Chapter 33

THIRTY-THREE

COLLINS

I woke with a scream.

“Do me a favor and scream for me . . . It’ll make it so much better.”

I was frozen, yet my body burned. My throat was raw and dry, so my voice cracked.

Need out. Need to go.

“COLLINS!”

"I don’t know where it is,” I screamed.

“ Collins, open your eyes!”

“Tell me where it is and I’ll stop,” Tephine purred in my head.

I whimpered. “ I don’t know .”

Warm hands gripped my shoulders. “COLLINS!”

I screamed and shoved the person back, then jumped off whatever I was lying on. Every inch of my body screamed in pain. My eyes were covered by something like a blindfold, so I couldn’t see. My bare feet hit the ice-cold ground, but my legs buckled under my weight, and I crashed to my knees. Pain shot up my body.

“ NICKEL!”

My lungs were on fire, like I was breathing acid instead of oxygen. I gasped for air but barely got any in before it vanished again. My body swayed and collapsed forward. Someone caught me before my face hit the ground but everywhere they touched me was blazing hot agony. I screamed and my whole body trembled.

Warm hands touched the sides of my face—and then there was light. That pressure on my eyes was gone. I blinked a few hundred times before my eyelids would stay open.

I gasped.

It was Nickel.

Tears poured over my eyelashes. I tried to speak, but all I could do was sob.

“Breathe, Collins. Breathe.” Nickel said in a calm, soothing voice. “You’re safe now. You’re safe.”

There was movement and then a woman with curly blonde hair and bright-blue eyes was crouched in front of me. My breath hitched. “ M-m-m-m-om? ”

Mom smiled through her own tears, her lips trembling. “I’ve got you. You’re safe. You’re in The Emerald. You’re safe. Just breathe for me, honey.”

I fell apart. A violent sob ripped up my throat. I fell forward, collapsing into my mother’s chest and just cried hysterically. I didn’t know how I got out or what shape I was in, I just sobbed against my mother’s chest as my whole body trembled.

And then everything went dark again.

“Collins!”

I gasped and jumped up, then screamed in agony.

“ NICKEL, DO IT! ”

Behind me, Nickel cursed. “Take a deep breath in three . . . two . . . one?—”

I sucked in a deep breath just as a fire exploded on my back. Tunnel vision crept in and carried me back into darkness before I could even exhale.

“ Collins? ”

I felt fingers brushing through my hair. The smell of Dove soap tickled my nose. I know that smell. That’s Mom’s smell. I opened my eyes and relief hit me so hard a new round of tears slid down my cheeks. It was still the infirmary. My mother still held me in her arms. We were sitting on the white marble floor. I sniffled. My body still trembled but the fire was out.

Nickel crouched down in front of me, making sure to get down into my line of view. When her hazel eyes met mine, she smiled and her eyes glistened. “Hey, you.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but my mouth was too dry and my lips were cracked and bleeding. The taste of the blood made my stomach turn. So, I waved my hand instead.

She kept smiling, but her eyes sharpened. “You’ve been unconscious for three days. Let’s get you back into the bed and get you something to drink. And I can heal you a little bit more.”

I nodded. Together, Mom and Nickel lifted me up by my elbows – agony . Absolute agony. Everywhere. They sat me on the bed, then Nickel spun and sprinted across the room. Mom held me up. I frowned and looked around. The infirmary was empty except for us.

It was just me.

There was no one else in a bed being treated. No one else was hurt.

Bash. Bash. My pulse skyrocketed. He wasn’t there. My head whipped back and forth. Surely he had to be there somewhere. I’d heard him screaming from the other room. Bash? Where is he? Where IS he?

"Collins?”

“ Bash . . . Bash . . .” I tried to speak, but my words sounded like groans. I tapped on my left forearm and screamed, “ BASH ? —”

“He’s fine,” Mom interrupted my panic attack. She smoothed my hair down. “Bash is fine. He was just here a few minutes ago. He was by your side all day long.”

My lip trembled. Tears burned my eyes.

Mom nodded. “He’s all right. I’ll call him in one minute. Let’s just get you a drink?—”

“Here you go!” Nickel smiled and held a vial in front of me. “It’s a healing potion. It will help with your throat and lips.”

I took a deep breath and took the vial from her hands, but when I tried to bring it to my mouth, my arm shook too bad. Nickel gently took my arm and guided my own hand to my lips. I poured the refreshingly ice-cold drink into my mouth and sighed as flavor exploded over my tongue. It tasted like sweet iced tea. I felt it heal a path down my throat. I licked my lips, and the cracks were gone.

