by L. P. Dover
The air shifts, and a blast of cold wind sweeps across me, making the hair on my neck stand on end. Beck's eyes widen in fear, and he lunges for me, although I don't know why, but then I'm pierced with a pain I've never felt before. Shouts erupt all around me, and when I look down at my chest, I see an iron dagger stuck through my body with blood staining my sweater.
I fall on my knees, and the roar of Cedric's howl is all I can hear. What I feel is worse. My skin sizzles around the blade, sticking into my skin, and I feel the poison from the iron spreading through my veins. The pain is excruciating, but I can't scream. It's like I'm paralyzed inside my own body, slowly slipping away.
Dorian is still frozen in place, laughing as his death draws near. Still, in his wolf form, Cedric comes up behind him, his body mid-air as he bites off Dorian's head at the same time Beck slices his sword through his mid-section, severing him in half.
I close my eyes and open them back up when I feel Cedric's arms wrap around my body. "Laila! Stay with me!" My insides feel like they're being ripped from my body and scorched. I try to look up at him, but he's blurry.
"We have to pull the dagger out," my father shouts.
Beck's icy fingers touch my face. "Hang on, Laila."
I don't know who takes out the blade, but the pain is still there when it leaves my body. Their voices all combine into a jumble of sounds, and I can't understand a single one of them. All I can feel is the poison taking over my body and Cedric's anger from not saving me. A warm, spicy liquid touches my parched lips, and it tastes good. For the briefest of seconds, the agony stops, but it picks right back up again.
"No fae can survive a wound like that," Beck says.
Cedric growls and pulls me into his arms. "She's more shifter than fae now. My blood will help her. It has to."
Beck takes my hand, and I can feel him channeling the earth's magic to help me. "There's only one fae who has survived something like this."
My body grows numb, and it feels like I'm floating away, but I want to hear who. Cedric holds me tighter. "Who? Tell me," he demands. "Maybe they can help her."
When I open my eyes, all I can see is a bright light, but then it all turns to darkness.
"Please, Laila. You can't leave me now. Fight this."
I don't know if I can.
Twenty-Four
Cedric
The past twenty-four hours have felt like an eternity in hell. I keep waiting for Laila's mind to open up to me, but all I get is nothing. The last thing I felt from her has haunted me to the point I'm fucking sick over it. I know the torment she went through when the blade stuck through her skin and how it felt like fire as the poison spread inside her body. I wanted to take it all away from her, but instead, I have to watch it consume her, knowing there isn't a single damn thing I can do but wait to see where her fate lies.
Holding Laila's hand, I bring it to my lips. I changed her out of her blood-soaked clothes and put her in one of Seraphina's white robes. She looks like an angel with her red hair fanned out over the bed. I keep waiting for her to open her bright blue eyes. Her skin is cold, and her heart beats fainter by the minute. I thought bringing her to Seraphina's house would somehow magically heal her, but nothing seems to work, not even Seraphina's plants or my blood. I poured some into her wound, and it would heal over, but then after a while, it would open back up. Still, I keep on trying.
A knock sounds on the door, but I don't even look back to see who it is. Ryker comes around the other side of the bed and sits down. "How are you holding up, brother?"
My eyes burn like fire, and my heart feels like it's been shattered in two. I keep my focus on Laila. "I'm so livid I can't think fucking straight." Hot tears fall down my cheeks. "I can't lose her, Ryker. I've lost way too many people."
He reaches across Laila's body and places a hand on my arm. "I know. There's still hope with the full moon tonight." Our shifter magic is more potent during the full moon, which is our last hope. "Have you heard anything from Beck?" he asks.
I shake my head. "He left for the Land of the Fae and hasn't been back yet. His mother is the only full-blooded fae to have ever survived an attack like this. He didn't stay long enough to tell us how she did it."
Ryker sighs. "He'll be back. It's a good thing you completed the bond when you did. She's more shifter than fae now. At least, she has that on her side."
