Blue Moon (33 page)

But when my gaze shifts to Damen, watching as he fights and struggles for each breath—I know I have to get to him, no matter what she says. It's my fault he's like this. I abandoned him. Left him behind. I was stupid, and selfish, and naïve enough to think that everything would work out okay just because I wanted it to, and that Ava would stick around to pick up the pieces.

I step forward, my toe landing just outside the border as Roman
rushes in from behind me and shouts, “What the bloody hell is
she
doing in here?” His eyes wide with shock as he gapes at Rayne, still crouching beside Damen from behind the barrier.

“Don't trust him!” she says, her eyes darting between us. “He knew I was here all along.”

“I didn't know any such thing! I've never even seen you before!” He shakes his head. “I mean, sorry darlin', but Catholic schoolgirls just ain't my thing. I prefer my women a little more feisty, like Ever, here.” He reaches toward me, trailing his fingers down the length of my back, chilling my skin in a way that makes me want to react—but I don't. I just take a deep breath and try to stay calm. Focusing on his
other
hand—the one that's holding the antidote—the key to saving Damen.

Because in the end, that's the only thing that matters—everything else can wait.

I snatch the bottle and unscrew the top. And I'm just about to penetrate Rayne's circle of protection when Roman puts his hand on my arm and says, “Not so fast.”

I pause, glancing between them, Rayne looking me right in the eye when she says, “Don't do it, Ever! Whatever he tells you, do
not
listen. Listen only to me. Ava dumped the antidote and ran off with the elixir not long after you left, but luckily I got here just before
he
did.” She gestures toward Roman, her eyes like angry points of the darkest night. “He needs you to break the circle so he can get in, because he can't get to Damen without you. Only the worthy can access the circle, only those with good intent. But if you step in now, Roman will follow, so if you care about Damen, if you truly want to protect him, you have to wait until Romy gets here.”

“Romy?”

Rayne nods, glancing between Roman and me. “She's bringing the antidote, it will be ready by nightfall since it needs the full moon's energy to be fully complete.”

But Roman just shakes his head, laughing as he says, “What antidote? I'm the only one with the antidote. Hell, I'm the one who made the poison, so what the hell does she know?” And when he sees the confusion on my face, he adds, “I really don't see how you have much of a choice. If you listen to this one”—he flicks his fingers toward Rayne—“Damen
will
die. But if you listen to me, he
won't.
The math's rather simple, don't you think?”

I look at Rayne, watching as she shakes her head and warns me not to listen to him, to hold out for Romy, to wait for nightfall, which is still hours away. But then I gaze at Damen beside her, his breath becoming more labored, the color drained from his face—

“And if you're trying to trick me?” I say, all of my attention now focused on Roman.

Holding my breath as he says, “Then he dies.”

I swallow hard and stare at the floor, unsure what to do. Do I trust Roman, the rogue immortal who's responsible for all of this in the first place? Or do I trust Rayne, the creepy twin with her covert double-talk and an agenda that's never been clear? But when I close my eyes and try to concentrate on my gut, knowing that it's rarely wrong, even though I often ignore it, it's frustratingly still.

Then looking at Roman when he says, “But if I'm
not
tricking you, then he
lives
. So I really don't see how you have much of a choice—”

“Don't listen to him,” Rayne says. “He's
not
here to help you,
I
am!
I'm
the one who sent you the vision in Summerland that day,
I'm
the one who showed you all the ingredients required to save him. You were shut out of the akashic records because you'd already made your choice. And while we tried to show you the way, while we tried to help you and stop you from leaving, you refused to listen, and now—”

“I thought you didn't know my business?” I narrow my gaze. “I thought you and your creepy sister couldn't access—” I pause, glancing
at Roman, knowing I have to tread carefully with what I'm about to say. “I thought you couldn't
see
certain things.”

Rayne looks at me, her face stricken, shaking her head as she says, “We never lied to you, Ever. And we never misled you. We
can't
see certain things, that's true. But Romy's an empath and I'm a precog, and together we get feelings and visions. That's how we first found you, and we've been trying to guide you ever since, using the information we sense. Ever since Riley asked us to look after you—”

“Riley?”
I gape, my stomach swirling with nausea.
How could she be involved in any of this?

“We met her in Summerland and showed her around. We even went to school together, a private boarding school she manifested, which is why we wear this.” She motions to her plaid skirt and blazer, the uniform she and her sister always wear. And I remember how Riley always dreamed of going to boarding school, saying it was so she could get away from me. So it makes sense that she'd manifest one. “Then, when she decided to—” she pauses, glancing at Roman before she continues, “to
cross over,
she asked us to look after you if we ever saw you around.”

“I don't believe you,” I say, even though I have no reason not to. “Riley would've told me, she would've . . .” But then I remember how she once said something about meeting some people who showed her around, and I wonder if she was referring to the twins.

“We also know Damen—he—he helped us once—a long time ago . . .” And when she looks at me, I'm just about to fold when she says, “But if you could just wait a few more hours until the antidote's complete, then Romy will be here and . . .”

I glance at Damen, his emaciated body, his pale, clammy skin, his eyes appearing sunken, his breath ragged, every inhale and exhale progressively weaker—and I know there's only one choice to make.

So I turn my back on Rayne and look at Roman when I say, “Okay, just tell me what to do.”

 

Roman nods, his eyes on mine as he removes the antidote
from my grasp and says, “We'll need something sharp.”

I squint, not quite understanding. “What're you talking about? If that's
really
the antidote like you say, then why can't he just drink it? I mean, it's ready, right?” My stomach twisting under the weight of his gaze, so steady and focused on mine.

“It
is
the antidote. It just requires one final ingredient to make it complete.”

