“It’s Rhoan! I promise! This is just Rhoan. He helped me get what I needed to save our Pack.” Blood dripped down my wounded palm and splattered on the floor.
I jerked back and cursed the still bleeding wound.
“Cerri! Are you all right?” Ness shoved her way past her husband and came to cradle my hand.
Rhoan pressed against my left side. I would have said thigh, but he was a truly massive creature and towered over me. He pressed against my thigh, hip, shoulder, and the side of my head.
“I think I’m okay.” I summoned my healing power and tried to wrap it around my palm.
I thought it wouldn’t work. I was prepared for it to fail, so when my skin knit itself back together again, I nearly whooped with joy. Tired and out of adrenaline, I wanted to fall to the floor and take a moment to breathe.
However, there was a Pack of shifters waiting for me. It was time to get to work.
Rhoan
I’d toldCerri that she would become like Beryl if she wasn’t careful, but I had no idea how true those words would become. I stared at the princess and studied the white streak that now ran through her curls.
What had she given up in order to save her Pack? What’d taken up residence in her arcana to make her bleed black ichor?
I bent and wiped the blood up from the floor so that no one else would see it. When I stood, the Pack Alpha watched me curiously. He jerked his head back and said that he would get me some clothes.
Surprised, I looked down. When had I shifted back? It’d taken me days to find my natural body last time the beast had taken over. This time, the creature had willingly stepped back inside.
I’d gained a peace with my beast, while Cerri had taken on a whole new burden.
Ryder shoved clothes at me and let me get dressed in peace before retreating from us all. The man was not happy with how we’d dropped in, but he watched from a distance to see if Cerri would follow through on her promise.
Cerri slammed one of the retrieved books down and scanned its contents. Barely fifteen minutes later, she cried out triumphantly and stepped in-between. A heartbeat later, she returned with her cauldron cradled in her arms.
We’d survived and returned with the missing piece to save her family, but we needed to acknowledge how we’d barely made it out. Beryl hadn’t even laid a hand on us. Had she tried any harder, we would have been added to that pile of bodies in the foyer.
I couldn’t let Cerri run off like that again.
Nor could I leave her side. Even when she walked in-between for barely a moment, I panicked and lost the ability to breathe. Only when she returned and was in sight again did my chest unconstrict.
Moving forward would be difficult. We had a rocky path ahead of us.
Especially when I loved her this much. I couldn’t kiss her again.
She needed a knight, not a monster.
31
CERRI
Inearly cried when I hugged my mom.
With Ness and Ryder’s help, we administered the antidote to everyone hanging around the backyard. Many of them had been crying and screaming for more fae wine. The hangover had hit while I’d been brewing the potion. Hearing them had torn my heart in half, especially when I’d heard my father’s pained howl among them all.
Dad wrapped me in his arms and clutched my head close to his chest while whispering his thanks. Didn’t he realize this was all my fault? I hadn’t taken the time to tell them, though. They didn’t know I wasn’t their real daughter, and I didn’t have the heart to tell them right now.
Not when I found myself thinking of my biological parents and my ties to their magic while Dad held me. I felt guilty for my wandering thoughts, but I wanted to know more about my fae parents. I wanted to know what pulled me to the same magic that they’d practiced. How had I known to brew potions? Was it written into my blood?
Dad pulled back and kissed my forehead.
“Who’s the hunk brooding in the corner?” Mom whispered and pointed towards Rhoan.
I extended a hand to him. He shook his head and tried to slink back into the shadows, but I jumped forward and caught his arm before he could get away.