My throat grows thick. "Still, she might not make it." Swallowing hard, I tear my gaze away from her to look at Ryker. "If she doesn't pull through, I can't stay here anymore."
Ryker hangs his head. "What will you do?" Hell, if I know. All I know is I can't stay with the pack. Instead of answering, I turn my gaze back to Laila. Ryker stays for another few minutes and then leaves when Zayne enters the room. He sits across from me and stares at Laila; he hasn't spoken to anyone since the attack. He hasn't spoken to anyone since the attack.
"I'm sorry," I say to him. "I'd give anything to change what happened."
He kisses her forehead. "I don't blame you, Cedric. None of this was your fault."
"It doesn't feel that way. I'd give anything to trade places with her."
"And then I'd be sitting here with her while she mourns you. Either way, it hurts."
"Cedric," Amelie murmurs from the doorway.
I glance at her over my shoulder. Her lips tremble as she looks at Laila, but then she nods toward the hall. "The girls and I have everything ready outside. We thought it'd be a good time to get Laila under the moon, surrounded by all the people and things she loved."
I nod and turn back to my mate. Sliding my arms underneath her, I lift her gently and carry her out of the house. Everyone is waiting for us outside and standing by a bed of flowers surrounded by snow.
Amelie motions for me to lay Laila down, so I carefully place her on the flowers and kneel beside her. Amelie does the same and places a lily in her hair. "I went to the florist and picked out all of Laila's favorite flowers."
"She does love white lilies," I say.
Amelie traces a finger down Laila's cheek. "If anyone can pull through this, it's her."
"Laila. Please talk to me." When she doesn't, I glance around at everyone in the pack. Zayne steps forward, his face a stony mask, but then his eyes widen when he sees something in the distance. Ryker and Bailey step to the side, and so do Sebastian and Tyla. Beck appears outside of the circle and starts toward me, followed by two women, both with long, whitish-blond hair and pale skin with crowns made of ice on their heads. Although I can tell one is older than the other, even though she doesn't exactly appear to be, they look exactly alike. She has the wisdom in her eyes as Seraphina had. I'm pretty sure it's his mother, queen of the winter court.
Beck kneels on the other side of Laila, and the two women follow suit. The younger one takes her place next to me while Beck's mother is next to him. She gazes down at Laila and holds a hand over her chest. "She looks exactly like her mother."
Beck flourishes a hand toward his mother and to the other fae. "Cedric, this is my mother, Ariella, and my sister Ella."
"Thank you for coming," I say to them, but then I focus on Ariella. "Beck tells me you survived something like this before. How did you do it? Can Laila do the same?"
Her gaze saddens. "My situation was a little different." She reaches over and holds her daughter's hand. "Dorian's father, Alasdair, tried to take over the Land of the Fae many years ago. When it came down to the final battle, I did my duty and killed him, but was wounded with an iron blade. When I died, I was pregnant with Ella." Amelie, Faith, Bailey, and Tyla all gasp behind me. Ariella glances around at the pack and then back to me. "After a faerie passes on, we go to a place called the Hereafter. That's where I went for a short time. It's there where I found out I was pregnant, and Ella was still alive inside my body."
It all sounded too crazy to be true. The shifter world has its own share of magic, but theirs is something completely different.
"How did you come back to life?" Amelie asks.
My gut clenches with despair. "Is that why you're here?" I ask Ella, "to help Laila cross over?"
Ella frowns and looks down at Laila's body. "Laila is different. I can't read her as easily as the others. It's like there's a war within her body. Something is holding her here, but something else is trying to push her out." Closing her eyes, she hovers her hands over Laila's body and whispers a set of words I can't decipher. Laila's heart starts to weaken, her beats lessening with each passing second.
"What's going on?" I shout, squeezing Laila's hands. "She's slipping away."
A tear falls down Beck's cheek, and he hangs his head. That can't be it. "Laila!" I shout, cupping her face in my hands. "Come back to me!"
