Chapter 17 SCARED TIES
Chapter 17:
Sera's POV
"Then work faster." I moved to Dante's side, grabbed his hand despite the danger. "And Dante, if you can hear me....hold on. Just hold on."
His eyes found mine. Behind the red glow, I saw him. Saw the man fighting with everything he had.
"Asher," he gasped out. "Protect... Asher."
"I will. We both will. Together, remember?"
"Together," he repeated. Then his eyes rolled back and he went limp.
"His heart's still beating," one of the warriors reported. "But barely."
Marcus worked frantically, magical light playing over Dante's body as he tried to unravel the spell. Sweat poured down his face. His hands shook with effort.
"There!" He isolated something. A thread of dark magic visible as oily black light. "This is the anchor. If I can just-"
The thread snapped. But instead of dissipating, it lashed out like a living thing. Wrapped around Dante's chest and squeezed.
Dante convulsed once more, back arching impossibly. Blood poured from his nose, his ears, his eyes.
"No!" I grabbed for the magical thread, trying to tear it away. My Lunar Lycan power clashed with the dark magic. For a moment, I thought I had it.
Then it exploded.
The blast threw everyone back. When I struggled upright, ears ringing, I found Dante lying motionless on the floor. No convulsing. No struggling.
No breathing.
"No, no, no." I crawled to him, pressing my ear to his chest. There...faint, but there. A heartbeat. "He's alive. Marcus, he's still alive."
"Barely." Marcus pulled himself up, looking dazed. "The spell, it's gone. But the damage....Sera, it left something behind. A curse. Dark magic woven into his very essence."
"What does that mean?"
"It means he's in a coma." Marcus's voice was heavy with defeat. "His body is trying to heal, but the dark magic fights it at every turn. The wolfsbane is spreading through his system, preventing regeneration. And the curse, it's keeping him trapped between life and death."
"Wake him up."
"I can't."
"Then find someone who can!" My voice cracked. "There has to be a way. A healer, a mage, something-"
"Sera." Marcus grabbed my shoulders. "I've studied magic my entire life. This curse, it's ancient. Forbidden. The kind of dark magic that was outlawed even before the Lunar Lycan purge. Whoever cast this has knowledge that shouldn't exist."
"I don't care about should or shouldn't." I looked down at Dante's pale face. "He's dying because he protected me. Because we formed an alliance. Because for once in his miserable life, he tried to do the right thing."
"I know."
"So fix it!"
"I don't know how!" Marcus's composure finally cracked. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But this is beyond my ability."
I stared at Dante's still form. At the man who'd destroyed me, then tried to rebuild what he'd broken. The father of my child. My mate, whether I wanted to admit it or not.
And he was dying because of me.
The mate bond, so active during battle, now felt like a gaping wound. I could sense him through it....barely. Like a candle flame guttering in wind, ready to blow out at any moment.
"How long?" I asked quietly.
"Does he have?" Marcus hesitated. "Days. Maybe a week if we're lucky. His Alpha constitution is fighting, but the curse is stronger."
"Then we have a week to find whoever did this and make them break it."
"Sera, they're gone. Whoever cast this disappeared in the chaos. No tracks, no magical signature we can trace-"
"Then we find them anyway." I stood, rage and determination burning away grief. "Because if Dante dies, I'm going to burn this entire world down to find who's responsible."
"Mama?"
I turned. Asher stood in the doorway, Marcus having obviously failed to keep him away. His little face was white with shock.
"Is Papa...?" He couldn't finish the question.
"He's sleeping." I pulled him close, hiding his face against my shoulder so he couldn't see Dante's blood-covered body. "He got hurt protecting us. But he's going to be fine."
The lie tasted like ash.
"You promised no lies," Asher whispered against my neck. "You said we're a team and teams tell truth."
Damn it. I'd said that. Used it to get him to tell me about the shadow voices.
"Papa is very sick," I admitted. "He might not wake up. But I'm going to do everything....everything to save him."
"Because you love him?"
Did I? Could I love the man who'd rejected me? Who'd spent five years learning to be better?
Looking at his broken body, feeling the dying flame of the mate bond, I finally admitted the truth.
"Yes," I whispered. "Because I love him."
"Then we'll save him." Asher pulled back, his eyes blazing with silver light and absolute determination. "Together."
"Together," I agreed.
I looked around at the assembled warriors, at Marcus's grief-stricken face, at Dante's still form.
"Get him to the healing ward," I ordered. "Do everything possible to keep him alive. And someone find me every mage, healer, and scholar within a hundred miles. We're going to break this curse."
"And if we can't?" Rhett asked quietly.
"Then I'm going to find the witch who cast it...." My voice went cold and deadly, "....and I'm going to tear the knowledge from their skull piece by piece."
They moved quickly, carefully transporting Dante's unconscious body. I followed, Asher's hand tight in mine.
Behind us, through the broken window, a figure watched from the distant tree line. Too far to identify, but close enough to see their work.
They raised one hand in a mocking salute. Then disappeared like smoke.
Somewhere out there, a witch with ancient knowledge and dark magic was laughing.
They'd struck at me through the one person I'd finally admitted I cared about.
And they'd done it so thoroughly that even if we found them, breaking the curse might kill Dante anyway.
I looked at his pale face as healers worked frantically around him. At the man who'd become my partner despite everything. Who'd stood beside me, fought beside me, nearly died beside me.
"Don't you dare leave me," I whispered, knowing he couldn't hear. "Not now. Not when we're finally figuring this out."
The bond flickered. Weakened. But didn't break.
Not yet.
But soon. Unless I found a miracle.
And I'd burn the world down to find one.