Chapter 677

Madeline:

I couldn’t tell whether I was happy that I would have died and been reunited with Gina and Baxter after fifteen days, or angry that Bodhi and Elara would have been left behind.

Either way, it would have been cruel.

They would have been the ones left to suffer.

“So, I’m going to die?” I asked in a monotone.

“No. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.” She let out a small laugh. “The monster used its tongue to save you. It cured you.”

I stared at her in confusion.

“It seems its saliva has some kind of healing properties,” she continued.

My heart slowly began to stir again, as though it were fluttering back to life.

“So you’re telling me that if—” I paused as my voice broke.

I could tell she realized I was about to cry.

“That maybe, if a very sick person is brought here and it uses its saliva, that person might survive?”

Tears streamed down my face as I asked the question.

By then, I could tell that while I had been unconscious, Ron must have filled her in on Baxter’s situation.

The moment I asked, her smile started to fade.

“I’m so sorry about what happened to Baxter.”

As soon as she said that, she wrapped her arms around me.

I broke down and cried hysterically.

“The monster should have let me die. It killed Baxter. Why is it trying to save me?” I hissed.

“You know, it also killed Gina. She was just a baby.”

I grunted, my fists clenching at my sides.

“You know what I’ll do to that monster when I’m done with everybody else?”

I broke the hug and started rocking back and forth.

“I’ll capture it and pluck it feather by feather until it’s bleeding and begging for mercy.”

My voice grew louder and heavier with every word.

I could tell Nala was worried about me, but I didn’t fucking care.

I wanted to burn this world down.

The pain of losing Gina and Baxter, and now having both of my children taken from me, was hitting me hard.

They had ruined my life.

“Nala, I came from the human world, and I did everything to save their children.

Instead, they took mine from me. They took my love from me.”

I buried my face in my hands and cried.

“Um-there’s a problem.”

My sobs were interrupted when Ron rushed into the room.

He abruptly stopped when I lifted my head to look at him.

“Um, Nala, can we talk?”

He addressed Nala instead, but I pushed myself up in haste. Nala immediately tried to stop me from getting off the couch.

I wasn’t in any condition to keep my footing.

I did it anyway.

“What is going on?” I asked.

“Um, it’s-“He paused and

swallowed visibly. “Byron. He’s not

well. The medicine isn’t

doing well

helping him anymore.”

The moment he said those words, it felt as though the sky was collapsing on top of

me.

“Did he give him my tears?” I asked, not caring that the rogues could hear me.

“It didn’t work,” Ron replied.

That’s when it hit me.

My tears only worked on children.

They were useless for adults.

“Then what the fuck am I useful for?” I whispered.

I looked at Ron as my face crumpled all over again.

“I can’t lose another person.”

I didn’t know what emotions were tearing through me.

Maybe it was depression I had buried deep inside myself. But suddenly, everything was rising to the surface.

Although lewas giving my enemies

exact what they deserved and dealing with them one by

was in my heart.

still an emptiness net

If I had done all of this sooner, none of this would have happened.

Then I turned to Nala and pointed toward Byron’s room.

“You see this? This is what they did to me,” I grunted.

“I will not forgive them.”

But then my voice softened.

“We need to take care of Byron first. We need to find a cure for him.”

“Okay, calm down,” Nala finally yelled, and I immediately fell silent.

“You can’t deal with problems while crying like this, Madeline. I know what you’ve been through. It’s the worst.”

She paused, her fists clenching.

“I tried to get to you sooner, but it was really hard. In the beginning, you were all over the place. Then, when you came here, we were trying

to find a way to reach you without coming near the cabin and getting attacked by the monster.”

She was trying to reassure me that I hadn’t been alone.

But she didn’t understand that my loneliness came from not being able to be with

my husband and children.

“As for Byron, I know who can help.”

This time, her voice was calm despite having shouted at me only moments earlier.

But that was all that mattered.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

Nala nodded without hesitation.

“I’m certain,” she replied.