18. Corvus

18

CORVUS

I pace restlessly in my room, the uneasy feeling since leaving Addy growing by the second. Something doesn't feel right.

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor," Zephyr drawls from where he's lounging on my bed.

I shoot him an irritated glance. "How can you be so calm? After everything we just learned..."

He shrugs. "Panicking won't help. We need to stay focused."

"I know, but..." I run a hand through my hair, frustrated. "We're missing something important."

Zaiah, who's been uncharacteristically quiet, suddenly sits up straighter. "Guys? Do you feel that?"

I freeze, reaching out with my vampiric senses. There's a disturbance in the air, a ripple of dark energy that makes my skin crawl. "Something's wrong," I growl. I stride to the window and fling it open. The scent of Adelaide's blood hits my nose instantly. Lots of it. Enough to…

"Addy," I breathe, transforming into my bat form before the others have even moved.

I flap off into the night, aiming straight for Addy's windows. I don't even let them stop me this time. I crash straight through the glass, splintering it all over the floor next to where Adelaide is lying motionless and bloody, next to a knife stained with her blood.

"Fuck!"

The other guys arrive just seconds behind me, bursting into the room with their own innate abilities. Zephyr is the first to kneel beside Addy, his hands glowing faintly with fae magick as he assesses her condition.

"Why isn't she healing?" he asks.

"Fuck knows," I growl. "Why? Why did she do this?"

"Was it her?" Zaiah says quietly.

"Fuck!" I roar again and grab Addy by her shoulders. Her head lolls back. "Adelaide Black. Don't you dare leave me. Heal yourself, Little Dollie. Now isn't the time to be a pussy. You are a vampire, more than a vampire. Don't let some jealous cunt make you forget that. I love you, dammit, do not leave me!" My desperation is nauseating, but her life is slipping away every second she doesn't heal. There is nothing we can do. This is all on her.

Her blood stains my hands, warm and sticky. The scent of it fills the air, clouding my senses. I have to fight against my vampire instincts, the urge to feed.

"Come on, Addy," I plead. "Fight this. You're stronger than her."

Zephyr places a hand on my shoulder. "Corvus, we need to do something. She's fading fast."

Nodding, I bite into my wrist, opening a vein. I press the wound to Addy's pale lips, willing her to drink. "Come on, Addy. Take it."

For a heart-stopping moment, nothing happens. Then, slowly, I feel the pull as she begins to drink. Relief floods through me.

"It's working," Zephyr breathes.

"Not enough," I say. "Come on, Addy."

Adelaide's eyes flutter open, unfocused and hazy. She's still pale, her breathing shallow. My blood has stopped the immediate bleeding, hopefully enough for her to heal herself.

She gasps, her back arching as she takes in a deep breath. Her eyes fly open, clear and alert now. "What happened?"

"You tried to leave us," I say, my voice breaking slightly. "Don't ever do that again."

Addy looks confused for a moment, then horror dawns on her face. She slaps her hand to her throat. "Oh God," she whispers. "I... I didn't... It was her. Crimson. She made me do it."

Rage that I've never known before wells up, and I rise, smashing my fist into the mirror over the dresser.

"Corvus," Addy murmurs, but I don't pay attention as I slam my fist over and over into the mirror.

"I will fucking kill her!"

"Get in line," Zephyr says, grabbing Addy's hand and helping her to her feet.

She's wobbly but standing. "No. You can't. You can't kill her."

"We can with the ritual," Ignatius hisses.

Addy shakes her head as I turn back to her. "No. The ritual isn't what we thought. It's a way to bring her closer to the surface."

"So what? We never have group sex, and she lurks in your mind forever?" I spit out. She winces, and I shake my head in apology.

Adelaide shakes her head, her eyes filled with fear and determination. "No, that's not an option either. She's getting stronger, and I don't know how long I can keep her at bay."

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my rage. "Then what do we do? We can't just sit back and let her take control."

Zaiah steps forward, his expression is thoughtful. "Maybe we're looking at this all wrong. If the ritual isn't meant to contain her but to bring her closer to the surface, perhaps that's exactly what we need to do."

We all turn to look at him, confused. He continues, "Think about it. Right now, Crimson is this nebulous presence in Addy's mind. We can't fight what we can't see or touch. But if we bring her closer to the surface..."

"We might be able to separate her from Addy," Zephyr finishes.

Addy looks uncertain. "But isn't that incredibly risky? What if she takes over completely?"

I take her hand, squeezing it gently. "We won't let that happen. I swear to you."

Ignatius nods. "And once she's more tangible, we might be able to find a way to banish her for good."

"Anything to get her out of my head," Adelaide says, getting on board with the plan quicker than I expected.

I study her face, searching for any sign of doubt or fear. But all I see is determination, tinged with a hint of desperation. It's a look I understand all too well.

"Okay," I say, taking a deep breath. "If we're going to do this, we need to be prepared. We have no idea what might happen when we bring Crimson closer to the surface."

Zephyr nods. "We'll need to set up some kind of containment spell. Something to keep her from fully manifesting or taking control of Addy."

"I might be able to help with that," Zaiah offers, his white eyes unfocused as he seems to search through his vast djinn knowledge. "There are ancient binding rituals that could be adapted for this purpose."

"And we'll need to protect the stone circle somehow," Ignatius says.

Addy, who's been quiet during this exchange, suddenly speaks up. "What about Orby? Could he help us somehow?"

We all turn to look at the small, pulsing orb that's been hovering near Addy since we entered the room. It seems to glow brighter at the mention of its name.

"Orby's connected to you in ways we don't fully understand. We need to figure out what his deal is first," I point out cautiously.

Zephyr steps closer to Orby, studying it intently. "I don't know if it's helping or hindering."

"Me either, at this point," Addy mutters, only to have the orb zoom to her and bob about angrily.

"I'm guessing he wants you to believe in him," I snicker, glad of the tension reliever as Addy laughs.

"Guess so. But he isn't making it easy."

"There's one thing we need to consider," Zaiah says. "What do we do if we successfully separate Crimson from Addy? We can't just let an ancient, powerful vampire loose in the world."

The room falls silent as we contemplate this. It's a sobering thought, one that brings home the true danger of what we're attempting.

No one gets any further as an alarm blares out. "What now?" I snap, going to the broken window to peer out.

Addy joins me, still covered in blood, the wound on her neck, just about fully healed. "What is it?" she asks.

"Everyone back to your rooms. We need to perform a headcount."

Blackthorn's voice comes over the loudspeaker, and I exchange a worried glance with Adelaide. "We'll have to leave you."

She nods stoically. "I'll be fine. That bitch is gone. For now."

I nod reluctantly, not wanting to leave Addy alone after what just happened. But we don't have much choice with the alarm blaring.

"We'll be back as soon as we can," I tell her, cupping her face gently. "Stay safe."

She gives me a weak smile. "I will. Now go, before you get in trouble."

The others and I leave her room the same way we came. As I fly back to my room, I sense more than trouble brewing. Something big is happening at MistHallow. It doesn't take a genius to figure out it's connected to everything we've learned tonight.

We have woken the Guardians, pissed off a powerful mind-controlling vamp and now this. The staff are hurrying about anxiously, making it clear, something bad is happening.

We can only hope whatever it is, doesn't hurt Adelaide further while we are gone.