Ella places a hand on my arm. "It's time. I'll do everything I can to bring her back."
Leaning over Laila's body, I kiss her gently on the lips. The moment my lips leave hers, her heart stops. She's gone.
Twenty-Five
Laila
The sky is bright when I open my eyes. The grass is soft on my back, and the delicious scent of honeysuckles and lavender hangs heavy in the air. I breathe it in and smile. It's a beautiful dream. Everything is warm and full of life. I don't want to wake up from it.
"Laila," a voice calls out. I run my hands through the grass before sitting up. The dress I'm in is so white it glows in the sunlight, almost in an ethereal kind of way. "Laila."
I glance over my shoulder and see a woman I don't recognize. She's beautiful with long, whitish-blonde hair and dressed in a white gown similar to mine. "Hi," I say to her as I get to my feet. "Do I know you?"
She smiles and shakes her head. "You know my younger brother … Beck. My name is …"
"Ella," I finish for her. "I've heard a lot about you." Brows furrowed, I stare at her curiously, knowing something isn't right; the dream feels all too real. I run a hand over my chest, and there's no wound. The last thing I remember is being stabbed with an iron dagger. "This is a strange dream."
Ella's smile fades. "It's no dream, Laila. You're really here."
I look around at the landscape. The trees, the rolling hills, and the shimmering lake all have a twinkling glow to it. "Where is here exactly?"
Ella walks closer to me. "It's called the Hereafter. It's where faeries go when they move on. You, however, are stuck in both worlds. I'm here to help you."
I can feel the panic rise inside of me. "Where's Cedric?"
Her gaze saddens. "He's in the mortal realm, waiting for you to come back." She holds out her hands and looks down at mine. "May I?"
I nod, and she reaches for my hands, holding them tight with her eyes closed. "When I touched you in the mortal realm, I could feel something holding you there, but then there was something else trying to push you out." She opens her eyes. "Now I know what it is."
"What does that mean?"
She shrugs. "It means you have a choice to make. You can stay in the Hereafter, or you can come with me, and I'll take you back to your mate."
"There's no question about that. Take me to Cedric."
"Are you sure?"
Why would she ask that? "Is this a trick question? Why would I not want to go back to him?"
She squeezes my hands. "Because it's not in the way you think. Taking you back doesn't mean you get to stay."
By the way she looks at me, I can see the truth in her eyes. "I'm dead, aren't I?"
”Yes and no."
"What's going to happen when you take me back?"
She shrugs. "I don't know. This is new to me. I've never met a half shifter, half-fae before. The magic in your blood is exquisite. All I can say is that I'll do everything I can." She squeezes my hand again and smiles. "Sometimes love is the most powerful magic of all." The wind whips around us, and she blows out a slow breath. "Close your eyes, Laila."
I do what she says, and when I close my eyes, everything changes. The warmth on my feet disappears and is replaced with snow, but what catches my attention most is the smell. Cedric is close, and so is the rest of my pack.
"You can open your eyes now."
What I see breaks my heart. My lifeless body lies on the ground, surrounded by my favorite flowers with Cedric draped across my chest, his shoulders shaking from his sobs. Beck is on the other side of my body, holding my hand with who I assume is his mother beside him. Amelie and Faith are clutching each other and crying while everyone else in the pack stares on in sadness.
"You said I'm both alive and dead, right?" I say, my throat clenching tight.
Ella lets my hand go so I can get closer to Cedric. I kneel beside him and try to touch him, but my hand runs straight through him like a ghost. "A part of you is dying, Laila. Your heart has stopped, but it's only one portion of it. I've never seen anything like it before."
"What does that mean?"
Ella looks down at my body. "The wound you have wouldn't kill a shifter, but it would if you were fae. That's the part of you that's dying." She kneels and takes my hand, and also places her other hand on my lifeless body. "Your wolf is still alive in you, Laila. She is what's trying to push the poison out along with the blood Cedric's been giving you. It's helping, but it's not enough."