“Better?”

“Better,” I actually managed to say out loud. “More?”

Nickel chuckled and held another vial up. “More.”

This time I managed to hold the vial myself. By the time I swallowed the last drop, I was holding myself up better. I exhaled but winced as sharp pain shot through my ribs.

“You have a couple broken ribs, but we healed the puncture in your lungs.”

My eyes widened.

She grimaced. “You can breathe but it might hurt to do so for a few more days until we can get you fully healed.”

I swallowed through a lump in my throat. “My . . . wings?”

The broken expressions on their faces confirmed what I already knew. Tephine had ripped my wings off.

My stomach turned. New tears poured over my eyelashes, but I didn’t fight the grief that struck me. “Will . . . will they come back? Can they?”

Nickel shrugged. “I . . . don’t know.”

“We’ll ask Araqiel, okay?” Mom wiped tears off my face. “We’ll keep giving you healing potions and such and see if we can get them back.”

“But you don’t know if it’s possible.”

They both nodded.

“It’s okay. It is what it is. We’ll burn that bridge when we get there.” I cleared my throat. Mom handed me a glass of water, so I chugged it, then looked her in the eye. My memory was clearing by the second. “Where is Bash? What’s happening? Talk to me, tell me—wait, where’s Bart? Didn’t I make him small? Or did I hallucinate that?”

Mom chuckled. “Your moldavite kitten, Bart, was hungry a few hours ago, so Araqiel came and scooped him up. He promised he’d bring him back.”

Nickel snorted. “I hope he likes tacos.”

I smiled. “Good. Now. Bash. Where is he? Tephine? Venus? Bregan?”

“Savina killed King Bregan Red Widow style.” Nickel grinned. “Venus was injured but not badly enough.”

“Bash is with Jada, Stellan, and Ellie in Florida.”

“Why? Please fill me in on what I’ve missed.”

So they did. I drank a few more potions while they took turns explaining everything that’d happened since Bash got us through the portal again. But when Mom told me about her deal with MoVaun, I felt sick to my stomach.

“ Mom—”

“I had to, Collins. They’re safe on Megelle Island right now. Philip and Victoria are with them. Shylock and Weston have gone to help protect them and everyone else. It was the only price we could afford to pay to MoVaun, so we had to pay it. She was our only way of sealing that portal.”

“But I’m awake now.” I looked over to Nickel. “Does that mean it’s open?”

She grimaced. “I haven’t looked since you woke, but I’ve warned the twins. I need to go call for Savina to come back. Tephine is definitely afraid of her, at least to an extent.”

“Go ahead. Please. Now. Go get Savina. Mom has me.”

She nodded and then raced out the door.

“Why are they in Florida?”

“When she was killing Bregan, Bash asked how to break the bond and he said to ask Violette, which apparently is the pet name Prince Riven gave to Ellie when she went to Fourth Realm.” Mom scrubbed her face with her hands. “So, the Fourth Realm Nephilim told them where they could find Riven here in First Realm—at some club he owns in Jacksonville. They’ve gone there looking three nights in a row now.”

“Take me to him.”

“Collins, you’re not healed completely. You have a lot more to go?—”

“I don’t care.” I pushed off the edge of the bed until my feet touched the ground. “I just need to see him, Mom. He needs to see me. You can bring me back to this bed after.”

She cursed and slid up beside me to wrap her arm around my waist. “We put a healing gown on you. It’s charmed with magic to be soothing against wounds . . . but where your wings?—”

“It’s gnarly. I know. It’s okay, just keep me on my feet.”

“Okay, stand.”

I put all my weight on my feet, but my knees buckled a little and Mom’s arm was the only thing keeping me upright. I cursed. She reached down and threw my arm around her neck. Luckily, Mom had wings, so she just flew us out of the infirmary and down the stairs to that bank of elevators that were secretly portals to other realms. Just as we got there, Savina and Nickel stepped out of the portal to Second Realm.

Savina’s eyes widened. “Collins! Thank God.”

“ Where are you going? ” Nickel hissed at me. “You’re not healed enough.”

“I’m going to Bash.” I held my chin high. “If he’s talking to Prince Riven about that bond, then I need to be there.”

“I’ll bring her right back,” Mom promised them.

Savina smirked. “Nickel and I will stand guard here. You two go.” She winked at me.

Nickel pointed her finger at me. “If your breathing gets worse, I want you back here immediately. Okay?”

“Deal.”

She cursed. “Be careful.”

“You too.”

“Think about Bash,” Mom whispered as she leapt backwards into the First Realm portal.

