Chapter 161

[ 1,121 words ]

Chapter 162

Haiden

I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until she moved. Until her eyes blew open and she sucked in that first raw gasp of air. Relief tore through me so hard my knees gave out. I dropped down right there in the dirt, one hand pressed to my chest because it felt like my ribs might crack open from the force of it. Envy was alive. My mate was alive. Elliot clung to her like he was trying to fuse himself into her side, his little shoulders shaking with sobs as he buried his face in her neck. She held him weakly but sure, whispering something soft I couldn’t hear over the sound of my own heart thundering. Noah had both arms around them, Xavier’s forehead pressed to hers, Levi crouched so close his hand never left her. And me, I just sat there, staring, letting the truth sink in. She was back. She hadn’t slipped away. I would’ve stayed there forever if not for the sound that followed. A sharp little throat–clearing. Every head whipped around. My heart stuttered all over again when I saw them. Aleisha. My sister.

Sitting up. And Tommy. Shaky, pale, eyes wide like he’d just stared death in the face…which he

had.

They were both upright, on either side of Envy, looking shell–shocked as hell.

“Well…” Aleisha’s voice was rough, but she still managed that edge of sass she always carried. “That was dramatic p>

Tommy dragged both hands down his face, voice trembling. “That was the worst experience of my life p>

I laughed. A sharp, broken sound that was half relief and half disbelief. My chest ached with it, but I didn’t care. They were alive. Envy was alive. Against all odds, my whole world was still

breathing.

“Guys?!” Zion’s voice cracked across the hill, raw, desperate. He was on his knees now, human and shaking, clutching Theo’s limp body. “Any more magic left in there for my best fucking friend?” His voice broke into a sob. “Please. Please…he’s all I’ve got.” My chest squeezed so hard I thought it might cave in. Theo hadn’t moved since he went down. Felix had dragged himself across the dirt, broken and battered, his head resting on his son’s chest. He was weeping into Theo’s shirt, rocking like a man who had already lost too much. And then Elliot moved. My brave little man. He pushed to his feet, small fists clenched, eyes fierce like his mother’s. “My Mum says not to use language like that,” he scolded softly, and before I could even think to stop him, he was running. He dropped to his knees beside Theo, crystal in hand. That same crystal Envy had given him. His little hands pressed it to Theo’s chest, and he bowed his head, breathing like she taught him. In. Out. Steady. For a second, nothing. Then Theo’s back arched, his lungs dragging in a ragged breath so sharp it whistled. His eyes flew

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open, wild and disbelieving. He stared at Elliot, then down at the crystal. “What the hell is in that thing?” he rasped, half awe, half fear.

Elliot’s grin split his tear–stained face. “It’s Mum’s magic p>

Relief broke over Zion so hard he collapsed forward, clutching Theo’s hand like he’d never let go again. Felix sobbed out loud, the sound gutting enough to crack bone.

Then Elliot turned, still holding the crystal, and pressed it over Felix’s chest as he lay half broken over his son. “Come on. Come on!” His voice wavered, higher, cracking. “Please work….please.” The crystal glowed, sparks leaping across Felix’s chest. But the light sputtered, dimmed. It wasn’t working.

“Why isn’t it working, Mum?” Elliot’s voice broke as he whipped his head toward her.

Envy was weak, barely standing, my brothers holding her up by the arms. She looked hollowed out, but she came anyway, her eyes locked on Felix. “Why isn’t it working?” Elliot asked again.

Levi knelt beside Felix, his hands steady as he checked what none of us wanted to admit. He closed his eyes for a second, then looked up at Envy. His face was pale, his voice low but

certain.

“Because half of his soul is gone,” Levi said.

The words hung like a death bell. Levi met Envy’s eyes, grief sharp in his. “You took some when you shifted. Not enough to kill him, but enough that he’s not whole. You can’t fix what isn’t there.” His hand pressed over Felix’s burned chest, gently, as if to soften the truth. “I don’t think any magic will work on him p>

“So what do we do?! He’s hurt!” Elliot’s small voice cracked as he looked between us and Felix, clutching the crystal like maybe it could still work if he just tried harder.

Levi crouched in front of him, forcing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Let’s see if modern medicine can make him feel better then, huh? Why don’t you go check on Nanna for me? She’ll want to see your face p>

Elliot hesitated, torn between obedience and stubbornness, but finally he nodded and ran off, glancing back over his shoulder like he didn’t quite trust us to keep things together without him. As soon as he was gone, the pretense dropped. I looked at Levi, my chest tight. “How bad

is it p>

Levi didn’t answer right away. His eyes went first to Theo, clinging to his father, then to Zion, crouched close with red–rimmed eyes, before landing back on Felix.

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Felix gave a crooked smile, his skin pale and his chest rising in shallow, ragged pulls. “Just give it to me straight, doc.” His voice rasped, but there was no fear in it, only resignation.

Levi sighed, shoulders heavy, and finally spoke. “You can’t live with half a soul. The burn on your chest? That’s what it looks like when the body’s trying to hold without enough spirit left to anchor it. By the looks of the aging already setting in…” He trailed off, swallowing hard. “I’d say you’ve got weeks. Days maybe. It’ll be like growing old in fast–forward p>

Theo made a choked sound, his grip tightening around his father like he could anchor him to the earth through sheer force. Zion bowed his head, jaw clenched, shoulders shaking.

Felix coughed, wincing, but then he chuckled softly, a sound wet and broken. “Well. That’s more time than I thought I had when the day started.” His eyes flicked to Envy, then to the rest of us, tired but steady. “Enough to make it count.” (2)

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