Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

Jaron's hands were trembling as they held tight to Keegan's limp body. His breath came in ragged gasps, each one sharper than the last. He'd promised himself he would never hurt Keegan, and now here he was, cradling the lifeless form of his mate.

He didn't know how long he knelt there, the weight of Keegan's absence pressing down on him like a physical force. The room's oppressive silence was shattered only by his uneven sobs. Jaron's focus was wholly on Keegan, unable to let his gaze or thoughts stray from the fallen vampire.

A rustle, then Malkira's voice pierced through his haze. "Is it done?"

Jaron snapped his head up, rage overtaking his sorrow. This was all her fault. He lunged at the witch, fury fueling his weary limbs, but she evaded him.

"I understand that you're angry, but there was nothing else I could do," she attempted, her tone almost pleading.

He didn't care what she had to say. He would never care again. But before he could tell her as much, out of nowhere, Mordyn appeared, drawing his blade. One fluid motion and Malkira's head separated from her shoulders, her body crumpling to the floor in a lifeless heap.

Jaron stared.

Mordyn met his gaze, unflinching. "I don't know what you did, but all the kidnapped victims are still breathing."

Jaron glanced around, barely registering the forms of Casca, Fei, and Apollo still shackled, unconscious but alive. His hands shook as he took the scarf from Malkira's fallen form, wanting to cry all over again.

The fabric was warm and holding it felt like holding on to a piece of his mate. For a moment, it was as if Keegan was still with him.

Mordyn moved to check on Keegan. A sob rose in Jaron's throat as he watched, but he bit it back.

Mordyn pulled the stake from Keegan's chest. He frowned, observing Keegan's body closely. "He hasn't dissolved into ash."

"What does that mean?" Jaron's voice cracked.

Mordyn glanced back at Jaron, his brow furrowed. "Vampires' bodies dissolve when they die." He gestured around the room. "Can you feel the magic in the air? Something's going on."

Jaron tried to force himself to focus, clutching Keegan's scarf closer to his chest. He could feel the magic, and it felt like Keegan. He closed his eyes and let that energy surround him, envelop him in its warmth.

Keegan had planned something, hadn't he? Was he trying to change fate even now, from beyond the veil of death?

What are you doing? Jaron asked fervently, as if Keegan could somehow answer him, could hear his desperate plea.

He didn't get a response, of course, except for the oddest feeling, a certainty that settled deep in his bones. He knew exactly what Keegan needed. More energy, more magic. He didn't know how he knew this, but the knowledge was there, undeniable. His mate's soul was struggling, and it needed Jaron's help.

Jaron didn't know how to feed energy to his deceased mate.

He glanced down at the scarf in his hands and was struck by a sudden realization.

This was what still connected him to Keegan. The literal threads that bound him to his love. He could feel magic there. Connection.

If he could only…

Jaron took a deep breath, steeling himself. Keegan had believed in him, had trusted him with everything. Jaron wouldn't let him down. Not now, not ever.

He opened his mouth, and for the first time in his life, breathed fire onto the scarf, feeding all his magic into it, willing it to reach Keegan wherever he was.

Keegan struggled to mend the fraying strands of fate. Most of his power had been used up purging the virus from Casca and Fei and connecting them back to their rightful fates without killing them in the process. That had taken a lot out of him, yet there was still so much more to do, so much damage to repair.

The strain bore down on him, but he couldn't stop until he'd fixed everything. Only then could he rest in peace.

Only then would he know that Jaron's future was safe.

He felt like he could feel Jaron's presence with him now. As if he could hear his voice in his head. What do you need?

Just a little more, Keegan thought, desperation lacing his mental plea.

Then, suddenly, warmth flooded him. It was like fire igniting his very soul, a force stronger than anything he'd ever felt before. A rush of power surged through him, and with it, the energy to fix the last strands of fate. The fraying edges straightened, the chaotic ends smoothed and bound, each destiny restored to its rightful path.

Keegan stilled, the work finally done. Relief washed over him. He thought he could rest now, let the darkness take him as he severed his ties to the world. But the fiery energy didn't fade. It pulsed, warm and inviting, beckoning him.

Jaron.

It was so unmistakably Jaron that it hurt.

Keegan hadn't know he'd have the capacity to feel pain, to feel longing after death, but he did.

If only he could…

Realization struck him.

He still had power. Jaron's power. Enough of it to change one more fate—his own.

Jaron cradled Keegan's lifeless body against his chest, his heart shattered into a million pieces. He had poured every ounce of his magic, every bit of his love and desperation into the enchanted scarf, hoping beyond hope that it would be enough.

He closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face as he held Keegan tighter.

"Look at that," Mordyn said.

Look at what?

Jaron's breath caught in his throat as slowly, impossibly, the gaping wound in Keegan's chest began to close, the flesh knitting itself back together as if by some divine miracle.

Jaron watched, transfixed, hardly daring to breathe.

Could this really be happening?

Then, Keegan's eyes fluttered open, those beautiful, piercing eyes that Jaron had thought he'd never see again.

"Keegan?" Jaron's voice was barely a whisper, his hands shaking as he cupped Keegan's face.

Keegan blinked, his gaze focusing on Jaron's tear-streaked face. "Jaron," he murmured, his voice hoarse but filled with wonder. "We did it."

Jaron let out a choked sob, pulling Keegan into a fierce embrace. He buried his face in Keegan's neck, breathing in his scent, vowing never to let him go again.

Keegan's arms came up to wrap around Jaron, holding him just as tightly. "You saved me," he said softly, his fingers tangling in Jaron's hair. "Your love, your magic… it let me change our fate."

Jaron pulled back just enough to look into Keegan's eyes and with a sincerity that came from deep within himself, he said, "Fuck fate."

Keegan's fingers brushed against Jaron's cheek, wiping away the remnants of tears. "I felt you with me when I needed you the most."

Jaron pressed his forehead against Keegan's, eyes closed. "I tried so hard to reach you. Don't ever leave me again."

Jaron felt Keegan's breath against his skin, cool and real. He clung to that sensation, grounding himself in the reality that Keegan was here, alive, in his arms. The nightmare was over, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, Jaron allowed himself to breathe freely.

"I promise," Keegan said, voice steady despite the exhaustion etched on his features. "Im not going anywhere."

"Good."

They stayed like that for a moment longer, wrapped in each other's arms, savoring the reality of their survival. The room around them was still, except for Mordyn working to get the magical shackles off his mate and the other survivors.

"We should help him," Keegan said. "Get everyone out of here."

"Agreed." Jaron hated letting go of Keegan, even for a minute, but the vampire was right. They could celebrate their reunion later. For now, he still had other matters to take care of.

Like his brothers.

He would take them to get checked by a healer and then he would take them home.

Home…

Jaron glanced at Malkira's dead body and winced.

He was going to have to find a new home for himself and for his siblings. He was not returning Casca and Fei to the care of his parents.

"Hey," Keegan said as if he could tell that Jaron's thoughts were spiraling. "We'll figure it all out, okay? One thing after another."

"Right."

Keegan smiled at him. "I see happy things in our future."

Jaron gave him a brief kiss, shorter than the one he really wanted to indulge in, and then he got up and got started, safe in the knowledge that whatever came next, he wasn't going to be facing it by himself.