stubborn woman,” Sebastian grumbled.
No, she was here because she was far more powerful than any of them realized. I caught Sophia and Dave’s eyes for a beat.
“What else do you need to do to get Donn to take the rest of his power back?” Dave asked.