Chapter 45
Vivian’s Point of View
Rule forty-five: Always be willing to give your life for your friends – but not your cupcakes. That’s just ludicrous.
Sin is a terrifying, all-powerful creature, but he has nothing on the violence that radiates from the three women blocking our bedroom door.
After apparating back to the Otherworld, we briefly stopped by headquarters to organize a watch outside the Rusty Dagger. Arianna happened to pop in while Sin and Morgana were having a tense discussion.
That was all the time I needed to send out a bestie SOS.
Sin and I are just returning to our room when we find Arianna standing guard, framed by Sarah and Rosie. The latter still isn’t looking too good, but she looks fierce as she crosses her arms, mirroring Arianna’s aggression.
Sarah is holding onto a pink cardboard box as if it contains the meaning of life. Rosie has a garment bag, and Arianna has a satchel slung over her shoulder.
They are absolute heroes.
Sin’s brow arches, and I explain, “They’re here to help me get ready.” When he still doesn’t react, I embellish, “Without you.”
He stiffens, and something that looks like fear flashes in his eyes.
“We need a testosterone time-out,” Arianna quips.
“It’s girl time,” Sarah adds, cheering.
“She’ll be safe with us,” Rosie adds softly, and Sin’s eye twitches in response.
Guilt splinters into my heart, and I give his hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’m not leaving the room. I know you’re not ready to let me go, and I’m not asking you to. But I do want to hang out with my friends. I missed them, too.”
Conflicted gray eyes search mine. His need to keep me safe and his need to keep me happy are directly at odds with each other.
“We weren’t asking,” Arianna all but growls, and small tendrils of darkness creep through the hallway.
Sin ignores her.
I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing at her sass, and Sin’s focus snaps to my mouth.
His eyes flare before he reluctantly steps back. “I’ll be outside the room.”
The moment the door shuts behind us, Arianna casts a silencing shield. “There, now he won’t eavesdrop.” She bounds toward the bed but stops short. “Wait – did you guys change the sheets? I do not want–”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I force a small laugh. “No, but also, we haven’t really… you know. That’s part of why I want to talk to you guys.”
Unbothered, Sarah hops onto the bed and sets the box down in the center. My mouth waters when she opens it. It’s filled with delicious-looking cupcakes.
An infectious, conspiratorial grin breaks across her face. “I had to fight off Conner and Isaac to get these. Also, Conner says he’s hurt that he can’t join girl talk. He thinks the fact that women love him and he loves women qualifies him for the hangout,” she finishes with a laugh.
My answering giggle is genuine, and I get more comfortable, resting back on my hands. “What are they up to?”
Sarah’s grin turns devilish. “They’re having dinner with Dr. Parnard. He’s actually a fun guy when you get him out of the classroom and into a new realm. I cannot believe you had him kidnapped. Was he about to fail you or something?”
Before I can worry whether she’s upset over what I did, she picks up a cupcake, waving it at me as she adds, “I always knew the introverts were the wild ones.”
Arianna settles in front of me, and Rosie joins us after hanging the garment bag on the edge of the wardrobe. They immediately reach for cupcakes and then give me expectant looks.
“First,” my brow pinches as I turn to Rosie, “what’s going on with you? This is beyond missing Irena.”
Sarah nods, also looking concerned. “Are you sick? Do you need to get back to the Shadow Realm?”
“There’s no excuse to avoid talking about it. There are no patients waiting, and no meetings, so spill,” Arianna adds.
Rosie sighs. Her wings hang off the edge of the bed and rest on the floor, like she has no energy left to carry them. “I – I don’t know. Something feels wrong. I can still feel Irena, but it’s different… draining.”
A chill creeps down my spine. That can’t be good.
She shrugs lightly. “There’s nothing we can do about it, at least until the war is over and we free her.”
Arianna and I make brief eye contact, and she gives me a look as if to say, ‘she kind of has a point.’
I frown, not liking any of this.
“Is there anything we can do to help? Even to ease the symptoms a bit?” Sarah asks, and I beam, thrilled that at least one of us has the social skills required to ask the right questions.
Rosie lifts her cupcake. “This is perfect, thanks.”
“We should get more help in the infirmary, that way you can rest more,” I suggest.
“Do you want a charm for your wings? That way you won’t have to work as hard to lift them,” Arianna offers.
High-pitched bells tinkle through the room, and Rosie’s wings snap up. She huffs at Arianna, “I do not want a charm.” The bells settle when she turns to me. “I would like a break from the infirmary, but only so I can help in the weapons bay.”
