Chapter 61 #2
I turn back to my mortal friends and try to pretend we don’t all have tears in our eyes. “Good, okay. Uhm,” my voice trembles, and I pause to clear my throat before continuing, “you guys will hopefully be safe here, but if Need wins, have someone apparate you back to the Shadow Realm. Hopefully–”
“Not happening,” Isaac cuts me off.
Conner still looks a bit green, but nods in agreement.
“We aren’t sitting this out,” Sarah adds, her tone shaky but firm.
One of my tears breaks loose, even as I shake my head. “I love you guys, and I know you want to help, but you have no fighting experience.”
For once, I don’t feel afraid of their responses.
They aren’t going to abandon me just because I disagree with them. They’re my family, and real family doesn’t do that.
Conner finally finds his voice. “Then we won’t fight. But we can still help. There are families over there – little kids and elderly. Someone can apparate us over, and we can start evacuating. We’ll get everyone as far as possible.”
I open my mouth to disagree, not wanting to put them in danger, only to shut it again. This is their choice, and I support them. “That’s a really good idea. Okay.”
“Do everything you can to stay quiet. Need will likely have some soldiers watching the town. If you’re seen, you’ll be captured and held as hostages again,” Morgana warns as they stand.
Sin releases me just as Sarah launches herself at me for a suffocating hug.
I hug her back just as tightly.
“If she does – don’t give in,” she chokes, just as Conner and Isaac join the hug.
“Stop trying to steal all the glory,” Isaac adds in a teasing tone.
“Yeah, Vivian, let us be heroes too,” Conner agrees, forcing a laugh.
I choke back my sob. “I love you guys.”
We hug a little tighter to an answering chorus of ‘I love you.’
When we finally break away from each other, I find Morgana giving us a thoughtful, calculating look. “There are quite a few people here who can’t fight, but they can apparate,” she muses.
“You’re right,” Ragna quickly agrees. “Go find Carys. She’ll be able to rally anyone who can apparate. Take them with you. Once you’ve cleared away civilians, they can help apparate in more soldiers.”
My friends agree and hustle to get to work. I try not to focus on the fact that this might be the last time I ever see them again.
My friends, my realms, my homes.
I won’t let them down.
The moment the door closes behind them, Ragna turns to say something to me, but before she can say a word, Morgana whirls on Sin.
“What have you done?” Morgana hisses in obvious panic.
“What needed to be done.” Sin wraps a possessive arm around my waist, and his tone is glacial.
Morgana’s expression turns livid, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this angry. Her breathing is heavy, like she’s fighting the urge to yell. And even though there’s no sign of magic coming off her, something inside my chest shudders in fear, like it knows danger is close.
“You broke your soul, right before a war? Do you have any idea what that did to your power? You’re now weaker than Leon,” she whispers, like any added volume will splinter her control.
Her words send horror piercing straight to my heart, and Sin presses a kiss against my head.
“Stop that. You gave me a gift,” he whispers in my mind.
“But how?” I ask. “You’re–”
“Going to be much more focused on our enemies, now that we have a contingency,” he answers.
Feeling my confusion, he adds, “Later. I’ll explain later.”
His focus turns back to Morgana. “Whatever I’ve done with my soul is none of your concern. You lost that right the day you handed off my mate to our enemies.”
Morgana’s anger vanishes, only to be hidden behind a mask of cold indifference. “Fine,” she spits, before storming out of the room.
More guilt wells up inside me, but before I can say something to Sin, Ragna strides forward. She’s wearing a loose silver dress rather than any armor.
Distantly, I realize all the soldiers wearing linens must be shifters, since fabric is easier to tear through.
“Vivian,” she starts, in a worried, caring tone as she takes my hand. Her earlier stoic demeanor is gone, and she’s fussing like a mother hen.
Jarred, I jerk away from her, and Sin tugs me against him a little more firmly.
Ragna’s shoulders drop, and she backs up a step. “I know yesterday did not go well. But before you go into war, I need to explain to you how ascension works. You’re a demigoddess, and that means you are made by deeds. Your life–”
A surge of annoyance flares within me, and I don’t bother to try to shove it away.
Maybe it’s the looming threat of death, or maybe I’ve finally stopped being a coward. Either way, I don’t mince words when I cut her off, “I don’t care.”
She frowns, looking frustrated before trying again, “But you–”
“You had two decades to find me and explain your family’s secrets. But you didn’t. You left me to rot. And even once you realized who I was, you chose to manipulate me, rather than give me answers.” I don’t hide how betrayed I feel. She deserves to know.
Ragna holds out her hands like she’s trying to calm an injured animal. Still, it isn’t quite enough to hide the edge in her tone. “You don’t understand. Everything has been done with specific intent, all culminating–”
“I’ve made it this far without whatever strings you have in store for me,” I all but growl. “We may be allies, but you are not my family. No one gets to control me anymore.”
Whatever battle Ragna has been fighting to try to keep her annoyance under wraps is lost, and she lets out a frustrated yell before storming out of the room. She mutters something about ‘needing to speak with them,’ and ‘things not going to plan’ as she goes.
I sigh when she’s gone and let myself feel safe and content in Sin’s arms, for just a second longer.
He’s tender as he turns me around to hug me close. Worry and fear trickle through both sides of the bond.
When I look up, he’s already leaning down to meet me for a kiss. Only this kiss doesn’t immediately turn heated and starved; it’s gentle. Both of us need the softness before the horrors that await.
His gaze becomes fiercely determined when we finally pull away.
“You will not die today,” he states it as an order.
“You won’t either,” I snap back, still very much reeling from Morgana’s announcement that he’s weaker now. Fear claws at my insides, and I break our stare to look down. There must be a way to keep him safe – a way to make this better.
My train of thought is interrupted when he tips my chin to look at him once more. “Do you remember what I told you the first time we completed the mate bond?” He asks.
The intimate night flashes across my mind, and my cheeks heat. “Uhm – you said a lot of things,” I hedge, not sure what he’s getting at.
A smile ghosts across his lips. “I told you there is no longer a day that our souls can exist alone, that not even death can separate us.” At my confused expression, he continues, “It means that if one of us dies, when they are reborn, our souls will recognize each other. They’ll call to each other,” he explains, and his thumb brushes against my cheek.
“We will always be able to find each other.”
Warmth floods my body, both from my own emotions and the love that Sin sends through our bond.
“I love you,” I whisper simply, because nothing else I say will make this situation any better.
“I love you too, kitten,” he answers, stepping back and offering his hand. “Ready?”
I take a breath and place my hand in his, our fingers interlocking. “Ready.”