I suck in my breath, knowing I should've known better, that it couldn't be that easy when Roman's involved. “What is it?” I say, my voice as shaky as I feel inside. “What kind of game are you playing?”

“There, there.” He smiles. “Not to worry. It's nothing too complicated—and it certainly won't take
hours.
” He shakes his head at Rayne. “All we need to get this show on the road is just a drop or two of your blood. That's it.”

I stare at him, not comprehending. I mean, how could that make the slightest bit of difference between life and death?

But Roman just looks at me, answering the question in my head when he says, “In order to save your immortal partner, he must consume an antidote containing a drop of his true love's blood. Believe me, it's the only way.”

I swallow hard, far less afraid of shedding blood than being played a fool and losing Damen for good.

“Surely you're not worried that you're not really Damen's one true love—
are you
?” he asks, his lips curving the tiniest bit. “Perhaps I should call Stacia instead?”

I grasp a pair of nearby scissors and aim them toward my wrist, and I'm just about to plunge when Rayne screams, “Ever,
no
!
Don't
do it! It's a trick! Don't believe him! Don't listen to a word he says!”

I look at Damen, seeing the labored rise and fall of his chest moving so slow and ragged now there's no time to waste. I know in my heart that he has only minutes left, not hours. Then I bring the scissors down hard, watching as their sharp pointy tip penetrates my wrist, nearly splitting it in two. Shooting a geyser of blood straight into the air, before gravity takes over and pushes it down. Hearing Rayne scream, a wail so piercing it cuts through the sound of everything else, as Roman crouches beneath me, collecting my blood.

And other than feeling faint, and the slightest bit dizzy, it's only a matter of seconds before my veins are fused and my skin is all healed. So I grab the bottle, ignore Rayne's protests, and break through the circle, pushing her aside as I drop to my knees, slipping my fingers under Damen's neck as I force him to drink. Watching his breath grow fainter and fainter—until it stops completely.

“NO!”
I cry. “You
can't
die—you
can't
leave me!” I force the liquid down the length of his throat, determined to bring him back, return him to life, like he once did with me.

I hold him to me, willing him to live. Everything around us completely shut out as I focus on Damen, my one true soul mate, my eternal partner, my only love, refusing to say good-bye, refusing to give up hope. And when the bottle is empty, I collapse onto his chest, pressing my lips against his, filling him with my breath, my being, my
life.
As I murmur the words he once said to me: “Open your eyes and look at me!”

Over and over again—

Until he finally does.

“Damen!” I cry, a flood of tears streaming down my cheeks and onto his face. “Oh, thank God, you're back! I missed you so much—and I love you—and I promise I'll never
ever
leave you again! Just—just please forgive me—please—”

His eyes flicker open as his mouth tries to move, forming words I can't hear. And when I lower my ear to his lips, so grateful to be with him again, our reunion is cut short by a series of claps.

Slow, steady claps coming from Roman who's now standing behind me. Having penetrated the circle as Rayne cowers in a far corner of the room.

“Bravo!” he says, his face mocking, amused, as he glances between Damen and me. “Well done, Ever. I must say, that was all very—
touching.
It's not often one bears witness to such a heartfelt reunion.”

I swallow hard, my hands shaking, my stomach beginning to ping, wondering what he could possibly be up to. I mean, Damen's alive, the antidote worked, what else could there be?

I glance at Damen, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest as he falls back to sleep, then I gaze toward Rayne who's looking at me with widened eyes and an expression of disbelief.

But when I look at Roman again, I'm sure he's just enjoying a last chance at fun, a pathetic show of bravado now that Damen is saved. “So, you want to go after me now? Is that it?” I say, fully prepared to take him down if I have to.

But he just shakes his head and laughs. “Now why would I want to do that? Why would I want to rid myself of a whole new brand of fun that's only just begun?”

I freeze, panic building inside me, but trying not to show it.

“I had no idea you'd be so easy, so predictable, but then again, that's love, right? It tends to make one a little bit crazy, a tad bit impulsive, even irrational, don't you think?”

I narrow my eyes, having no idea what he's going on and on about but knowing it can't be good.

“And yet, it's amazing how quickly you fell for it. No sales resistance at all. Seriously, Ever, you just sliced yourself open with virtually no questions asked. Which goes back to my original point, never underestimate the power of love—or, in your case, was it guilt? Only you know for sure.”

I stare at him, a horrible understanding growing inside me, knowing I've made a grave mistake—that I've somehow been played.

“You were just
so
desperate to trade your life for his,
so
willing to do anything to save him—that it all went so seamlessly, so much easier than I ever expected. Though truth be told, I know just how you feel. In fact, I would've done the same thing for Drina—if only I'd been given the choice.” He glares at me, his lids so narrowed his eyes are like angry slivers of darkness. “But, since we already know how that ended, I suppose you'd like to know how this ends too, right?”

I glance at Damen, ensuring he's still okay, watching him sleep as Roman says, “Yes, he's still alive, don't worry your pretty head about that. And just so you know, he'll most likely remain that way for many, many,
many
years to come. I have no plans to go after him again, so don't you fret. In fact, it was never my intention to kill either one of you, regardless of what you might've thought. Though, in all fairness, I suppose I should warn you that all this happiness does bear a cost.”

“What is it?” I whisper, staring at Roman, having no idea what he could want besides Drina who's already gone. Besides, whatever the cost, I'll pay it. If it means getting Damen back, I'll do what it takes.

“I see I've upset you,” he coos, shaking his head. “Now I've already told you that Damen will be fine. In fact, more than fine. He'll be raring to go and better than ever. Just look at him, would you?
See how his color's returned, how his form's bulking up? Very soon he'll be right back to that handsome, strapping young lad you've convinced yourself that you love so damn much you'd do
anything
to save him, no questions asked—”