Chapter 90

Aemon

I take a deep breath, my senses finally returning. And then I realize what’s happening.

Her body is limp in my arms.

Griffin’s voice is hoarse on the other side of the ward. He slams into it, again and again, fury written in every movement. “What did you do? What did she do?”

I can’t answer. I don’t have words. I tilt Blake’s head gently. Her long golden-brown hair falls across my arm like silk. Her lips are parted. Her neck—Goddess, what have I done to her neck?

“Please,” I whisper to her, pressing my forehead to hers. “You can hate me for eternity, I don’t care. Just wake up.”

Her chest doesn’t rise.

My breath is ragged. Her sweet blood is still on my tongue and her pulse, once there, once fragile and fluttering like the last flicker of a candle… is gone.

She’s gone.

“Blake.” Her name breaks in my mouth, jagged and torn.

I shake her, gently at first.

Then harder. “Blake, no—”

She doesn’t stir.

Not a sound. Not a breath.

Her skin is still warm. Her face slack, peaceful. Her mouth is slightly parted, like she was about to say something. Like maybe she was going to tell me it was okay.

It’s not okay.

I killed her.

“NO!” My roar splits the chamber, echoing off the jagged stone walls of the maze. I cradle her closer to my chest, her wrist dangling uselessly now, drained dry. Her blood stains my shirt. My throat. My soul.

I sucked her dry!

Above us, the crowd is screaming. Or cheering. Or maybe they’re silent. I can’t tell. Everything sounds muffled, like I’m underwater.

All I hear is my brother.

“DROP THIS FUCKING WARD!” Griffin screams, slamming into the barrier like a madman. His red eyes are glowing—blazing. His fangs are bared. He’s trying to get to us. Trying to get to her.

To me.

But the ward doesn’t break.

Griffin can’t come in. I can’t get out.

And Blake…

Blake isn’t breathing.

I press a hand to her chest. Nothing.

I shake her again. “Don’t do this,” I whisper. My voice catches, cracking. “Don’t you fucking dare leave me.”

I press my ear to her chest. It’s silent. My panic chokes me. “Come back. Come back to me—”

Her last words ring in my mind.

Live.

She knew what she was doing. She knew I’d drink too much. That I wouldn’t stop. That the hunger would take over.

And still—she let me.

No. She made me.

My whole body trembles. “Why would you do this to me?” I hiss. “Why would you make me live if you weren’t going to stay, my love?”

Griffin slams his fist into the ward again, fangs elongated, his expression broken open in agony. “AEMON!”

“I know!” I scream back, voice hoarse. “I know—she’s gone!”

The crowd above us is watching like it’s a fucking show. Of course they are. Vampires love blood, pain, spectacle.

I close my eyes. Grit my teeth. I feel the bloodlust still thick on my tongue. My body—healed. Stronger than it’s ever been. Her blood didn’t just mend the poison.

It resurrected me.

And in return, I took her life.

“I’m sorry,” I breathe, pressing my forehead to hers. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, love.”

My hands are shaking, my chest convulsing. A sob tears out of me like it doesn’t belong there. Like it belongs to someone else. Someone weaker.

But I don’t care.

Not now.

Because Blake is dead in my arms.

And I can’t—

I won’t—

My fangs ache as I lean in.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper against her throat. “Forgive me for this.”

And then—I bite.

Her skin splits beneath my teeth, the taste of her blood still on my tongue, sweet and fading. I drink just enough to make space. Just enough to make it work. Then I bite into my own wrist and smear the wound over hers, letting my venom flood her open veins. She needs blood.

“Come back,” I breathe. “Please, baby, come back to me.”

Her body stays limp.

Her mouth is cold.

“Come on,” I choke out. “You’re stubborn as hell, Blake. You don’t get to leave me like this. You don’t get to walk away.”

Nothing.

No twitch. No swallow. No flutter of lashes.

No response.

I tip her chin up.

And I bite.

Again.

This time, deeper.

This time, with everything in me.

Griffin has gone silent.

I can feel him watching. We are both kneeling in the same hell, one on each side of the ward.

Her body doesn’t move.

“Come back,” I whisper into her hair. “Come back and ruin me again. Burn me alive with those eyes. Scream at me. Hate me. Just... be.”

Time slows.

“I love you.” The words fall from my mouth straight from my heart. “Do you hear me? I love you. You stupid, brave, impossible human. I love you so fucking much.”

Still nothing.

I press my mouth to hers. Desperate. Shaking. My venom is already inside her—she just has to take the rest. Just has to survive it. Just has to choose me once more.

“You’re mine,” I rasp. “You’re everything. You’re ours.”

I lower my forehead to hers. Her lips are blue. Her pulse—gone.

“Griffin’s losing his fucking mind out there,” I choke, fangs still bared. “And I’m—I’m not any better.”

I grip her face like I can force her soul to return.

“Don’t do this to me, love,” I whisper, begging. “Not you.”

I can’t breathe.

I bend over her, my whole frame curling protectively around her still form. “I should’ve told you. About the bond. About what you are to him. To both of us. I should’ve fought harder. I should’ve—”

I sob again, biting down to keep it in. Her blood still lingers on my lips. Her scent clings to me.

She gave everything for me.

And I let her.

Griffin is yelling my name again. I don’t even hear what he says.

I drop my head to her chest. Still. Still. Still—

But then.

Then—

A sound. So soft that I think I imagine it. So quiet it’s barely there.

Thump.

My heart stops.

I lift my head.

“Blake?”