The 13th Prophecy (24 page)

I blurted out, “Why didn’t she heal this?”

“She can’t,” Eric replied. “There are certain things that can’t be healed. The scars will remain, no matter what we do, but we have to draw out the poison before she dies.”

His sarcastic voice pelted into my back like a brick. Lorren said, “Then let her die.” The bitterness in his voice made me turn slowly. How would he react? I brought him his lost love, and now she was marred and half dead.
Lorren’s
black hair hung in his face. His shoulders had that downward slant they always had. The muscles in his arms were tense as he swung his head around the room, asking, “What are you doing, Ivy? You never do what I tell you to! You never...”

Lorren was preparing for a full out berating, but before he could get going, I moved away from the golden slab, revealing a mass of blonde hair and smooth porcelain skin. He stopped speaking.
Lorren’s
jaw hung open as his voice died in his throat. Lorren rushed at the table, not believing what he saw. His hands gripped her face, turning her lifeless body toward him. The expression in his dark eyes rapidly shifted as he recognized her.

A voice as soft as a caress slid from his lips, “Jenna.
My God.”
His fingers traced the line along her cheek and back around to her ear. He stared at her and shivered, shaking his head. “I can’t heal this. I can’t...” he voice drifted off as panic choked him.

Grabbing his shoulders, I turned Lorren away from her. When he met my gaze he snapped back to himself and shook free of my grip. “Why can’t you heal her?” I asked. “You drew poison out of me—why is this different?”

He stared over my shoulder, and then back down at me.
Lorren’s
thin body was so much taller than my own. “It’s Dreanok venom. She’s an angel. I can’t separate the poison from her body. Once they blend, they don’t part.”
Lorren’s
face turned white, like someone flipped a switch as he spoke. He pushed past me and cradled her hand in his. “I thought I’d never see you again,” he fell on his knees, placing his elbows on the golden slab and burying his face in the hand that held hers. The despair was so thick that I couldn’t breathe. No one moved. No one spoke. My gaze remained on her ever paling face as her breath slowed and became shallow.

I couldn’t watch anymore. I pressed my eyes closed and as my lids lowered, the world went black. I could see Locoicia’s handwriting sprawled in golden letters in my mind. The spell would take all of my power. Possibly more than I could give. The pain price would drain me completely. My eyes flicked opened. I stared at her prone body wondering if it would work. My gaze shifted to Lorren. The question was
,
would he let me?

Collin saw my eyes narrow as I thought. He could tell I was thinking of doing something, and that I needed him to help me. Eric stared at Jenna Marie, no doubt infatuated by her pain. He was so fucked up. Thinking of the spell, I knew that I needed a golden spike. Turning, I twisted one of the flowers off the wall. The stem snapped in my hand. Collin was the only one watching me. I moved toward Jenna Marie like I was going to lay the flower on her chest. With a jerk of my head toward Lorren, Collin moved to stand behind him.

I flicked my eyebrows three times counting, starting the spell.
Three words.
One rose. I uttered the first word, smoothing the shirt across her chest, making sure there was nothing in my way. Lorren seemed to notice I was there and lifted his head. Tears stained his cheeks. His wet lashes clung together in clumps. He was going to kill me. I hoped to God that Collin understood what I wanted him to do. I uttered the second word. Recognition flashed in his eyes. Lorren heard the spell.
The banishing word.

His eyes widened, and he asked, “What are you...?” but he never finished his question. I uttered the third word, and raised the rose over my head. Slamming the stem down quickly, it shook her body as the golden rose became rigid and cut through bone, plunging into her heart. Jenna Marie’s body jerked as the rose pierced her chest. A raw scream erupted from her lips. At the same time, Lorren launched himself at me with his arms outstretched, ready to snap my neck. The pain in his eyes was too great to fathom. I jerked back just as Collin’s arms wrapped around Lorren from behind, holding him back.

The first pain price ripped through me. Gritting my teeth, I snapped at Eric, “Help him! Don’t let Lorren remove the rose. It has to stay there until the spell is done!” I screamed as the second pain price slammed into me. Collin’s eyes were wide, as he maintained his iron grip around the tall and lanky Lorren. But every moment Collin held him back, Lorren became more enraged. Lorren no longer looked at his love. Instead, he glared at me with death in his eyes. Eric watched, utterly unable to move. The pain surrounding him—my pain price and Jenna Marie’s dying body—trapped him. Eric pressed his hands to his head, trying to ignore it.
Trying to do as I asked.

As the third pain price slammed into me, Jenna Marie’s body arched on the table.
She let out a wail of agony and when she was done, her body stopped moving. Her chest was covered in red as the blood from the rose buried in her heart soaked through her shirt. Jenna Marie was deathly still.

Lorren’s
hands reached for me as I fell to the floor, unable to support my own weight. I tried to numb myself, but I couldn’t. The pain price tore through me, ripping, breaking,
bleeding
. It felt like acid was on fire in a streak across my chest. Pressing my fingers to my breast I looked down and saw the line—the sapphire serum—spider across my chest in tiny veins of deep blue.
 
My body slowly curled into a ball as the pain price tried to take more than I had to offer.

As I lay on my side with my cheek pressed to the cold golden floor, Eric’s foot appeared next to my face. He lifted me in his arms and pressed a kiss to my lips. A blast of relief filled me, starting at my lips, and rushed through the rest of my body. Eric held me, looking down at me as I heard Lorren screaming, still restrained by Collin.