When we all look stunned by her declaration, she elaborates, “I brewed the poison from the plant Irena touched – the one we were supposed to kill you with. I want to coat weapons with it.”
Arianna’s grin turns manic. “Now you’re getting into the spirit of things!” Turning to Sarah, she adds, “Don’t worry, give it a few more days, and you’ll become homicidal like the rest of us.”
The encouragement in her tone is only slightly disturbing.
Sarah snorts. “No, see this is why I said you need to try surfing. It’s an all-natural stress reliever. Surfers are chill.”
“Have you hung out with Damien yet?” I ask, still convinced they’re two peas in a pod.
“Only briefly,” Sarah explains after finishing off her cupcake. “He was on guard duty while you were here.”
“He’s a runner,” I note casually.
As expected, Sarah immediately squeals and starts going on about how she can’t wait to start a pre-war runner’s group.
Polishing off her cupcake, Arianna waits for a break in Sarah’s planning before turning to me. “Alright, you’ve had enough time to avoid your problem. What’s going on?”
Reluctantly, I sigh and explain the whole ‘Leon shattered my soul, and now Sin won’t touch me until we fix it, but I won’t let him die’ situation. No one interrupts or makes me feel judged. It feels nice to get it out.
“Vivi, I say this as someone who also has a mate bond… Sin has a point. You’re asking him to do the impossible.
No mate could willingly watch their other half’s soul wither away and die.
This isn’t just the death of your physical body; it’s your soul.
There’s no coming back from that… no finding each other in different lives.
” Rosie’s tone is tentative, like she’s trying to be gentle with me.
“And you do have a habit of sacrificing yourself for others,” Sarah adds, and her fingers wring together. “I will always be grateful that you risked everything to save us, but it’s okay to let us help you too.”
Tears well up in my eyes, and I stare at my cupcake, unable to take a bite. This isn’t going in the direction I want. I’m not ready to explain how my sacrifices were made out of love, and how Sin doesn’t feel the same way.
“I’m with you, Viv,” Arianna states confidently.
Relief washes over me, and my heart swells. “You agree with me?”
She shrugs. “It doesn’t matter. I’m with you no matter what the problem is. You want to blow up a realm? Sure. You want to outlaw people who make mouth noises while chewing? I’ll start making arrests – no questions asked. I will always take your side.”
Awed, I nearly launch myself at her, but I don’t want to risk knocking over the cupcakes.
I’m definitely going to walk out of here friendless if anyone ends up with only one cupcake.
Rosie gives Arianna a disgruntled look. “You can still be a supportive friend without blindly following them.”
Sarah nods, looking at Arianna like it’s a no-brainer.
Arianna smiles smugly. “Of course you can. But blind, unconditional love and support is what makes me Viv’s favorite.”
Chaos breaks out.
Rosie throws her cupcake wrapper at Arianna’s face, Sarah tries to duck, and the cupcake box tips over.
Shrieking, Arianna launches herself at the pastries, just as I try to do the same.
Less than a minute later, we’re all laughing and covered in icing.
The bed will never recover. Cake is smeared across the blankets, and I’m sitting on Arianna’s back, trying to pry the least damaged cupcake from her hands. “I didn’t have one yet!”
“I said support! NOT cupcakes!” She yells back, still holding it out of reach.
Catching movement out of the corner of my eye, I look over to find Sin strolling into the (definitely locked) room.
His eyes widen, but he only shakes his head before stepping into the silencing shield. I don’t miss the way his lip quirks up, as if he’s trying not to smile.
“We need to leave shortly. The club will be opening soon,” he notes, not acknowledging the bedlam. His eyes trace over me one more time, and he gives me a tender smile before leaving.
Rosie shrieks about timing, and I give her a quizzical expression. “What happened to ‘I just glamour?’ Can’t I glamour for the club?”
Her no-nonsense look is all the warning I need that she’s about to take charge.
Honestly, I am so grateful.
“You are not fae. So no, you cannot just glamour. Now go shower, quickly,” she snaps.
“Where are you going, anyway?” Sarah asks as I climb off Arianna, sans cupcake.
“The Rusty Dagger. I think it’s some kind of sex club,” I answer with a shrug.
“No, Vivi, it is the most exclusive fetish club in all the realms,” Rosie corrects, sliding off the bed.
“And because I’m a good, supportive friend, even when I don’t agree – because that’s what healthy relationships look like,” she gives a pointed look at Arianna, before unzipping the garment bag and revealing what’s inside.
“I think this is the perfect opportunity to see how determined Sin is not to touch you.”