Chapter 33
I jerk awake, my senses assaulted by the blaring ring of my phone.
Sienna’s anguish ringing through the bond like a siren in my head.
My eyes snap open and the cold air seizes my lungs, making me shudder.
In a daze, I realize I’ve fallen asleep on the couch instead of in my own bed.
The chill in the air wraps around me like an icy embrace, seeping deep into my bones and filling me with dread.
Carina’s sickly-sweet fragrance is heavy in the air, awakening something primal within me—something angry.
Her scent brings me no solace or warmth, a stark reminder of her absence.
Sienna’s absence looms over me, tugging at my heartstrings like a cruel puppet master.
My entire body aches from the crushing weight of Sienna’s pain that radiates through our bond.
How could I have been so selfish as to leave her alone for three days?
Paralyzing guilt and fear swell inside me, threatening to tear me apart.
She must be suffering horribly without me by her side.
Desperation and guilt pulse through me, squeezing my chest. I need to be with her.
The chill in my veins intensifies as a fog escapes my lips, the oppressive darkness swallowing me whole.
I am desperate for warmth—for hers. The bond throbs incessantly, demanding my obedience, demanding I go to her.
Desperately, I grab my phone and see a heap of neglected messages pouring in one after another.
But before I can even check them, Javier’s voice booms through the mind-link, his normally calm demeanor replaced by urgency.
“Why aren’t you answering your phone, you sleep like the dead,” he growls at me.
“What is it, why is she… Sienna.” I struggle to keep my thoughts straight, my mind solely consumed with the bond I share with her.
“Xandros,” he says urgently, “Your mother had your room stripped of your scent. You need to get home!”
“She what!” I snarl, my mother will pay for this. She knows how fragile mate bonds are, and what she has done is beyond cruel.
“Xandros, she’s in distress,” he exclaims desperately, worry lacing his voice as he speaks. “Your mother had your room cleaned, erasing your scent from it. Sienna is frantic, her temperature has plummeted dangerously low. You need to get here right away.”
Tension courses through me, raging and unrelenting.
It fills my muscles with intense energy that makes them burn, throb with uncontrollable pressure.
Panic surges through me as I imagine Sienna shivering in the bathtub, cold and alone.
Her delicate body is vulnerable to any threat, like a flower stripped of its petals by the harsh winter frost. The idea causes me pain, and an overwhelming sense of dread rushes from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
I can’t bear the thought of her suffering without me there for comfort and warmth.
“Where is she?” I demand.
“In a blanket next to the fire. She won’t let me near her.”
“Get her to the bathhouse and saunas, turn the heat up as high as possible, I am on my way,” I tell him, frantically searching around for my wallet and keys.
“Xandros, that means I have to touch her.”
“Keep her alive, only you in the bathhouse!” I warn him. He is the only one I trust, clearly I can’t trust my own family, but I know he’ll obey any order I give him, even if I am being irrational.
“See you soon,” I cut the mindlink, no doubt to handle Sienna. She’ll reject any scent not belonging to me, so I know she’ll fight him.
Anger courses through me at my mother for subjecting Sienna to such torment. She should never have been treated this cruelty.
Without a second thought, I turn to Carina, desperation clear in my expression. “Carina, I need to go home. I need to be with Sienna,” I say, my voice tense with determination. Carina, still groggy from sleep, blinks at me in confusion.
“What should I tell my parents about your sudden disappearance?” she asks, concern etched on her face. I dismiss their worries with a wave of my hand. “Tell them whatever you need to. It doesn’t matter.” Panic swells inside me once more. All that matters is getting to Sienna.
I hastily gather my belongings, my mind focused solely on reaching my mate. Clothes are thrown into a bag, my wallet is retrieved, and in the blink of an eye, I am ready to leave. The urgency is unbearable, my need to be by Sienna’s side overwhelming.
The drive back to the castle feels endless. Every second spent in the car feels like an eternity, the walls closing in on me. Impatience gnaws at my insides, urging the driver to go faster. I repeat the same words over and over, “Hurry up, we need to get there.”
Nothing else matters except getting back to Sienna. The thought of her struggling through this pain alone is more than I can bear, and I’m filled with a sense of dread. I can’t bear the thought of her suffering because of my stupidity.
Finally, we reach the castle, and I jump out of the car before it has even come to a stop. I hurry toward the bathhouses without hesitation or thought, my heart pounding in rhythm with each step I take.
I rush into the bathhouse, my heart still pounding in my chest. There, I find Javier, his eyes filled with worry as he watches over Sienna.
The bathhouse is dark, except for the golden glow of the fire’s flames. The glow of the embers bathe the room in a golden light. Shadows are cast along the walls, flickering like flames.
The bond between us pulses with pain and fear. A symphony of emotions that mirrors the sound of a wounded animal, crying out in agony.
The rattle of her breath, it doesn’t sound right. It sounds like she won’t survive much longer. Moving toward the far corner, she is huddled in the shallows.