This portal was the smartest decision they made. All you had to do was step into it and tell it where you wanted to go . . . and you went. Sure, it only worked one-way, but it was a lifesaver. I closed my eyes and thought about my soulmate.

His face instantly filled my mind.

And then the light vanished. We stood in a windowless room made entirely of black onyx. The only piece of furniture was the throne made of hematite at the far end of the room, but it was vacant.

Between it and me were Ellie, Stellan, Jada . . . and Bash.

I tried to speak and call out to him, but the sight of him sprawled out on the onyx floor took my breath away. He wore human style clothing, and it did funny things to my pulse. Despite the terror of what happened to us, he looked normal. Tired but healthy.

Jada was sitting against the wall with her eyes closed. Ellie and Stellan were sitting side-by-side facing the throne. It was obvious Prince Riven was yet again not where they thought he’d be, and it looked like they’d decided to set up camp and not move until he showed.

Ellie’s face snapped in my direction. Her purple eyes widened. She gasped and shoved Stellan off of her as she tried to get to her feet.

“ Ellie? ” Stellan hissed.

Bash’s eyes flew open. He jumped to his feet and spun toward the door before Ellie had even gotten onto her knees. His moonstone eyes met mine and a strangled gasp echoed around the room. “ Collins. ”

“Bash.” I pushed away from my mother and ran for him.

He lunged forward and scooped me off my feet. His arms coiled around my hips, squeezing my body against his. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face against his skin.

“Collins, ” he whispered my name, and the relief in his voice hurt my heart.

“ I’m okay. ”

For a moment, we just held each other. But then he lowered me to my feet. He cupped my face in his hands and pressed his lips to mine. My legs didn’t buckle this time, so I just leaned into him, soaking in this moment I thought I’d never have again.

“Umm . . . not to ruin this moment—and obviously I’m thrilled Collins is awake—but is the portal open again?” Stellan asked in a tense voice. “Just so I know . . .”

I pulled back from Bash and rested my face on his chest. “I didn’t get a good look, but Tephine hadn’t come through. Savina and Nickel are standing guard there.”

“My mother won’t know you’re awake or what the deal with MoVaun was, so the seal may be strictly a visual effect at this point . . . until Mother tries to get through.”

I glanced around the room. “So any sign of Prince Riven tonight?”

They all shook their heads.

I pursed my lips. “Does he wear any jewelry?”

“As a matter of fact . . .” Ellie grinned. “On his left pinky he wears a big amber crystal. On his right thumb is a band with smaller amber crystals. I made both of those?—”

“ You made him rings? ” Jada looked appalled. “What for?”

Ellie blushed. “It’s a long story and not important right now. Point is, he wears those. Oh, and on his left pointer he has a massive moonstone ring with two small rubies on the side.”

“You just casually remember these details, eh?” Stellan arched one eyebrow.

Ellie rolled her eyes. “They were a big discussion. Easy, tiger.”

“All right. Well, let’s see if I can get his attention.” I licked my lips and took a deep breath.

“Don’t exert yourself too much too soon.”

“We don’t have a choice.” I pressed my hand over the moonstone in Bash’s chest and concentrated.

This moonstone gave Bash the ability to tap into people’s senses, so with my experience in crystals that made me think it could sense other moonstones. Whenever I did things like this, I was basically just winging it. I felt his stone’s power swirling around under my hand, so I focused my thoughts on Prince Riven.

We need him. Can you just give him a little gentle zap for us?

I saw images in my mind of a big metropolitan city, but as if I was looking down at it. The others all were watching me with worried expressions, so I smiled and nodded. They were standing right beside me like they were worried this little experiment was going to break me.

A cold draft swept over us. We all shivered and turned in the direction the cold wind had moved in—and gasped.

Lounged in that hematite throne with one leg draped over the armrest and his arm hanging over the other was a man unlike any I had ever seen before. He had the blackest hair I’d ever seen and bright, icy-blue eyes. The combination was intoxicating. He looked absolutely lethal dressed in all black. The way he lounged on that throne reminded me of a leopard lying in a tree just waiting for his prey to walk unknowingly beneath him. Part of my body yearned to go to him. It begged for me to move closer, which made no logical sense except that he was the Vampire Prince and there was just something so overwhelmingly sensual and hypnotizing about him.

Prince Riven.

He arched one black eyebrow and gave us a crooked grin, revealing one long sparkling white fang. He lifted a glass of red wine up to the armrest and the movement made his moonstone ring shimmer in the light. “Well, well, well . . .”