Chapter 71 Open Wound

Chapter 71 Open Wound
LEON
      The infirmary descended into chaos. One second Lila was awake, weakly smiling in Indie's arms.

The next, Zade folded.

A horrible choking sound ripped out of him as blood poured from his mouth in thick, dark streams. His entire body convulsed against me, his muscles locking so hard I felt his spine arch.

"Zade!" Indie screamed.

The flames around her exploded.

Golden-red fire burst across the room in wild waves, climbing the walls, scorching the ceiling black within seconds. Heat slammed into me hard enough to make my skin sting.

Lila started crying instantly. Giselle shouted something I couldn't hear over the roaring fire. My entire focus locked onto Zade.

Fuck.

His pulse was crashing.

I could feel it where I held him against my chest. It was too slow one second and racing the next, like his heart couldn't decide whether to keep fighting or finally give out. Blood soaked down the front of my shirt.

"Stay with me," I snarled, grabbing his jaw hard enough to force his head upright. "Hey. Look at me, alpha."

His violet eyes fluttered weakly. Another painful cough tore through him. More blood splattered across my arm, and Indie made a painful sound beside us.

"No no no no—"

The fire grew. A cabinet exploded behind me from the heat and Giselle burst into tears.

"Indie, stop!" she cried desperately while trying to stabilize Zade. "Your flames are making it worse!"

That only made Indie spiral harder.

"I CAN'T STOP!" she screamed.

The sound cracked apart into a sob. Flames spiraled around her body now, completely out of control. They licked across the floor in frantic waves, reacting directly to her panic.

Lila cried harder.

Mason grabbed blankets and started smothering nearby fires with curses under his breath. But none of that mattered. Because Zade suddenly stopped breathing.

Everything inside me went cold.

"NO."

I shoved two fingers against his throat. There was no pulse. Giselle's face drained of all color.

"Oh Gods—"

She slammed both of her glowing hands against his chest instantly, silver light glimmering outward.

"COME ON!" she sobbed. "Zade, please—"

Indie collapsed beside us, completely hysterical.

"No no no no—!" She grabbed his face with trembling hands. "Zade, wake up! Please wake up—!"

Her flames burst higher. The windows shattered. Heat blasted through the infirmary so hard that the oxygen itself felt thin. Lila screamed from the shock. I couldn't let this keep happening, so I grabbed Indie before the fire swallowed all of us.

"INDIE!"

She fought me instantly, sobbing uncontrollably.

"He's dying!" she screamed at me. "Leon, he's DYING—"

"I KNOW."

I pulled her hard against my chest despite the fire burning across her skin.

It hurt. I didn't care.

"Look at me," I ordered roughly, gripping her face. "You need to calm down right now or you're going to kill him yourself."

The implication hit her hard, her flames faltering.

"I—I can't—"

"Yes you can."

Behind us, Giselle was openly crying now while forcing healing magic into Zade's chest. His body wasn't responding. Nothing was responding.

Another horrible second passed. Then another. Indie's breathing turned ragged against me.

"I can't feel him," she whispered tearfully. "Leon... I can't feel the bond properly anymore..."

Fear punched straight through my ribs.

No. No. Not him.

I looked back down at Zade. And suddenly every instinct inside me turned feral. I grabbed him by the front of his soaked shirt.

"You arrogant bastard," I snarled, my voice shaking. "You do NOT get to die without my permission. You hear me?!"

Giselle let out another sob. Then, suddenly I heard the sound of a tiny rasp. Zade's chest jerked weakly beneath her hands.

Everyone froze.

Another breath rattled out of him painfully. Then another. Giselle cried harder in relief.

"Oh, thank the Gods—"

Indie collapsed against me, shaking hard as sobs ripped through her chest. Zade's eyelids fluttered weakly. His gaze found Indie first.

"...Bunny..." he breathed.