Sienna’s form is small and shivering in the bath, her skin pale and her lips as blue as the veins underneath her skin.
Buttons pop and fly everywhere as I rip my shirt off before dropping into the water beside her. Her pale form lies limp in the bath, her skin icy to the touch. The sight tears at my soul, igniting a fire within me.
My hands are warm as I pull her into an embrace and lay her down on my chest, urging her to feel the bond, feel that I am here with her.
I hold her close to my chest, willing away the coldness that radiates from her body. Her skin is ice-cold, like I’m holding a corpse.
The cold cuts through my flesh and bones from Sienna, but I push past it, warming her body the best I can. The ice and stone of the bathhouse sucks the warmth from my body like a freezer, I push past that too, ignoring the biting chill her cold body causes.
Sienna’s eyes flutter open as I hold her close, her voice barely a whisper.
“Xandros,” she murmurs, disbelief and relief evident in her tone.
She didn’t expect me to come back for her.
I hold her tighter, my heart breaking at her words.
“You did come home. Javier said you would…” she trails off, burying her face in my neck, her teeth chattering next to my ear.
“I would burn the world down around me to come back to you, if needed,” I tell her, my voice filled with raw emotion.
“My world has been burning since you met me. I don’t want to burn anymore. I want to extinguish the flames,” she whispers, and tears prick my eyes.
“Don’t say that, Sienna. Stay with me.” The words escape me like hot embers from an inferno, burning through everything in their path and leaving nothing behind except scorched earth. Her words burn me, she’d rather die, than fight to remain here with me.
Sienna’s smile flickers into existence, and she reaches up to touch my cheek. Her touch is like a sudden shock, jolting me with energy in the midst of chaos.
“For what?” she breathes out when her hand slips from my face, hits the water and splashes me. “Sienna?” I murmur.
As I hold her, her body grows increasingly limp, slipping further into unconsciousness. Terror grips me, and I shake her desperately, trying to rouse her, to keep her awake.
“Sienna, don’t leave me,” I beg, my voice laced with desperation. “Take my strength…mark me.” Her response is weak, her body unresponsive to my pleas.
I can feel the darkness closing in around us, and I know we’re running out of time. Sweat drips down my face as I clutch Sienna tighter, willing all of my energy into her lifeless form. It’s not enough, and I feel the panic rising within me.
“Stay with me, Sienna,” I yell, my voice echoing off the walls of the empty room. There’s no response from her, only silence.
I call out to Javier, his name a desperate plea. “Javier, where is a healer! We can’t lose her,” I demand, my voice cracking with fear.
“Should be here any minute, your father sent for one earlier,” he answers just as my parents rush into the bathhouse, their faces wrought with worry and guilt.
I recognize my mother’s expression—she is fully aware of the gravity of her decisions that have led us here, the repercussions of which might cost Sienna her life, and in turn mine.
I know if she passes away, a part of me will die too; she dies and so do I, maybe not physically, but I might as well be dead when the craze hits, and my mother knows this.
She knows I won’t be recognizable as her son when it does.
A growl tears out of me at the sight of her.
I pull Sienna’s limp body into my arms, and with a sense of determination I have never felt before, charge out of the bathhouse with my mother trailing behind me.
She trails after me, crying apologies as if they will make up for what she has done.
I barely hear her. All I can focus on is finding a healer and saving Sienna’s life before it slips away.
My steps are hurried and purposeful. I try to ignore the fear that keeps slipping into my thoughts, keeping my grip on Sienna unwavering.
With each moment that passes, I feel the weight of responsibility pushing down on me.
Sienna helpless in my arms, so fragile and vulnerable.
It fills me with terror and frustration.
The castle seems endless as I desperately search for a healer, each second ticking past like centuries when my father sings out behind me.
“Javier mind-linked, the healer is setting up in her room,” he calls out, and I turn for the stairs, taking them two at a time.
My mother stands nearby, her guilt clearly written in her eyes while I glare at her.
The healer stabs the needle in my arm, and attaches the line to Sienna.
Mate bond saliva and blood have healing properties for the mate, now I just have to pray our bond isn’t irreparable because if she rejects it, she’ll die.
The healer looks upon Sienna with his gentle yet determined hands working with precision.
My heart races with fear, an unyielding helplessness falls over me as he works tirelessly to revive her fragile form back to life.
Everything depends on my blood healing her since she can’t mark me—for Sienna’s life, our bond, our future together.
Don’t let her die, I plead silently. “Please don’t let her die,” I whisper. My mother’s movement makes me growl as she moves to step closer to me.
I hiss through clenched teeth, “If she dies. You’ll wish that death had taken you as well. Mark my words, Mother, not even Father will stop me from killing you.” My eyes burn with the intensity of my warning, and I can practically see her body shudder in fear.
Yet I mean every word. My mate dies, so will she.