Lucy’s face was ravaged, red and swollen. I could see claw marks on her cheeks and knew her grief had been intense and all encompassing. She reached out and clasped my hand, then just sat there holding it. She didn’t speak or move. I sensed that she couldn’t, and I had literally never seen her quiet like this.
“We thought you were gone,” Colton finally said. “Lucy couldn’t feel you any longer. She’s your guide and the bond you share is tangible. On her side at least, but you were no longer there.”
I met her unblinking blue-and-yellow eyes. “You can feel me? Why have you never told me?”
She shook her head, opened her mouth before slamming it shut again. She tried again to speak, and finally words emerged in a hoarse sentence. “I never realized what it was until you were gone. I didn’t know that you were that warm spot beside my heart, the spot which I cherished more than any other. Then it was gone.” She squeezed tighter. “I died with you, Abby.”
Her arms went around me and there was no space between us any longer. I held her as she sobbed, my eyes hot and damp, but I wouldn’t let myself fall apart. If I did, I’d never pull myself back together.
I met Brace’s black eyes. Lucy wasn’t the only one who had died with me that day; my mate had also.
“You thought I was … I died?” I asked him softly.
His features shuttered again, and that sheen was back in his eyes.
“You did, Red, you died in my arms. In the end I shot my energy into you, hoping it might save you.”
“You did save me,” I said, knowing that it was Brace’s energy that had kept me alive long enough to allow the Mother of All to capture my essence. He had infused strength into my soul.
“The … others?” I couldn’t bring myself to say their names. It hurt just thinking about what had happened in the cave.
Lucy sobbed harder then. Colton’s rumbly growls grew louder and his face crumbled around the edges. He seemed to be in physical pain watching his mate fall apart. Brace reached out both hands and cupped my face gently, his thumbs rubbing down my cheek bones. So softly. With such tender care.
“Lalli and Josian are there, but it doesn’t look good … I’m so sorry, baby.”
I was crushed, sagging forward.
Brace caught Lucy and me, his hands falling from my face to cradle us both.
It couldn’t be true.
Why would the Mother save me, but allow the rest to fall? They had done as much as I had, sacrificed as much. It wasn’t fair.
I felt more warmth around me, and as a familiar lick went up my face I knew my hellhound was here. That he had mourned this loss too.
“I need to see them,” I murmured against Brace’s chest.
Poor Lucy was squished between us.
I hoped we weren’t suffocating her. “I have to say goodbye.”
I knew it was going to hurt, but they deserved this from me. And I needed the closure. I could still feel their energy, feel their souls. It didn’t seem real that they were gone, so I had to see it with my own eyes.
“Where are they?’’
Brace pulled back, and Lucy let go of me. She seemed tinier somehow as she sank in on herself, both arms wrapped tightly across her middle. Colton couldn’t hold back any longer. He reached out and snatched her up into his arms, his massive form engulfing the tiny pixie as he cuddled her closer.
Brace’s hands found my face again. It was as if he couldn’t stop touching me, examining my features. “Are you sure you want to do this? Because you don’t have to.”
His eyes bored into mine then they began scanning my face. The look in his eye was one of disbelief. The bond was telling me that he’d truly believed he would never again see the flash of green in my eyes, or kiss my lips. He had lived with that knowledge for a short time, but it was long enough to crack his heart into pieces.
Right then he was thanking every god he had ever known or heard of that I had returned. He was so busy being thankful he hadn’t stopped to look into my memories. To know that the gods had blessed us. But then he did …
The Mother of All saved you?
There was awe in his voice, but it wasn’t focused on the Mother. Nope. It was all for me. Brace knew I wasn’t perfect, but he still considered me to be above all others, and he was quite pleased to know that the gods valued my life also.
“I need to see them,” I said out loud. “I will say a proper goodbye.”
Brace didn’t remind me that they were gone, that there would be nothing left but shells that would eventually fade away. He supported my need and would make sure it happened.
“Josian and Lallie are with them in the ballroom. Your parents haven’t given up. They’re trying to revive the girls the same way we did you.” Brace got to his feet, and scooped me off the bed, before setting me down with tender care.
A burst of love flooded the darkness in my mind; my parents never gave up. Cerberus moved to my side then. I reached out and rested my hands on him.
“They literally left your side only moments before you woke,” Lucy said, sounding less distraught. “Brace begged them to try and help the girls. He said that you would want them to make sure there was no way that had been missed to save them.”