Chapter 274 274
Aurélie POV
When my eyes open, I’m convinced I’m still in the lake still trapped beneath the water, still fighting for air. Everything is blurred, murky, and my chest feels tight, like my breathing isn’t mine to control.
Please don’t tell me I was still dying.
As my vision slowly sharpens, the truth comes into focus.
Damien is beside me, his head resting near my shoulder, his arms wrapped tightly around me as though letting go might steal me away again. His hair is a mess, tangled and wild from running his hands through it over and over. He’s been here a while. That much is obvious.
I scan the room as best I can. White walls. Machines. The faint hum of equipment.
A hospital.
But what does that mean? Does it mean everyone survived? Where are Dominique and Delphine?
Footsteps enter the room, and I shift my aching neck just enough to see Fabrice standing near the wall, checking something I can’t quite focus on. He hasn’t noticed I’m awake.
How long have I been here?
…
Fabrice?
I push gently through the mind-link, my voice useless to me right now.
He stiffens, like he thinks his mind is playing tricks on him. Then he turns, and when his eyes meet mine, relief floods his face. His shoulders sag as he exhales.
“I was so worried…”
The children?
I try to move, the oxygen mask pressing awkwardly against my face.
“No, Aurélie no sudden movements.” He’s at my side instantly, easing me back against the bed. “Dominique and Delphine are fine.”
Florence?
“She’s fine too. I got all the poison out.”
Poison?
“Yes. She was shot with a wolfsbane bullet. She and the others are home now. You’re the only one still here.”
His voice echoes through my mind as memories come crashing back Geneviève’s face twisted with hatred, Stéphane’s attack, the Lake House engulfed in flames, the sword glinting beneath the water.
Fabrice’s hand leaves my shoulder and moves to Damien’s back, shaking him gently.
Damien wakes with a sharp inhale, eyes instantly scanning the room for danger until they find me.
“Thank the goddess,” he breathes. “How do you feel?”
Relief pours off him as he leans over me, kissing my face, my temple, my neck everywhere he can reach. I lift my hand toward the oxygen mask again, but he catches it gently.
“Keep it on,” he orders softly.
My voice still refuses to come.
“Do you remember what happened?” he asks, pressing kisses into my hands, which he holds tightly in his.
I close my eyes.
The memories burn her destroying the Lake House, her body sinking to the bottom of the lake.
He feels it. I know he does. He strokes my cheek gently, grounding me.
“We can rebuild it,” he murmurs. “I’ll rebuild it for us.”
No…
I shake my head, the movement sending pain through my neck, and answer him through the bond. It’s gone forever.
That place was my sanctuary. It can’t be recreated. It will always feel tainted now.
I would never let the children swim in that lake again, knowing what lies beneath its surface. He’ll offer to retrieve her body I know he will but some things are better left undisturbed. The dead should stay where they are.
Another memory pushes forward Sabine dragging me from the water.
Sabine. Is she okay?
I push the question to Damien.
His eyes darken instantly, storm-blue flashing as he turns toward Fabrice.
“She’s gone, Aurélie,” he growls. “She left. Ran.”
No.
That can’t be right.
She wouldn’t just leave. What does that mean for Maurice?
“Try not to worry,” Fabrice says carefully. “We’ll update you on everything once you’re stronger.”
He’s right. I need to heal. For
The baby.
Panic surges through me, sharp and terrifying. What if I lost her too?
“Hey—hey, calm down,” Damien says urgently, rising to his feet as he feels the shift in me. “What is it?”
He’s right to notice. This is different. Not pain. Not memory.
Fear.
Fabrice hasn’t mentioned the baby.
Does that mean
I push myself up, determination overriding everything else, but both of them protest instantly, hands pressing me gently back down onto the bed.
My heart pounds.
I need to know.