Tears fall down my face. I can't stand seeing Cedric in torment. "Why is it not enough?"
Her gaze shifts to something in the distance, and she smiles. "There's someone here who wants to see you. Maybe I should let her explain." She pulls me up, and the next thing I know, we're just out of the circle, only a few feet away from Cedric and the others. I can see my father standing off to the side, his body as still as a statue but with tears falling down his cheeks.
"I love you, Dad," I whisper.
A bright light appears in the woods, taking on the form of a woman, but I can't see her face. That is until the light dims. Gasping, I fall to my knees when I see my mother's face. She rushes over and falls to the ground with me, flinging her arms around me. "Oh, Laila. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this."
I hold her tight and burst out crying. She's even more beautiful than I ever imagined. "Mom. Is it really you?"
"It's me," she whispers. "I'm so proud of you, darling. You've become exactly what I hoped you would." She slowly lets me go and wipes away my tears. I bring my hands up to her face and sob some more. She's really here with me.
"How are you here?"
Her lips tremble. "Laila, I never left you. I've been by your side ever since you were a baby. I've watched you grow into the woman you are now. It killed me when I couldn't help you get away from the Sierra pack, but I knew you'd find a way." She cups my cheeks. "But at least I'm here to help you now."
"What do I do?"
Taking my hand, she leads me over to my body while Ella follows us. The pack has disbursed to give Cedric his time with me. Beck is now on his feet, standing a few feet away with his mother still beside him.
Still holding my hand, my mother stops by my body and looks down. "You're not going to like this, Laila, but to go back to your mate, you have to sacrifice something."
"What?"
Her smile saddens when she turns to me. "You're holding onto the fae part of yourself, my darling. That's why the poison is staying with you. Cedric's blood and your wolf are trying to take over, but you won't let them. It's the only thing keeping you alive right now."
My throat closes up. "That part of me is my connection to you. That's why I've held onto it so hard."
She steps in front of me. "I know. That's one of the reasons why I'm glad I'm here. It's okay to let me go. I will always be a part of you, whether you have magic or not." Her warm, gentle hands caress my cheeks. "Your happiness is all that matters to me. You have so much to live
for, Laila. Let that part of you go. Being a wolf is who you truly are."
"How do I do that?"
Ella places a hand on my shoulder. "I'll connect you back to your body. The rest is up to you. All you have to do is fully embrace your wolf and give in to that part of yourself. Hold on to the love you have for your mate. Then and only then can you make it back to Cedric."
I'll do anything to get back to him. "Okay," I whisper. "I can do it."
She takes a step back. "I'll let you say your goodbyes to your mother. We'll head back when you're ready."
My mother lifts my hand to her cheek. "Now, I have to let you go. I think this is the hardest thing I've ever had to do." She lowers my hand, and her gaze wanders over to my father. "I've watched him too. It breaks my heart how much he's suffered over the years. Your mate doesn't need to lose you, but neither does your father."
"He misses you, Mom."
Her eyes glisten when she focuses back on me. "I miss him too. I loved him more than anything, and I still do. When you go back, I want you to give him something." She opens her hand, and a smooth green rock appears. "Tell him I'm happy and that it's time for him to be happy too. This rock will show him the way. Take it."
"How will it do that?" I ask, taking the stone from her.
Her lips pull back mischievously. "I can't tell you everything, my darling. Just know that his time will come, and he won't be able to fight it. I hate I won't be around to see it all unfold."
"Where will you be?"
A tear falls down her cheek, but it's Ella who answers. "She stayed in the mortal realm for you, Laila. Guess you can say you were her unfinished business. Now she can move on to the Hereafter until it's time to see you again. I'll take her there as soon as we get you back."
My mother places a hand over her heart. "You'll always be in my heart, Laila, just like I know I'll be in yours. That knowledge is what I'm taking with me to the other side."
"I love you, Mom." Wrapping my arms around her, I hold her tight. I don't want to let go.