Chapter 58: At Crossroads

INDIE

Later that night, after we all had a shower, we settled in the bedroom.

Leon lay on the thick rug beside the bed, one arm tucked under his head, staring at the ceiling. He hadn't asked to join us on the bed, and I hadn't offered.

I was curled against Zade's side under the heavy blankets, my head resting on his chest. His skin still felt too cool, even after everything. The powder had bought him a few hours, but the drain was creeping back in.

I traced lazy circles over his stomach, listening to his slow, shallow breathing.

"What if we never find Sweetpea?" I whispered into the dark.

Zade's hand tightened weakly on my waist.

"We'll find her," he said, his voice low and steady.

"But what if we don't?" My throat tightened. "What if she's gone... or worse... what if Varak has her completely now?"

I swallowed hard, the fear I'd been holding back all day finally spilling out.

"I'm scared, Zade. I've been thinking about that dream again... the one where I kill you." My voice cracked. "To burn the venom out, I have to grow my flames stronger. But what if that's exactly what Varak wants? What if every time I push my power, it feeds him? What if I'm the one who ends up killing you?"

Zade was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke, calm and cool-headed like always, even while half-broken.

"Then we find another way," he responded. "You don't carry this alone. We burn the venom together. We cut the link. And if your flames become dangerous... we control them. You are not going to kill me, Indie. I won't let you."

His certainty should have comforted me. Instead, it made my eyes sting.

From the floor, Leon's voice rose softly.

"Why would Varak want to kill you, Zade?" he asked. "If Sweetpea is his vessel and he needs Indie's flames to cross over, why waste energy draining you?"

Zade let out a long, tired sigh.

"I don't want to know," he muttered. "I'm too fucking tired to play his games tonight."

Leon sat up slowly, the bracelet on his wrist catching the firelight with a faint red glow.

"If Enid really is Varak's leash, the anchor keeping him trapped in the dead plane, shouldn't she be watched twenty-four hours a day?" He paused. "By the way... I haven't seen her at all today."

My entire body stiffened.

I forced out a small laugh that sounded fake even to my own ears.

"She's probably just in her room," I said quickly. "Resting. She's been helping with the kids a lot."

Zade didn't respond.

Then, without warning, a violent shiver rolled through his body. His teeth started chattering.

"Zade?" I sat up instantly, alarm spiking through me.

"I'm... fine," he rasped, but his voice was shaky and his skin was turning icy again.

Leon was on his feet in a second. "He's not fine."

We moved quickly, grabbing every blanket we could find, piling them on top of him, and tucking them tightly around his trembling frame. But it wasn't working. The cold coming off him was unnatural, bone-deep.

Tears filled my eyes, my lower lip trembling.

"Zade..." My voice cracked as the first tear slipped down my cheek. "Please... stay with us."

Leon moved closer, his expression softening when he saw me crying.

"Hey," he said gently, reaching for my shoulder. "Breathe, Indie. We've got him."

I jerked away from his touch, anger and fear twisting together.

"How can I trust you?" I snapped, my voice thick with tears. "You almost killed him earlier. You say you're on our side now, but how do I know?"

Leon flinched, but he didn't pull back.

"I won't lie to you anymore," he said softly, his golden eyes steady. "Not about anything. But right now... Zade needs his mates. Both of us. Skin to skin. He's losing too much heat."

I hesitated only for a second.

Then we moved.

We stripped quickly. Leon climbed onto the bed from one side, I took the other. We pressed our naked bodies against Zade's freezing skin, wrapping ourselves around him like a shield. My breasts were pressed to his chest, Leon's chest to Zade's back, our legs tangled with his.

Zade let out a shaky sigh as our warmth started to seep into him.

For a while, none of us spoke. The only sounds were our breathing.

Then Zade's voice came, soft and slurred, the powder and exhaustion loosening his tongue.

"You both smell so fucking good..." he mumbled, his eyes half-closed. "Both of you. Even when I want to rip Leon's throat out... I still want him here."