The word sounded like it had been torn straight out of his soul. Indie broke completely. She crawled towards him instantly, her flames flickering wildly around her trembling body.

"I'm here," she cried, grabbing his hand. "I'm right here, Zade—"

His fingers twitched weakly around hers. But then his breathing hitched again. Giselle's expression crumpled immediately.

"No..." she whispered.

Silver light pushed harder between her palms.

"The siphon is accelerating," she choked out. "His body can't survive this much longer—"

Indie let out a sob, and I felt fear settle in my chest.
Because for the first time since meeting him...Zade actually looked like he was on the verge of death.

The infirmary smelled like blood, smoke, and burned wood. And death.

"He's crashing again," Giselle whispered frantically.

Her healing light poured from her palms into Zade's chest, but it was unstable now. It felt as though something was dragging him under in waves.

My stomach tightened viciously.

No. Absolutely fucking not happening.

I grabbed Zade's jaw carefully, forcing his head slightly towards me. Blood stained his lips dark crimson. His breathing came in shallow, painful gasps.

"Hey," I said roughly. "Stay with us."

He wasn't fully conscious. Probably somewhere in between. The worst place to be. Without hesitating, I sank my fangs into my own wrist again.

Blood welled up instantly. Then I pressed my bleeding wrist against Zade's mouth.

"Drink."

At first, nothing happened. Then instinct kicked in.
A weak groan vibrated through his throat as his lips parted against my skin. The sensation that followed nearly dropped me to my knees.

Gods.

I could feel exactly what he was feeling. It wasn't just hunger. It was pure agony.

The siphon inside him clawed at my blood the second it touched his tongue, like a starving parasite buried deep inside his body. It didn't feel natural. It felt desperate.

Zade jerked hard against the bed, choking on another ragged breath as he drank weakly from my wrist.

Blood dripped down his chin, his fingers twitching against the sheets.

"Easy," I whispered hoarsely, cradling the back of his neck. "Easy, Z. I've got you."

But I could feel him suffering. Every swallow hurt him.
Every breath sounded shredded.

Indie was crying openly beside us now, pressing trembling kisses against his shoulder, his jaw, and his temple.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry—"

Zade made a weak sound at that. Even now, half-conscious and drowning in pain, his hand tried to move toward her. Towards her comfort.

Suddenly, I froze. My eyes narrowed slowly.

Wait. No. Something about this felt wrong. The siphon had been killing him slowly before.

This was sudden. In fact, it was escalating too fast.
My gaze snapped towards Indie. Towards the flames still dancing uncontrollably around her skin.

Towards the bond.

Cold realization crawled down my spine. Varak.

Fuck.

My head whipped towards Mason.

"MASON."

He looked up instantly from where he'd been helping smother the lingering flames.

"What?"

"Find Enid."

His brow furrowed. "What?"

"NOW."

The force in my voice made everyone freeze. Giselle looked up sharply through tears. Indie blinked at me, terrified and confused.

I stood abruptly, blood still dripping from my wrist while Zade weakly clung to my arm.

My mind was racing now, too many pieces clicking together.

Sweetpea died. The siphon suddenly worsened. Indie's fire lost control. Zade crashes instantly afterward.

And Enid—

Enid had conveniently disappeared multiple times during all of this. Fear hit me so hard it made my stomach turn. Fear for what this might actually mean.

"Mason," I said again, lower this time. "Go find Enid right fucking now."

Mason stared at me for one tense second. Then understanding slowly drained the color from his face.

"...You think she's involved."

"I think Varak may have found another way in."

Indie's face turned white. Giselle stopped breathing for a second entirely. And Zade—

Zade suddenly gripped my wrist harder with terrifying strength despite how weak he was. His violet eyes cracked open slightly. There was pure horror in them.
Because he had reached the same conclusion before I even said it aloud.

Enid wasn't just connected to Varak anymore.

Varak might be using her directly. Or worse, he had found a way to get rid of her. For good.