Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Fuck, I did this.
I rip open the vest he’s wearing, my hands coming away blood-soaked. “Hecate, help me.” There’s so much blood. From the bullet wound? He was wearing a vest, but he must have been hit.
And if the bullet doesn’t kill him, the poison will. I don’t know what to do. There’s a balm I can use to help his skin, but what about his lungs? The compound is designed to kill fast. Papa and I agreed we would use it as a last resort. I didn’t make an antidote because I’m immune.
Kaiser coughs, and the sound stabs my ears. He groans, coming too. “Shh,” I say. “Just rest easy. You’re hurt.”
“I’m okay.” But he coughs again, and blood and sputum froth at the corner of his mouth.
“You were shot.”
“No, knife. Stabbed.”
I don’t know what he’s talking about. “I’m sorry.” I lean over him. I want to touch him, but I can’t. His skin looks like someone rubbed it with sandpaper. Even his eyes are bleary and red. Bloodied tears drip down his face. “It wasn’t supposed to go like this,” I tell him. Except that’s a lie. I wanted to unleash the poison on everyone. Things went down exactly how I wanted them, too—except Kaiser got hurt. “I didn’t want you to be hurt.”
A shadow rears up over us. I throw myself across Kaiser. Our enemies found us, and it’s all over.
But then someone calls, “Bella?” It’s not the Vesuvios. It’s someone in a demon mask. He pulls it off, and I recognize my future brother-in-law.
“It’s okay, Bella.” Jaeger crouches next to me. The light glints off his long hair. I realize I’m shaking, holding onto Kaiser like he’s my lifeline. More Fraternitas members melt out of the woods. “It’s okay,” Jaeger repeats. “We’re here. Everyone else is dead. You’re safe.”
The battle is over. Dominus has lost a lot of men and another son. I should feel triumphant.
But Kaiser is barely breathing. He’s hurt because of me. I want to die.
It’s my fault. Don’t leave. Don’t leave me.
37
Bella
* * *
Fraternitas takes us to a safe house.
I’m huddled in a blanket in a dark corner of the room while Atticus and his team work on Kaiser. Jaeger stands next to me, guarding me even as he watches his brother fight for his life.
Everyone’s been careful not to touch me.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “He wasn’t supposed to get hurt.”
Jaeger glances at me but doesn’t say anything.
Pain stabs my abdomen. I curl up and cover my face with my hands. I can’t look at Kaiser lying in the medical bed. He’s been cleaned up, his head and face swathed in white bandages. Even his eyes are covered. He looks halfway to being a mummy.
Blood stains the white sheets.
I kept thinking of him as impervious, immortal. A demigod like Thorbjorn. I should’ve done more to protect him. I thought of it as a game, one I would win.
It was a game between us, I realize. I wanted it to be real, so he obliged. He made it fun. I didn’t think through the consequences of my actions, and now Kaiser might pay the ultimate price.
I cover my mouth, stifling a moan. I can’t do this. It hurts so much. Memories flash through my mind. Kaiser watching me garden in the greenhouse. Chasing me through the forest. Touching me. Taking me to the bookstore. Reading my mother’s journals.
I can’t imagine living one day without him by my side. My captor, my protector, the one who keeps me grounded, keeps me sane. The one who goes along with my wicked games. The one who chases me, catches me, punishes me and makes me like it. The one who soothes me. The one who hates to be touched but holds me through the night.
I need him to live. I don’t want to be without him.
“Bella?” It’s Atticus, standing over me with concern etched on his face. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” I sit up, hiding my wince, and wipe the wetness off my cheeks quickly. “What’s up?”
“He’s stable. We need to know what you poisoned him with.”
“It was a lot of things mixed together. My father invented it. Distillation of sap from a manicheel tree, plus a few other compounds from lily of the valley.”
“Lily of the valley? The little white flower?”
I nod sadly. “Just because it’s pretty doesn’t mean it won’t kill you.” Atticus and Jaeger murmur to each other, then turn as three more men enter the room. St. James and the Devil. They look different without their masks. I could imagine poisoning them, but I don’t bother.
Father Francis walks in behind them. A priest coming to the deathbed to administer last rites.
“No.” I stand up, ready to race to Kaiser’s side. “No, no, no—”
“Bella?” Atticus asks. Jaeger tries to stop me, but I slip away and throw myself between Kaiser and the rest.