Eric spoke softly so only I could hear, “It’s not time. Come back to me, Ivy.” My eyes flickered open as the last of the pain ebbed and ceased. I sucked in a gasp of air, my body shaking, unable to speak. Eric cradled me in his arms. His amber eyes were wide. A crooked grin lined his lips. It felt too intimate, but he didn’t release me, and I was too weak to move.
“You noble bastard.
That spell would have killed you if I didn’t help you.”

I laughed once, weakly. It made me flinch. Every rib felt as if it’d cracked. “But you did...” My eyes drooped, as I fought to keep them open.

Eric watched my face, and said, “Sleep, Ivy.
Me
and
loverboy
will make sure Lorren thanks you instead of killing you.” I couldn’t protest. It wasn’t a choice. My lids slammed closed like they were made of lead, and the world went black.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

My neck was at an odd angle. It turned out that was because I was resting in someone’s lap. Fingers stroked across my forehead, brushing the curls out of my face. My eyes were too heavy. I couldn’t open them yet, but I could hear them talking.

“That shouldn’t have worked,” Eric stated. His voice was far away, across the room maybe. “Ivy wove together some nasty spells that usually kill people. Apparently her twisted mind works well under pressure.” He laughed.

Collin, the voice above me—the arms holding me—chided, “I knew the same spells.
They wouldn’t have worked if I said them. Not like that.” He didn’t bother scolding Eric for his mocking tone. There was no point. His hand brushed across my cheek, warm and strong.

“That’s what I mean,” said Eric. “That’s why she is what she is. She can do things that no one else can.” There was something in his voice—admiration? It sounded foreign coming from him. Then he added, “But she keeps using her powers for good and nearly killing herself.”

Silence filled the space. For a long time, no one said anything. I wondered what happened to Jenna
Marie?
Did it turn out the way I’d hoped? Where was Lorren? He was quiet. Collin spoke again, “I heard you.
Before.
When you kissed her,” his voice was strained. He’d let Eric do what he needed to take and give power, but he didn’t like it. Eric was silent, not offering an explanation. “Tell me.” Collin’s fingers brushed across my brow. I breathed in deeply, trying again to force my eyes open.

With a flutter, they opened to meet Collin’s gaze. “Hey,” he said sweetly, smiling at me. “You’re awake.” His voice was relieved. I swung my legs off the ledge we were sitting on and tried to sit up. Collin kept his arm around my back to steady me.
“Whoa, easy, Ivy.
Slow.
Move slow.”

A quick glance around the room revealed an emotionally muted Eric who sat on the floor with his hands behind his head, like he was at a picnic. Jenna Marie still remained on the table. Someone had draped a blanket over her. The rose that pierced her heart was gone, absorbed by her body. Lorren rested his face on the slab, watching her chest rise and fall.

Gazing across the room, I asked, “Did it work? Is she all right?” Lorren glanced at me, and nodded once before turning his face back to Jenna Marie. His fingers gently stroked her cheek as he stared at her in awe. Her golden hair fell in piles around her head and shoulders, but I could still see the scar from here. It left a wide white path across her face.
 
My stomach sank.
“Her ear?”

“Still gone,” Collin said softly. I frowned. “You saved her. It was more than any of us could do. She woke up before, asking for you. She’s healing fast, and once this is over, she won’t have to worry about it anymore. But, you...” Collin paused. His hand touched the side of my face, turning my gaze toward him. “You seem to have cracked open the venom in your chest. It’s back.”

“It was never gone, Collin.
Just hidden.
Locoicia said she could remove it. She said Lorren could have healed it, but... wouldn’t.”

Lorren’s
gaze didn’t turn to meet mine. His voice boomed across the room, echoing with irritation, “I can still heal it if you had your soul.” Horror made me try and jump up. As if that would be enough to silence Lorren and stop his flow of words.

“What do you mean?” Collin asked. He gripped my arm to steady me. “She has her soul.”

Lorren’s
neck snapped toward us, “So do you.”

I buried my face in my hands, and sat down hard. Lorren spoke softly, “I’m sorry Ivy, but I’m not lying for you. Not when it could save you. She needs her soul—all of it. The piece you have, she needs it back. If she has it, I can heal her.
Now.
Here. But she won’t do it. She wouldn’t tell you. She’s known for a while, and from the look on your face, I’m guessing that it never came up.”

Collin’s hands slid over mine. “Of course I’d give it back to you. Ivy, why didn’t you ...”

But I cut him off, “No! It’s not an option.
Lorren!”
I growled at him. Fury made me want to say a million things to him, but I bit my tongue. Jenna Marie’s eyes were closed. She was sleeping, healing from my spell. I pulled my hair, and huffed out of the space. Moving quickly I turned twice, then two more times, loosing
myself
in the Lorren. I needed to be alone. I had to think. Collin didn’t follow me. He couldn’t. Walking into the Lorren was death for anyone who hadn’t survived it previously. I had. After walking forever, I slid down a flowered wall, landing hard on my butt. A rush of air was forced out of my lungs. I pulled my knees to my chest and lowered my head. I don’t know how long I sat like that or when Eric appeared. I sensed him sitting next to me at one point. I could smell his blood and knew it was him.

“Go away,” I snapped. But Eric ignored me, sitting less than an inch away—
close
enough to comfort, but not touch.

“You’re a diva, you know that?” Eric’s voice was scolding. I didn’t take the bait. I didn’t look up. I pressed my face harder against my knees and remained silent. “You’re the only one who can help people. You’re the only one who can risk her life to save someone she cares about, or someone who annoys her. I can’t believe you risked your life for her. You knew the cost before you started, and tried to pay the pain price anyway—when you were weak. You’re a fool, Ivy.
A self-absorbed fool.”