Chapter 43 The Rescue

Chapter 43 The Rescue
Rosalie moves before I can stop her.
She launches herself at Jonathan with a snarl and knocks the knife to the side as they collide. The two of them crash into the desk, sending papers and books flying. The computer hits the floor with a sickening crunch.
"Run!" Rosalie screams at me. "Get Thad!"
But I can't move. My legs are frozen, and my body is refusing to obey the commands my brain is sending. I watch in horror as Jonathan recovers from the initial impact and slashes at Rosalie with the silver blade. She dodges the first strike, but the second catches her across the arm.
She hisses in pain, and I smell blood. Vampire blood. It's different from human blood, darker and more metallic, but the sight of it snaps me out of my paralysis.
I need to do something. I need to help her.
I grab the first thing I can find, a heavy bookend shaped like a gargoyle, and hurl it at Jonathan's head. It connects with a satisfying thud, and he stumbles backward, giving Rosalie a moment to regroup.
"You little—" Jonathan spins toward me, fury twisting his features.
That's when the door explodes inward.
Thad bursts through the splintered wood with Dominique right behind him. His grey eyes take in the scene in an instant: Jonathan with the knife, Rosalie bleeding against the desk, and me cowering in the corner with another bookend raised like a weapon.
"Get away from them," Thad growls. The sound is barely human.
Jonathan doesn't hesitate. He lunges at Thad with the silver blade, aiming for his chest. But Thad is faster. He catches Jonathan's wrist and twists, and I hear the bone snap before the knife clatters to the floor.
Dominique goes for Rosalie, pulling her away from the fighting and pressing a hand against the wound on her arm. "Stay with me," she orders. "Don't you dare pass out."
But Jonathan isn't finished. Even with a broken wrist, he fights like a cornered animal. He drives his knee into Thad's stomach and scrambles for the fallen knife. His fingers close around the handle just as Thad recovers and snatches him by the throat.
"Traitor," Thad snarls.
"They're going to win." Jonathan's voice is strained, but he's still smiling. "And when they do, Thad, I hope I'm there to watch you burn."
Thad doesn't respond with words. In one swift motion, he grabs Jonathan by the hair and slams his head against the corner of the desk, then he grabs the silver knife from the floor and drives it through Jonathan's chest before twisting hard enough to sever his heart.
I turn away as Jonathan crumples. The sound of his body hitting the floor is enough. I don't need to watch the rest.
Thad is beside me in an instant with his hands on my face, turning me to look at him. "Are you hurt? Did he touch you?"
"I'm fine, but Rosalie… He cut her with the silver."
Thad gives me a once-over before he releases me and moves to where Dominique is crouched over Rosalie. The wound on her arm is still bleeding; the edges are red and angry, as though infection is already setting in.
"Silver poisoning," Dominique reports. "It's spreading. We need to get her to the infirmary. Now."
"I'll carry her." Thad bends down and scoops Rosalie into his arms. She groans in protest but doesn't have the strength to fight him.
"I'm coming with you," I insist.
"Thelma—"
"I'm coming." I grab Rosalie's hand and squeeze. Her skin is freezing, even colder than normal. "She's my friend. I'm not leaving her."
Thad looks like he wants to argue, but something in my face must convince him otherwise. He nods once and heads for the door with Rosalie cradled against his chest.
We rush through the mansion at vampire speed. The hallways whiz past me even as I struggle to keep up, but I refuse to fall behind. Rosalie's hand is still in mine; her fingers are limp and unresponsive.
"Stay with me," I beg her. "Please, Rosalie. You can't leave me. Not now."
She doesn't answer. Her eyes are closed, and her breathing is shallow.
The infirmary is a sterile room I've never seen before, tucked away in a corner of the east wing. Thad lays Rosalie on one of the beds, and a vampire I don't recognize begins working on her wound.
"The silver is in her bloodstream," the woman announces after a quick examination. "I need to extract it before it reaches her heart."
"Do whatever you have to do," Thad orders. "Save her."
I hover at Rosalie's side, clutching her hand. She's so pale. So still. The vibrant, impulsive vampire who dragged me into this mess looks like a ghost of herself.
"How did you know?" I ask Thad without looking at him. "How did you know we were in trouble?"
"The bond," he explains. "I felt your fear, and I knew something was wrong."
"You felt it?"
"Every fated pair has a connection. Emotions, sensations, sometimes even thoughts." He moves to stand beside me, and his hand comes to rest on my shoulder. "When you were terrified, I felt it in my chest. I followed that feeling straight to you."
I don't know what to say. The idea that he can feel what I feel, that our connection runs that deep, should probably scare me. But right now, all I feel is grateful.
"She saved my life," I whisper. "Jonathan was going to take me. She threw herself at him to give me a chance to run."
"That sounds like Rosalie."
"If she dies—"
"She won't." Thad squeezes my shoulder. "Rosalie is one of the strongest vampires I know. She's survived worse than this."
I want to believe him. I want to trust that Rosalie will pull through, that she'll wake up and make some inappropriate joke about the whole ordeal. But the woman working on her doesn’t look nearly as sure, and Rosalie's hand is so cold in mine.
"Please," I mumble, more to myself than anyone else. "Please don't take her from me."
She's the closest thing I have to a sister in this new world. The first person who made me feel like I belonged, like being a vampire didn't mean losing everything that made me human.
I can't lose her. I won't survive it.
So I hold her hand, and I wait, and I pray to whatever gods might be listening that she opens her eyes again.