Chapter 6 #2
But Riven is used to my own grumpiness and isn’t deterred by Ambrose in the least. “I have a few.” He looks from Lumi to Ambrose.
“I think we should try again, but this time, pour that energy into Lumi,” Riven says.
“What? I’ll kill her!” Ambrose says.
“You won’t. You love her. You have a strong connection to her. That’s what this curse is about. Your connection. Maybe trying to sever it will sever the curse.”
I smirk, liking this idea too much. But then Riven gives me a look that says just wait, and my smirk drops. I’m not going to like whatever comes next.
“Are you telling me to stop loving her? Because I can’t do that. Even to save her life, unfortunately,” Ambrose says.
“I’m not telling you that. I’m telling you that you have to sever this thing between you. This curse. Lean into your connection, then sever it with magic.”
Ambrose reaches for Lumi’s hand, and she slowly accepts it. It feels awkward watching them hold hands. He looks into her eyes, but her eyes don’t sparkle back like they do when I look at her. There is no connection. No spark. Nothing that tells me she’s his and he’s hers.
Fucking gods, he needs my help if he’s ever going to have a chance at winning her heart. Fuck me.
“I’m going to have everyone pour their magic into you again, but this time all at once.
That way, you’re not having to wrangle the magic for long, now that everyone understands how to send their magic to you.
And then just focus on your hands, on the thing connecting you, blast the curse away from you while you hold onto her. ”
“I’ll hurt her,” Ambrose says again.
“No, this is protecting her. Blast the curse causing her pain away from her,” Riven says.
Ambrose looks at Lumi. “Do it,” she says.
I suck in a breath, hating this. I grip the railing of the deck. The sunlight is hitting down on the center of the circle they are in. There is no way for me to help her without being in incredible pain unless I shift. I’m faster in my vampire form, so I stay as I am.
Riven nods to the Moonlight pack, and once again, they start pushing their magic to Ambrose.
The air shifts once again, but Lumi just stares at Ambrose with all the confidence in the world.
She may not love him. She may hate him for some of the things he’s done, like controlling her wolf form. But in this moment, she trusts him.
Her gaze flickers over to me for a split second, and I curse again. Fuck, she’s doing this for me, not her. She thinks this is the way to save me.
So fucking selfless.
I consider ending this right now, but that won’t help anything. I wait, preparing myself to save her if I have to.
Riven blasts Ambrose with his magic, holding nothing back.
Please, please, please just let her survive this, I pray to the gods.
Ambrose hesitates.
She gives him the subtlest of nods, and then he blasts the magic out.
It hits their joined hands, throwing them apart and knocking them both to the ground.
“Lumi!” I run, not thinking about the pain as the sunlight streaks over me. In a second, I’m cradling her head.
I can sense her breathing. Her heartbeat. She’s alive.
“Ambrose?” she croaks out.
I connect with the asshole’s mind.
“Alive,” I answer her.
She moves to get up.
“Slowly, take your time,” I say, cradling her body as the sun tries to flay me alive.
Her eyes widen in horror, and then she looks behind me. “Get him into the shadows. Now!”
Before I can process, I feel Talonis and Brax yanking me back into the shadows. As soon as I cross over, the pain dampens, but the damage is done. My skin feels raw and painful. Without Riven helping to heal me, I’d be in a lot of pain for a while.
Riven sends me a scowl, and I’m not sure if he will have enough power left after today to help me. It doesn’t matter, though. I needed to make sure that Lumi was okay.
Ambrose crawls to Lumi’s side. They exchange words mind to mind, but I don’t have enough energy to find out what they are saying.
“It didn’t work,” Ambrose says.
“But of course, it didn’t. It was a long shot. Nothing is going to work unless we break the curse the way it was intended to be broken—through choosing a mate and selecting the witches’ curse to be broken,” I say.
Riven, ever the optimist, doesn’t seem deterred by his or my statement.
“Magic is a fickle thing. We should keep trying this strategy. There is still hope to be had,” Riven says.
“Not when it risks Lumi’s life,” Ambrose says.
Riven frowns sadly. “Every day the curse isn’t broken risks Lumi’s life. Risks Nyx’s life. Risks all of our lives.”
“There could be another way, one that doesn’t involve magic,” I say.
Everyone is looking at me in disbelief. Ambrose looks at me dubiously, but Lumi—she already knows what I’m about to say and hates me for it. She’s considered it an option too. A magical loophole.
“Rowena didn’t love you, Ambrose. Did Raya? Did she ever say she loved you back, out loud, as you did her?” I ask.
Ambrose looks at me with fury for a second, but I can tell he’s thinking, replaying every conversation he’s ever had with her. Finally, he answers, “No.”
I nod, looking deep into Lumi’s eyes. “Then, it’s possible the key to breaking the curse, the magical loophole to these smaller curses, is that you have to do the thing it’s asking for.
Ambrose fell in love with Lumi. So if Lumi fell in love with Ambrose—the kind of unwaivable love that’s big and out loud—then maybe that would break Ambrose’s curse.
Lumi has the power to save herself; all she has to do is fall back in love with him. ”