Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
Caelian
Pain.
That’s the first thing I’m aware of. Not sight, not sound—just pure, white-hot agony radiating from my chest like someone’s shoved a burning coal between my ribs and twisted it deeper with every struggling breath.
I try to open my eyes, but my lids are too heavy. Everything is engulfed in darkness, like I’m standing in a pitch-black room. Sounds reach me as if I’m underwater, sounding muffled, distorted, impossible to pin down.
A gunshot. Was that real? Or a memory?
Nero’s face exploding in a spray of red. The weight of the gun in my hand. Nevaeh’s voice screaming my name.
Then nothing.
Then…
Movement.
I’m moving, but I’m not walking. The world rocks beneath me; what sounds like a car engine rumbling somewhere close. The scents of leather and blood fill my nose.
My blood. A shit ton of it.
I want to speak, but my lips don’t move. My tongue is lead in my mouth.
There’s a hand gripping mine—small, delicate, trembling.
Nevaeh? Mia bella ballerina.
“Stay with me,” she whispers through the fog. “Please, Cael. Just stay with me.”
I want to tell her I’m trying. That I’m fighting with everything I have. But the darkness pulls me under again, and I sink into it like a stone.
When I surface, there are lights.
Harsh, artificial lights that burn my retinas. I flinch away from them—or do my best to—but my body won’t obey. I’m paralyzed, weighed down to the bed I’m lying in.
“He’s lost a considerable amount of blood,” comes a male voice.
“I don’t care what it takes! You have to save him. Please. He can’t die. He can’t—”
The second voice breaks off into sobs. I recognize them immediately as Nevaeh’s. She’s sobbing at my bedside, the anguish so deep and poignant it tears through my chest worse than any bullet.
I need to reach for her. Tell her I’m still here. Still fighting.
But the pain surges up like a tidal wave, dragging me under again.
I fade to black, losing consciousness.
This time, the darkness eventually takes shape.
I’m in a room thick with cigar smoke that’s rich and earthy. It hangs in the air like fog, obscuring the faces of the men around me. But I can hear them talking, their voices low and conspiratorial.
There’s a stage in front of us, lit by soft silvery lights. Ballerinas spin and twirl to twinkling music.
They part like a wave in the ocean, making way for the prima ballerina. The star of their dance.
She’s… breathtaking.
Unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.
Her skin is smooth dark brown, gleaming like polished mahogany under the lights. Her hair—black as onyx, darker than midnight—is pulled back in a sleek bun that shows the elegant line of her neck.
She spins in perfect pirouettes, her movements so graceful she seems to defy gravity itself.
I can’t look away. Even as the voices around me grow louder, more distinct, I’m transfixed by this beautiful creature spinning and leaping across the stage.
“His condition is worsening,” Pa grits out from my side. “But that makes him the perfect subject.”
“We’ve got some new experimental treatments,” comes Nero’s voice next. “We’ll run him through some trials. In the meantime, the meds keep him functioning. He’ll be fine.”
“Caelian,” Pa snaps. “You hearing this? Caelian!”
But I’m stuck in a trance. I can’t take my eyes off her, the fog rolling around me.
The ballerina executes a flawless grand jeté. For a moment she seems to hang in the air, suspended between earth and sky. Her eyes find mine across the smoke-filled room, gleaming like dark stones.
If only she knew how I feel about her; if only she could be mine…
“He can’t hear you, Carmine. The meds have got him in another universe right now. It doesn’t matter either way, we’ve got a deal,” Nero says. “We use Caelian for the experimental treatments. Use him to perfect the cure.”
“Sounds like a win for everybody. Including our bank accounts!” Pa laughs.
The smoke thickens, obscuring the stage. The ballerina fades into the fog, never to be seen again.
I half rise out of my seat, desperate to pull her out. Grab hold of her so we can run off together. But she’s not the only thing fading—I am too, as everything dims around me and it’s like a switch has been flipped off.
The next time I open my eyes, the smoke-filled theater room is gone.
I’m lying in what I recognize as my bed, covered by blankets.
I’m home, finally back at my estate.
But I’m not alone. I’m hooked up to monitors that beep every few seconds, which means medical staff must be here.
And then there’s something else. Something warm pressed against my side.
With enormous effort, I tilt my head for a look. My vision slowly comes into focus, clearing up as I take in the familiar surroundings.
Things like the huge window on the left and the fireplace on the other side of the room. The small figure curled up beside me.
Nevi.
She’s asleep, her body pressed carefully against my uninjured side. Her face is peaceful in sleep, though her cheeks have tracks of dried tears. She’s still wearing the same clothes from Nero’s mansion—blood-stained and torn.
My blood, mostly.
I part my lips and try to say her name. Instead it comes out as a hoarse grunt. Barely even a sound, but it turns out to be enough.