Leon froze behind him. Then he smiled and pressed a kiss to the back of his head.

Zade continued, his voice dark and raw, the filter completely gone.

"I hate sharing you, Indie. Hate it. But the thought of losing either of you..." He shivered again, pressing closer to me. "I'd burn every fucking thing down first. Even if I have to drag you both to hell with me."

His words sent a chill down my spine, not just from the cold, but from the familiar, dangerous edge that never quite left him.

Even weak. Even freezing. Even half out of his mind.

Zade was still Zade.

Somehow... that terrified me and comforted me at the same time.

...

The next morning,

The kitchen was filled with the smell of fresh coffee and sizzling bacon, but none of it could settle the knot of fear twisting in my stomach.

Zade had barely slept last night. Even while he had been wrapped between Leon and me, his body kept trembling, fighting a cold that refused to leave. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his pale face and heard his weak breathing. He was getting worse. I could feel it in the bond. It felt like something was slowly pulling him away from me.

I flipped the eggs with shaking hands, trying not to cry into the pan.

Soft footsteps approached from behind.

Enid.

She moved quietly to the counter beside me and picked up a knife, starting to slice fresh fruit without being asked. For a moment, we worked in heavy silence.

Then she spoke, her voice gentle but heavy.

"He's getting worse, isn't he?"

My whole body stiffened. The spatula froze mid-air.

Enid sighed, her shoulders dropping.

"I'm not here to fight with you, Indie," she said softly. "I know we've had our differences. I know you don't trust me. But... I do care about Zade. Deeply. He saved my life in that pit when no one else would. He made me temporary Luna when he really didn't have to. I'm grateful to him. More than I can ever say."

She set the knife down and turned to face me fully. Her eyes were already glistening.

"I'm willing to move past our differences," she continued, her voice cracking. "For him."

I opened my mouth to argue, but Enid suddenly reached out and grabbed both of my hands, holding them desperately between hers. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Please listen to me," she whispered, her voice shaking. "You're feeding off him, Indie. Through the mating bond. Every time you draw strength from him, every time your flames grow stronger... it's weakening Zade. Draining him even faster."

My stomach dropped.

"That's not—"

"It is," she insisted, squeezing my hands tighter. "I don't want him to die. I can't lose him. He's the only reason I'm still alive. If Zade dies... I die with him."

I pulled my hands back, possessiveness stirring in my chest.

"Don't," I spat. “Don’t act like you care!”

Her sobs grew louder. She looked completely broken.

"His aura is tainted with so much darkness," she cried. "Varak's poison, the resurrection magic, everything he suffered in the pit... it's all rotting inside him. But your flames... they're pure and bright. They can't exist together without one destroying the other."

I felt the ground tilt beneath my feet.

“You're lying," I hissed, even as doubt stabbed at me. "You just want him for yourself."

Enid looked up at me with red, swollen eyes, tears still pouring down her face.

"To give him a better chance at living..." she sobbed, "you need to reject him. Leave the pack. Sever the mating bond completely. It might... it might give him enough strength to fight the drain."

The knife slipped from my fingers and clattered loudly onto the counter.

My chest caved in.

The thought of rejecting Zade, walking away and taking that piece of him with me, felt like someone was ripping my heart out. But worse was the terrifying realization that she might be right.

Zade was dying.

And maybe... maybe I was helping kill him.

Tears blurred my vision as Enid kept crying.

"Please, Indie," she begged, her voice cracking. "I don't want to lose him. Just... let him go. Before it's too late."

I stood there frozen, the breakfast burning behind me, my whole world crumbling around one impossible choice.

Because if I said yes...

I would be the one breaking Zade's heart.

Zade appeared in the doorway, leaning heavily on Leon for support. His face was pale, his eyes glassy, but his gaze locked onto me immediately.

He looked between Enid's tear-streaked face and my horrified expression.

"What's going on?" he rasped, his voice laced with tension.