Chapter 4

Four

Just as we were finishing our lunch of sandwiches and salads, Caleb's phone rang. He set it on the center of the dining room table we all sat at and answered it on speaker phone. "Nana, you're on speaker. Did you find something?"

"Where are you right now?" she demanded.

"Our clan house," he answered. "We thought isolating ourselves would be smart, to avoid infecting my parents."

"Who was the first one to get the mark and when?" she asked and it sounded like she was walking somewhere outdoors.

"Ember, and the day we were in that huge fight at the park, three days' ago," Riddick answered.

"Shit," she hissed. "Can you teleport here?"

"Ember has never been there, so she can't teleport there. Nana, what's going on?"

"I need you to get Ember to me as soon as possible. Can you teleport to your parents' house?"

I nodded. "I can."

"Teleport to the front yard, bring all of you. When you get there, do not touch anyone. Wait for me."

"We understand," Caleb said and hung up. "Clean up fast and then we'll teleport."

My heart hammered in my chest as I stood on shaky legs to carry my plate to the kitchen. Why was Kara, Queen of the Elves and one of the best healers in the world, so scared?

Triston took my plate from me and I was left standing in the open area of the kitchen, watching them.

They hurried back to me and set their hands on me.

Taking a deep breath, I envisioned the grassy area where we practiced fighting at Caleb's parents' house and teleported us there.

When I opened my eyes, I was shocked to find Dan, Emrys, and his parents outside.

Jolie took a step towards us, but Deryn grabbed her and stopped her. Tears filled her eyes. "Ember, how are you feeling?"

Scowling, I said, "I feel great. What's wrong? What's going on?"

A white sedan raced down the drive, up to the house, and skidded to a stop. As soon as it stopped, Kara jumped out of the passenger side and walked quickly towards us.

"Kara, what's going on?" I asked, my heart pounding still.

"I need you to do something that you won't like," she informed me.

"What?" Caleb asked, growling softly.

"You have to sever the connection you have with them," she said and swallowed hard. "It's going to hurt and you're immediately going to feel the curse come back to you and that's going to hurt even worse."

"What?" I gasped. Sever our connection? I didn't even know that was possible. Plus … what would happen once it was severed?

"Nana, there has to be another way," Caleb said, his chest heaving and eyes darting towards me.

"She's killing you all by sharing the curse with you. The only reason she's not dead yet is because you're sharing it with her and your shared powers are keeping her alive!" Kara yelled.

I gasped. "How do I sever the connection?"

"Ember," Riddick pleaded.

"I'm not going to let you die."

"You're going to sacrifice yourself again?" Caleb snapped.

"She's not going to die, Caleb. I'm going to break the curse once it's back on her," Kara said and smiled reassuringly at him.

"Why can't you break it now?" Riddick asked.

"Because it's spread between you all and it's not possible to break like that. Please, Ember, we don't have much time. Take this, and cut your bonds." She tossed a knife towards me that had strange symbols on it.

Jolie gasped and stumbled backwards, hands at her chest.

Her mates swarmed around her, blocking her sight and consoling her.

Caleb growled loudly. "No. No! There has to be another way."

"There isn't. Besides, you'll still be able to form a mate bond," Dan said as he tried to soothe Caleb.

Turning to face him, I smiled and said, "Well, I guess we'll find out once and for all if you are with me for the connection or not."

My attempt at levity fell flat as all four of the men growled.

"It's going to hurt you four as well," Emrys advised them. "And you can't touch her until after Kara removes the curse."

"Ember," Branson whined.

"How?" I asked Kara.

"Look at your chest, you should be able to feel the bonds there. Grasp one, and cut it with the knife."

Jolie sobbed and dropped to her knees.

"Mom! Go inside!" Caleb shouted. "You don't need to witness this."

Rhys picked her up and carried her inside of the house.

"I'm sorry," Fox said, tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Caleb. It's going to hurt so much. You're going to feel like a piece of you died. I'm so sorry." He turned and ran into the house after the others, slamming the door closed behind him.

Katar, Emrys, and Dan moved closer, but still not close enough they might touch us.

Another vehicle raced down the street and out of this one poured Leona and her mates. "We're here!" Leona called.

"Perfect timing," Kara said. "Are you sure you can calm them down?"

"I don't know about Caleb, but I should be able to calm the others, since they don't have siren blood," she said. Looking at me, tears filled her eyes. "I'm sorry, sirenling. You're going to experience it all without my help or anyone else's. It's going to hurt a lot, so you need to be ready."

Now I was completely terrified. How bad was this pain going to be?

"Hurry, Ember," Kara urged me. "I don't know how quickly things will progress to a point that I won't be able to break it."

Nodding, I looked down at my chest and reached with the hand not holding the knife. It gripped one of the connections, Triston's. I met his eyes and smiled.

"I love you," he whispered.

My eyes widened, it was the first time he'd said it to me, but I didn't have time to enjoy it. I had to do this before they all died. I sliced the knife through the invisible bond. The bond was anything but insubstantial. The instant it severed, it felt like I'd cut one of my arms off. My head fell back and I screamed.

Triston roared and fell to his knees, clutching at his chest, tears falling down his face.

Leona started singing and his sobs quieted, but didn't stop.

Pain tore into my body, a sizzling, burning pain like lava through my veins. I gasped and staggered.

"Again, Ember," Kara whispered.

I grasped another bond, Branson's.

"I've always loved you, Ember. Ever since I woke up in your cabin," he whispered.

Tears in my eyes, I sliced through it.

Screaming, I fell to my knees, panting and seeing stares as the sizzling in my veins grew.

"Ember!" Caleb shouted.

"Two more, Ember," Kara said soothingly. "I'm sorry. Just two more."

My bonds with Riddick and Caleb were stronger than the others', so I was terrified what it would feel like to sever them.

"I … can't," I cried. "It hurts too much."

"You have to," she said. "Or severing the other two will be for nothing and you three will die."

Sobbing, I sat back on my heels, reached a shaking hand up and grasped one of the last two, Riddick's.

He whined and I gave him a shaky smile, trying to use humor to ease us both into it, and said, "Sorry, gorgeous. Doctor's orders."

The knife cut through it easily, which was good since I had no energy.

Riddick and I screamed simultaneously, and he fell onto his side, curled into a ball. My pain escalated threefold and I saw black around the edges of my vision.

I had to do it before I fainted. I grasped the connection and my arms shook.

"Ember," Caleb whined, "wait."

"Can't," I panted. "Hurts so much. Lava in veins."

"That's the curse. Shit. Hurry, Ember. Cut it," Kara shouted.

"Sorry, my king. I have to disobey your orders," I whispered. Before he could respond, I cut through our bond.

Caleb's head jerked back and he roared so loudly that it shook the ground.

A hole had formed in my chest and I simultaneously felt numb in my core and like acid had been poured into my heart and was being pumped throughout my body.

I fell onto the ground and my body started seizing, eyes rolled up into the back of my head.

"Hurry, Kara!" Katar shouted.

Someone was growling and roaring, hissing and spitting, and several people were shouting.

It was too much. Too much pain. Too empty. Too numb. Too hot. Too … dead.