63. Aurelia

Chapter 63

Aurelia

" O kay," I say tentatively.

Scythe crouches down, and with a slow hand, reaches past me to where Sabrina's head is cradled in the crook of Connor's elbow. My shark strokes her hair with a gentle hand, like a father might to a frightened child.

Sabrina stiffens only for a second before her breathing slows down. I turn to stare at Scythe. A beast who hardly touches anyone else because he hates to do so. But he's using his power now to help my friend. I feel it coursing through the air like the gentle lapping of an ocean wave upon the shore.

Sabrina's breathing turns deep and rhythmic in that of sleep and Scythe instructs Connor to carry her to the medical centre. A group of guards have surrounded us by then and unlock the external gate a little way from the anima dorms that will take us there.

The lights are bright and harsh in the emergency bay and I'm thankful Sabrina is sleeping. Lyle instructs the doctors to take her into the mental health room and we all pile in there, refusing to leave her.

It's a large, airy space with a bed and couch and is full of potted plants and ferns. The walls are painted with a mural of a forest and the light is warm and soft on the eyes. Connor lays Sabrina down on the bed while the admitting doctor and nurse check her over.

It feels like the entire place is in mourning after that. Everyone feels unwell, exhausted, and dejected. Minnie and I hold each other, while Raquel, Connor and Stacey hold Sabrina between them on the bed.

"She cannot stay here any longer," Scythe murmurs. "At the academy."

"No," Lyle agrees.

"She's no contact with h-her parents," Raquel says. "She's just g-got us."

That makes me cry all over again. We've all lost so much. But…as Savage comes to hug me from the back and I watch Lyle and Scythe talking quietly, we've gained a whole lot too.

"She used to be so strong," Connor whispers into the quiet.

It angers me to hear that, but I can't quite place why.

To everyone's surprise, it's Lyle who speaks, his voice hoarse. "It is not a matter of strength. It is a matter of hope. The darkness blinds us from seeing that hope always exists. She could not see a way out and chose the only path that was in her power. It felt quite logical to her."

We stand in stunned silence.

"I thought about it once, too," Connor admits. "When it turned out that I had an anima. I thought I was broken. I thought everyone else would think I was broken too."

"But you're not!" Savage exclaims. "It's perfectly natural!"

Connor gives my wolf a grim smile. "Sometimes your own family sees being different as a threat. I'm lucky I had my grandad, who helped me see that everything would be alright."

"We have to do the same for Sabrina," Stacey says firmly. "We have to show her it'll be alright. I just don't know how."

"When the Wild Mother created predators, she also created prey," Marduk says, holding up a finger and glancing at Scythe. "For every problem she made, she also made a solution."

"There might be something that can help," Lyle says, also glancing at Scythe.

I wonder about myself. What kept me going despite everything. What still keeps me going. At first, it had been the memory of my mother. Then I'd gone on just to spite my father. Now, it is, once again, for my mother, but for a different reason that lights up my blood. We all have our reasons for what propels us forward through time and space. Finding that reason and making it a strong one seems to be the key.

I think I know what Scythe's reason is. His memories tell me what propels him forward day by day. But I do wonder if me entering the picture changed anything for him. If finding his regina has changed him at all.

Sabrina sleeps for a few hours before she wakes up, wiping her eyes and looking dejected around the room. "I don't want to be here. Why did you bring me here?"

"Sabrina," Scythe says softly.

She flinches, but turns her face towards him as he pulls up a chair a respectful distance from her. We all watch him in fascination.

"Do you remember two cheetahs who came to help rescue you? Tall and quiet with black hair. Blair and Blade."

Recognition flashes into her eyes and she nods stiffly. I too remember the two lithe assassins.

"They lost their regina two years ago to a rare type of cancer."

Sabrina's brows knit together and she purses her lips like she's going to cry again.

"Would you like to meet them again?" She blinks at the ceiling for a moment. "Sometimes, when animalia lose their pack, they are paired with others who have also lost their pack. It's a way for beasts who understand to come together and try and forge bonds for this life. To stave away the sadness and loneliness until we reunite with our mates in the next life."

"You don't have to say yes right away," Lyle says quickly. "You can think about it."

"There would never be any pressure on you," I confirm. "It would just be to see what happens."

"I don't see how it would work." Sabrina looks first to me, then to Minnie. "Would you say yes, Min?"

Minnie looks like she's going to cry and presses a hand over her heart as if feeling the severed bond there. She gives a shaky breath. "I'd give it a shot."

Sabrina purses her lips together as if she hates this idea, then looks around the room. "You're not going to let me off myself, are you?" She states it because she already knows the answer.

"No," everyone says in unison.

"Fuckers." She clenches her jaw as if she hates us, but I know she doesn't. She just hates her situation. Hates what life has given her. " Fine. "

We all sigh with relief. And I want to leap into Scythe's arms and kiss him. Instead, I say a sincere, "Thank you," into his mind. I expect a nod or a tiny smile or something positive from that, but all I get is a shuttered glance that confuses me.

Scythe wastes no time, and the twins arrive the next day.

Blair and Blade are a little old to be attending Animus Academy, plus Scythe had their criminal records wiped ages ago, but none of the guards do anything when the two cheetahs saunter onto the grounds, flowers and packages in hand.

Minnie, Stacey, and I watch excitedly from the pack dorm windows as Scythe leads the two into the building.

"They're her type," Stacey says, grabbing my arm. "Tall with dark hair."

"Look at them muscles," Minnie coos. "She'll love that, right?"

"I beg your pardon?" Yeti asks, affronted.

"They're both quite handsome," I say mildly. "Don't you think, Min?"

"Excuse me!" Savage cries dramatically.

Minnie and I elbow each other while Stacey tries hard not to laugh.

We jog back into Sabrina's room and find her settled on the couch by the window. She refuses to take that hoodie off, even if it sort of smells now, but it's a security blanket for her, so we don't talk about it. Her hood remains up, covering part of her eyes and casting the rest of her face in shadows.

"Sith Lord Sabrina," Stacey says in a deep voice. "Your servants have arrived."

That elicits a little huff from our leopard as she opens a bag of potato chips and begins mechanically eating.

Less than a minute later, Scythe appears by the door and we all scurry to the side to watch.

The twin cheetahs enter the room on light, silent feet. They slow their pace down, respectfully letting Sabrina see them and what they have in their hands.

"Sabrina," Scythe says, "this is Blade." He points to the twin on the left holding a bunch of beautiful yellow roses. "And Blair." He indicates the brother on the right with the gift bag.

Blade approaches Sabrina's couch and goes down on one knee, places his flowers at her feet, and offers her his hand.

Minnie grips my own hand so hard it hurts as we hold our breaths.

It seems like an eternity before Sabrina extracts a hand from the bag of chips and so slowly reaches out. Blair receives it in both of his, as if her hand is the most precious thing in existence. With the gentlest of lips, he kisses the back of it.

A tear rolls down Sabrina's cheek. Blair takes out something from his gift bag and places it carefully on Sabrina's lap.

I see that it's a pink and yellow frosted cake in a clear plastic box. A pretty little thing. An offering of food to a regina.

Sabrina brushes her fingers over it.

Minnie and I look at each other with tears in our eyes.

"Thank you," Sabrina whispers.

"You are welcome," Blair says roughly. "Would you do us the honour of speaking with us?"

Sabrina glances at Blade, likely remembering he can't speak.

"Well," Blair chuckles, running a nervous hand through his dark hair, "Blade will mostly be listening."

Sabrina's lips twitch into the whisper of a smile. "Well, I suppose it's good that I can do enough talking for two people."

Blade's face splits into a grin.