And I throttled the sword straight at him.
It flew true, slicing its way through the air and hitting Dalton right in the neck. He didn’t have time to yelp this time. He didn’t react at all. His eyes went wide and then they lost their light. His body fell limp and lifeless against me, and I pushed it off. All but his head.
I had taken that clean off.
Chapter 33
The minutes stretched as I struggled to catch my breath. Killing Dalton … I squeezed my eyes shut. God, I had killed somebody. It was the hardest thing I had ever had to do. Pushing him off me was only slightly easier.
He was heavy and slick with blood. Bile rose in my stomach, not only because I was touching a still warm corpse, but because of who the corpse used to be. This was Lulu’s brother. Lord, Lulu was going to be heartbroken. And how was I going to explain this? How would I explain any of it?
His headless body thudded onto the ground next to me, and I rolled as far away from it as I could. The night air mingled with my bangs as I settled close to Abram. I felt his breath, steadier now. That was a good thing—perhaps the only good thing—to happen this entire damn night.
Heaviness drifted over me as I lay there. The weight of all that had happened, of all I had done, of everything all of us had been through, was too much. And it was begging me to sleep.
I fought the urge as long as I could. I needed to be here when Abram woke, to make sure he was okay, and to explain everything he had missed. But it was no use. My body was too exhausted. And before long, my eyes refused to cooperate.
***
I woke in familiar arms. My entire body ached, my mouth was dry, and my head spun. But as my eyes opened, heavy and nearly unwilling, the sight they took in made it all worth it.
Abram sat over me, cradling me in his arms. He was a man again, bare-chested and sweating. But he wasn’t hurt. And he sure as hell wasn’t dead.
“You’re not …” I muttered. My voice was cracked, low, and weak.
“Not on your life.” He smiled at me. It was beautiful. He was beautiful.
Sitting there, dark eyes gleaming in the quickly brightening sky, he was everything I had ever wanted. Even if he could never match the way I felt for him, it was okay. I didn’t care, so long as he was alive.
He had given me this gift. He had shown me that love, real live honest-to-God love, existed. It was pure and beautiful. It would change you in the most unexpected and glorious ways. And it hurt. It hurt in ways you never knew were possible and in volumes you hoped would never stop.
He had shown me love, even if he could never return it. And right now, in the glow of the early morning, that was enough.
“Don’t try to talk,” he said over me. “You saved my life, you know.”
“Now we’re even,” I answered, against his protests.
Bracing myself on his shoulder, I pulled myself up. The entire world was shaky, and I was somehow even less stable than that.
He took hold of my hand in his. “Do you need water?”
“No. Just you. I just need to sit here with you for a minute.” The tears that welled up behind my eyes surprised me. “I thought you were dead.”
“I was …” He shook his head. “Or at least, that’s what she told me while she was healing you. Apparently you brought me back from even death, which I would venture to say makes us not so even after all.”
“I’m sure you’ll find some way to make it up to me.”
“I can think of more than a few alternatives,” he said with a grin, that smoldering look in his eyes making my knees go even weaker than they already were … but this time, for a completely different reason.
And just like that, the dread and worry that had laid so heavily on my shoulders melted away. Against all odds, we had won. There were no more best friends’ little brothers hoping to bleed me dry. It was just Abram, me, and eternity.
And a third beast we still hadn’t found …
“What about the other beast?” I asked warily. “I spilled a lot of blood …”
“You spilled enough blood for Satina’s spell to block that beast for a month,” Abram said with a low chuckle. “But I’ll get him … or if that fails, I’ll just toss you a sword next time he’s around.”
His simplicity in that moment solidified everything I felt about him. “I love you,” I whispered, letting him fold me into his embrace. “You don’t have to say it back,” I said against his chest. “I know it’s too soon for you. Just know that it’s true. Just know that I feel it.”
He tensed up and, when my mind slowed down enough to register the quickly greying sky, I remembered why.
“The curse,” I whispered. “It’s permanent now.”
“Not yet.” He caressed his hand down my back. “When the sun comes up.”