Chapter 37

My mind raced with a million different thoughts, but I was too stunned to say much of anything. The little witch had managed to render me speechless yet again.

“A dragon?” Disbelief dripped from my tone. “You’re telling me you’re a dragon?” I’d known there was more to her than what met the eye, but I had not expected that.

“Technically, I’m half dragon, half witch. Mom was a dragon. Dad was a witch.” She spoke calmly, as if all of this was perfectly normal. Maybe for her it was. “Our witch side is much more dominant. Though, if we were to shift regularly into dragon form, that side would eventually become stronger.”

I paced away, rubbed my hands over my face, then stalked back toward her. “A dragon?”

She sighed with exasperation.

“Like, with scales and a tail and wings? Can you fly?” I flapped my arms to mimic flying.

Arms crossed, she rolled her eyes. Impatience and mild annoyance flashed across her face, but her lips twitched with an almost smile.

“Do you breathe fire, too?”

“Yes, and if you don’t stop being ridiculous, I’m going to light your ass on fire.”

I laughed, and her smile fully formed. My heart swelled at the sight. “Piper.” I sighed, my face falling with the weight of our situation. I cradled her face in my hands, my thumbs caressing her cheeks, which were wet with fresh tears. “How the hell am I supposed to let you go?”

“The same way I’m going to have to let you go,” she whispered. “Sheer force of will.”

“I’m not that strong.” My voice cracked.

“I need you to be, Jax. For me.” Her gaze was tormented and pleading. “I can’t sacrifice my sisters just because I finally found you.”

The emotions tearing my insides to shreds were raw and pulsing. I was simultaneously alive and dead, my heart pumping sheer grief and agony through my veins. Was this how Trent felt the night he wiped Chloe’s memories of him and then watched her disappear from his life? He’d been livid with me for what I’d done. At the time, I truly thought I was doing what was best for him, saving him from an eternity of heartbreak. But now I knew I’d done the exact opposite—tearing them apart like I had was beyond cruel. I had no idea how he hadn’t killed me, or how he’d survived without her.

Right now, I wanted to kill all of Piper’s sisters, Prince Gregory, every member of every royal coven who still lived. I’d go on a murder spree that would rival that of the most heinous serial killer if it meant I could keep Piper here with me.

“There has to be another way,” I said.

“There’s not.” She smiled sadly, her normally vibrant eyes cloudy with grief. “I’m sorry. Maybe Sabella and Sophie were right. Maybe I shouldn’t have come here.” She stepped away from me. “I never wanted to hurt you, Jax.”

Chloe had said the same thing to me, too, seconds before breaking my heart.

“Piper.” Sophie’s voice was loud and clear from where she stood several feet away. Peyton and Sabella were silent figures behind her. “The guard has arrived. We can’t prolong this a moment longer. It’s time to go.”

I glared at Sophie, the muscle in my jaw ticking with fury. My hands shook with rage. I flexed my fingers so hard my knuckles cracked. I bared my fangs in warning. Peyton was the only one of those three who bothered to acknowledge me. She gave me a sympathetic smile, almost as if she were wishing for the same thing I was.

“Jax.” Piper’s small hand caressed my cheek, and I turned to look at her. “You’ve given me a taste of what it means to be loved, and I’ll never be able to tell you how much that means to me.”

My throat burned, and I clenched my teeth.

She positioned herself directly in front of me, demanding and dominating my attention. She gently clutched my face between her hands, forcing me to stare into her eyes. They swirled with a stormy torrent of despair.

“No matter what happens, I will go to my grave loving you, Jax.”

I inhaled a lungful of razor blades. “Don’t do this, Piper. Please.” Tears pooled in my eyes.

“I’m so sorry.” Her heart skipped a few too many beats as she stared up at me. “This is what I want. This will make me happy.”

Even though I knew she was lying, I couldn’t argue. If she said this was what she wanted, I needed to give it to her, and we both knew it.

She moved her hands to my waist and lowered her head to rest on my chest for only a moment. Everything she felt for me, everything she wanted to say but didn’t, was wrapped up into that one fleeting embrace.

Then, she rose up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around my neck. Her breath was hot, her tears wetting my flesh. “Remember how I told you I could diffuse you?” she whispered.

I barely managed to nod.

“Consider this me lighting your fuse.” And then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

I gasped and lurched forward as if she’d torn my heart straight from my chest. Hot tears blurred my otherwise perfect vision as I slowly sank to my knees. The pain was unbearable, worse than when I’d been starved to near death. Worse than the day Colt had taken off and I’d been beaten within an inch of my human life. Worse than when I’d been forced to kill Hannah. Worse than the night Chloe chose Trent over me.

I let out a cry that sent every living creature within miles scattering in terror.

Seconds later, Chloe dropped to her knees beside me and then wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. I clung to her, my face buried deep against her neck. She stroked her fingers across my nape and held me for a while.

“You listen to me, Jax.” Her voice was low at my ear, her tone firm. “This is not over.” Pulling back, she clutched my face, her eyes shimmering with tears. “We’ve beaten the entire Zoya Coven and Ivy Rose, and we will stand against every royal coven in the world we have to.” She swallowed hard. “And we are not going to stop until we get Piper back. Now. Get your ass up”—she stood and hauled me to my feet—“and let’s go fight for her.”

I choked out a laugh that was mixed with disbelief and gratitude. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I know.” She slid her arm around my back and guided me toward the cabin. “And you’ll never have to find out.”

By the time we made it back to the house, the pain wasn’t nearly as sharp, but I knew there would be no shaking it. Ever. There would also be no living with it, not for the next hour let alone an eternity.

Chloe raced up the porch, slid open the glass doors, then walked inside. I followed, and then I stopped cold. Trent, Dad, Colt, Wyatt, and Whitney stood in the living room, their faces masks of concern and compassion. Seeing all of them here like this, knowing they were here for me, had my chest tightening.

“You’ve got some visitors.” Sean opened the front door and stepped aside, arm extended.

Giving him a questioning look, I stepped outside and froze. Isach and Abby stood in the front yard, and behind them stood what remained of the Rose Coven. My eyes widened.

“Remember that promise Heaven Leigh made to us?” Isach asked. “If we ever needed her, all we had to do was call.”

I nodded.

“So, we called.” Abby took a step forward. “All of us asked for the same thing. For her and her coven’s help to free Piper and her sisters from a blood oath they never swore.”

Dad, Colt, Wyatt, and Whitney moved to stand in solidarity with Isach, Abby, and the coven. Trent and Chloe flanked either side of me. Chloe slipped her hand around mine. Disbelief and gratitude crashed down on me, destroying my already weakened emotions. Tears clouded my vision. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that they’d done all of this for me. That they’d even want to, all things considered.

“All you have to do is say the words, Jax, and Heaven Leigh and this coven will side with us.” Isach gave me a warm, encouraging smile.

Trent rested his hand on my shoulder. “So, the only question is, are we going to war with the witches again?”

My smile was slow to form, but once it did, I found a new determination. “Goddamn right we are.”