Her eyes snap open, and she springs up like she’s ready to jump into action. Clearly she’s been on edge even while resting. She was only lightly sleeping, likely too upset for true peaceful deep sleep.
As soon as she glances at me and processes that I’m awake, she’s scrambling off the bed.
“Caelian… oh my god… you’re awake!” she gasps. Then she dashes for the door. “He’s awake! Dr. Tulio, he’s awake!”
Tulio.
The name leaves an immediate bad taste in my mouth given everything I’ve discovered. The doctor poisoned me for years, injecting me with experimental treatments that made me sicker. He stood by and let my father and Nero use me as their personal lab rat.
I shot him at ZincCo, intending to kill him. But apparently, he’s survived… and come back to help me?
When he appears in the doorway, I realize it’s true. the doctor saved my life after everything that’s happened.
I’m not sure what to think, so I start pushing myself up, reaching for the IV line in my arm to pull it out.
“Caelian, stop!” Nevaeh rushes back to my side, her small hands pressing gently against my shoulders. “Stop, please. You’ll hurt yourself.”
“He…” I growl hoarsely. “He… poisoned—”
“I know,” Tulio admits grimly. He’s stopped on my other side, moving to the monitors and checking the readouts. “I know what I did. What I participated in for years, Mr. C. I can’t take it back, and I won’t insult you by asking for forgiveness.”
He meets my eyes, genuine remorse in his.
…or maybe I’m just too weak to see clearly.
“But what I can do is try to make it right,” he continues.
“I was the only one who could save you after you were shot. I performed the surgery. Removed the bullet. It was lodged dangerously close to your heart—the damage from years of experimental treatments made the surgery more complicated, but...” He pauses, checking another monitor.
“You’re stable. Against all odds, you’re going to survive this. ”
I want to tell him to get the fuck out of my house. That I don’t want his help, don’t need his redemption. But Nevaeh’s hand finds mine, squeezing gently.
“He saved your life,” she whispers tearfully. “He’s been here for over twelve hours, monitoring you. Making sure you pulled through.”
Tulio finishes his examination and steps back. “Your vitals are strong. Stronger than they should be, considering everything. I’ll give you two some privacy.” He pauses at the door. “For what it’s worth, Mr. C… I’m sorry. Truly.”
Then he’s gone, and it’s just me and Nevaeh in our bedroom.
I can’t take my eyes off her. Even exhausted, even covered in blood and dirt, even with her hair falling out of a messy bun and shadows under her eyes, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
Mia bella ballerina.
“You look like hell, mia bella,” I manage, my voice still rough but getting stronger. “Beautiful hell.”
A watery laugh escapes her. “You’re one to talk. You died twice on the operating table.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
“Don’t,” she mumbles. “Don’t joke about that. I thought… Cael, I thought I’d lost you. When you collapsed after shooting Nero, there was so much blood. I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t—”
Her sob interrupts her words, tears streaming down her face. She covers her mouth like she can hold in the sobs, but it’s no use.
I reach for her with my good arm, ignoring the achy pull of stitches in my chest.
“Come here,” I murmur. “Please, Nevi. I need to feel you.”
She climbs back onto the bed carefully, so carefully you’d think I was made of glass. Her arms wrap around me in the gentlest embrace, mindful of my injuries. I hold her as best I can, her wet tears soaking into my hospital gown.
“We survived,” I rasp, pressing my lips to her hair. “We fucking survived. All of it. Your parents, my family, Nero, and the Vorones. We’re still here.”
She pulls back just enough to look at me, a small smile playing at her lips. A mischievous, almost giddy smile that makes me instantly suspicious.
“What?” I ask, unable to stop my own grin. “What’s that naughty smirk for, mia bella ballerina?”
She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a jagged brass key that glints in the room’s lighting.
“I kept it,” she says, her tone full of pride. “The whole time. Matteo, Ignazio, your father, Carmelo, my parents, Nero—everyone was looking for it. Fighting over it. Killing for it. And I had it the entire time and never gave it up. Even when I gave them the snow globe.”
I stare at the key, then at her face, taking in how beautiful and angelic she is with her large, dark eyes and soft lips and round nose. But she’s also the opposite of an angel too—she’s a little devil who fought and clawed her way to victory.
She outsmarted them all. Every single one of them.
My fierce, brilliant, deadly ballerina.
“You magnificent woman,” I breathe, pulling her closer despite the aching pain. “I love you more than life itself. More than anything in this fucked up world. You hear me? I love you, Nevi.”
Her smile widens as she leans in to press her forehead against mine. “I love you too, Cael. Even when your temper gets the best of you and you try to rip out your IV.”
I laugh despite how it hurts like hell. But I don’t give a shit.
…because we’re alive. We’re together. And we have the key to everything our enemies died trying to possess.
We really won.