Page 134 of Endless Terrors
But … Oliver lied. The next time I opened my eyes, he wasn’t there.
I wasn’t in the dreamscape at all.
At first, I thought I was having another out-of-body experience.
It had happened to me once before, when Gwyn drowned me in dirty cave water and I became a spectator to my own death. This wasn’t the same, though, because I quickly realized that I was inside Finn’s head. I felt him all around, so strongly that I could practically smell his comforting scent. It was like … pine cones, edged in frost. As it lingered, a pang of longing went through me.
Finn. I miss you, I thought.
He gave no indication that he’d heard. He didn’t know I was here, and I quickly realized why. Finn’s mind was so consumed by a memory that it played like a movie in both our heads.
The werewolf had just been returning from his hunt. He crossed the lawn on two legs, still aching from the shift. Gil came out of the barn as if he’d been waiting for him. Finn immediately halted, his nails falling out, the flesh of his fingertips pulsing and bubbling as claws sprouted in their place.
Gil got in his face, his fangs bared. Where have you been, dickhead? She’s been asking for you.
In an instant, Finn forgot how much he didn’t like the vampire I’d brought into our family. He stared into Gil’s eyes, going still, his hearing directed toward the loft. She’s back?
Been back for days now. You’d know that if you hadn’t left. Now you may never get the chance to say goodbye. Gil’s voice had gone flat and cold.
Finn looked at him slowly. What do you mean, goodbye?
Gil told him everything. He’d barely finished when Finn pushed past him and went into the barn. The werewolf fought the urge to run every step of the way. He followed my scent—it was fresh, and Finn felt some of his pain ease at its familiarity—all the way to my room. He completely ignored everyone he passed, but he was aware of each person in the loft and where they were. Finn slipped through the door that would take him to me. His bright eyes went right to the bed.
Only then did he slow down, his heart beginning to return to its normal rhythm. He leaned against the opposite wall and stared at my prone body, noting every detail. The bandages around my middle. The metallic smell of blood. The pale cast to my skin.
Since then, Finn had barely left my side.
The memory of Gil had haunted him all that time. Even now, tonight, when he was no longer alone in his head and I’d been in some kind of coma for days. As our mental movie came to an end, I focused and realized I could see the world through Finn’s eyes. I felt a startled jolt. The werewolf was kneeling in front of the fireplace, his head turned toward everyone. And it really was everyone.
My Shadow Court. They were scattered throughout the living room, and a sense of solemnity hovered in the air. Cyrus. Ariel. Nym. Gil. Seth. Finn. Lyari, Collith, and Laurie were here, too, along with Damon and Adam. Emma must still be in the hospital.
All of them were focused on Zara.
The healer stood near Finn, on the other side of the fire. She lifted her head, and her expression was grim. “She’s weak. Even with her connection to all of you, she isn’t responding like she should,” Zara said.
“Hard to fight for your life with a broken heart.” Lyari didn’t lift her gaze from the floor, but Finn could still see that her eyes were full of self-loathing. He was puzzled. He doesn’t know, I thought. None of the others knew that Lyari had been Lucifer’s spy.
“What do you mean by that?” Collith asked, his voice sharp.
But my Right Hand was done. We all watched her jaw clench, and she leaned back as if she was trying to retreat. She wouldn’t give away my secret, I realized. She would never betray me again.
“She loved him,” Gil said suddenly. “We all felt it. Her joy. She fell for his act. She thought it was real. And then he turned out to be a lying, evil bastard. He took Fortuna’s hope, and now she’s fighting to survive. Would you try all that hard, if you didn’t have your hope?”
I watched my Court absorb this revelation with varying reactions. Anger. Confusion. Pity. Don’t feel too sorry for me, I wished I could tell them. I’d known exactly what Lucifer was, and I’d fallen for him anyway.
Then Laurie glanced out the window and noted the fading sky. However the Seelie King felt about my forbidden romance with Lucifer, he kept it hidden behind a beautiful mask of indifference. “It’s time,” he remarked.
Still tucked away at the back of Finn’s head, I felt myself frown. Time for what?
My wolf didn’t answer. He really couldn’t hear me, and it seemed like confirmation of Zara’s warning—I was weak. Weak but alive, I reminded myself. The thought wasn’t comforting. I couldn’t shake the feeling, down in my gut, that I was losing the battle for my life.
“I’ll stay with Lady Sworn,” Zara said. Collith nodded his thanks, and she stood, striding gracefully into my room.
One by one, everyone else went to the stairwell. Finn brought up the rear, as he so often did. He paused in the doorway and scanned the loft, listening for any sounds that didn’t belong. I could get a vague sense of his thoughts, which is how I knew he was worrying about my vulnerable body, lying in that room nearby.
But whatever awaited downstairs was important, too, because he tore himself away. Finn descended the rest of the stairs, crossed the dim garage, and joined the others outside. The moment he looked up, I saw what awaited on the other side of the driveway, just barely out of sight from the road.
Bella O’Connell was tied to a tree.
