Dalton was still out there, hiding somewhere, waiting for me to appear. It was only a matter of time. He would find me, kill me, drain me, and then live forever, enjoying the spoils of his victory. But only if the third beast didn’t get to me first.
And the thing was, I didn’t care. I was already dead. Everyone I had ever loved was dead, save for Lulu, and if my track record were any indication, it would only be a matter of time before she was killed, too. Because death followed me, wherever I went, and there was no denying that now.
The yard was empty. Only one piece of evidence remained to indicate what had happened here. I bit down on my lip to brace myself as I turned to face it. To face … him.
I swallowed hard as my gaze drank him in. He was still a beast. Was he not going to transform back? Would this be how he would spend his eternity—in the body of an animal, afforded no more dignity than a dog who had been hit by a passing car and pulled off the side of the road to die? Body battered. Limbs bent at impossible angles. Blood everywhere. All the signs that life had been present but was not anymore.
I stared hard, willing him to breathe, praying to see that rise and fall of his chest, clinging hopelessly to that thread of hope, knowing if anyone could survive this, Abram could. And yet knowing no one could survive this.
Everything was still. The yard. The leaves in the trees. And worst of all, Abram. So peacefully, painfully still. The realization of how true his death was rocketed into me like a missile.
I turned my back against the window and slid to the floor, by body plastered against the damn wall.
This can’t be happening.
I repeated the thought like a mantra, over and over, again and again. And nothing changed. I was so crippled with emotion that even my tears escaped me. There was nothing left. My entire being was evaporating around me, my mind and emotions at war, pulling me in every direction.
All the fire that blazed within me while Abram was fighting for his life was now extinguished. He was dead, and he was taking my will to live with him.
Let Dalton come. Let all the beasts this world had to offer come for all I cared. What more harm could they do to me now? In less than five minutes, everything had changed. All hope had been erased. All of my worst fears had been realized.
Just five minutes ago, Abram had been standing before me, his chest heaving with determined breaths. How could those breaths be his last?
My senses started to return. First with the sound of my pulse in my ear, a rushing, shushing sound. An agonizing reminder of life. I dug my nails into the wood floor beneath me and pressed the back of my head hard against the wall.
Abram, no.
I squeezed my eyes shut, and the burning tears that had been floating in my subconscious came streaming out, reminding me I was still alive to cry. To feel. Alone.
The more I wanted the pain to end, the harder I cried. I was hyperventilating, and this was even worse than when cancer stole my mother from me. I choked on life’s air as I gasped for breath.
I had the fleeting thought of getting up. Of pulling myself together. Of just stopping crying long enough to breathe. But those thoughts only made me hurt more, made my cries flood faster, made the ache spread farther in my chest.
Like an insult, the door clicked and creaked open, releasing me from my prison. I didn’t bother to open my eyes. I wasn’t ready to see life beyond that door. I just shook my head and curled into myself.
“I know you must be disheartened.”
The voice tore through my mind. Whipping my eyes open, I looked toward the source of the noise.
Satina stood at the doorway, still wearing the dead girl’s body and looking every bit as refreshed as a girl coming off a week long Daytona vacay.
I licked my dry lips, trying to find the will to speak. “How long have you been standing there?”
She titled her chin up. “Charisse, you have to understand—”
I lifted my hand to stop her. “Don’t,” I ground out, anger bubbling up inside me. “Don’t fucking say another word, I swear to God, Satina.”
She had been right outside this door the entire time, I just knew it. She could have helped. Could have used her Conduit magic and saved his life. Could have freed me and allowed me to at least try to protect him. Could have done something. But she’d just stood there. Stood there and let him die. Left me in here to watch hopelessly as his life was stolen from him. From me.
“I did what I had to do,” she said firmly, not wavering an inch from where she stood.
Indignation swelled in my heart. “You bitch!”
I darted to the far wall to grab an ancient-looking sword in a scabbard that hung there as one of the few adornments in the room, but as soon as I touched it, I realized it was fake. I could still give that bitch a hell of a swat nonetheless.
“This was all some plan of yours, wasn’t it? You pretended to help us so we’d let you free. And then you just did nothing while they killed him!”