Chapter 64 Sixty-Four

Chapter 64 Sixty-Four
Amber
“Your siblings did,” she finally said, meeting my gaze again. My eyebrows shot up at this, as I was not expecting to hear that.
“Wh-what do you mean they did?” That didn’t make any sense. They surely weren’t witches. So, how could they possibly put themselves to sleep?
Elma sighed as she gazed out the window. I could sense a story coming, which I didn’t want. “Do you know how wolves are turned into hybrids?”
“Yes,” I snapped. “If hybrid venom is in their veins when they die, they’ll wake up a hybrid.”
“But there’s also something else,” she added, and I instinctively looked at Drew, who only shrugged.
“Do not blame your mate for not knowing. It is only natural that hybrids feed after they’re turned, so they don’t usually regard it as a step in being changed.”
I sighed, seeing where this was going. “Let me guess, Alex and Aliah refused to feed.”
Of course, that was it. Even if Dageian forcefully turned them, there was no way he could’ve gotten them to drink human blood. They definitely refused him.
“I suppose that is so. But as you might’ve guessed, if they don’t feed, they die.”
“So Dageian put a spell on them to keep them alive,” Drew concluded. “But why? Why does he need them?”
“You can ask them, Amber,” Elma said, and I instantly perked up.
“You know how to wake them?” I asked eagerly.
“Of course I do. Your blood, Amber. Your blood is always the answer.”
Without hesitation, I pulled up my sleeves as I rushed over to the bed. I grabbed a pocket knife that I always walk around with, ready to cut my palm open. However, Elma rested her hand on my shoulder to stop me.
“There is another way to talk to them.” Her voice was stern, as if she didn’t want me to wake them. Of course she didn’t. Waking them would mean two more hybrids in the world. Certainly, she wouldn’t want that.
The thought angered me. “Why help us if you don’t want me to wake them?”
“I know this is none of my concern. The decision is yours. But if your siblings really did refuse Dageian, do you think they’d want to wake up as hybrids?”
“No, but if I have a shot at saving them—”
“Would it really be saving them?”
My eyes watered as she challenged me, and I could feel my entire body shaking as I tried to suppress my emotions again. Drew inched closer as he reached for me cautiously, as if he thought I’d stab him.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I demanded.
She looked at them again with a sympathetic frown. “They can hear, you know?”
I instantly froze. “You mean they can hear my voice?” The thought finally allowed my tears to fall. Do they even remember what I sound like?
Yet, that wasn’t my main concern. If they were conscious, that only meant that they had been prisoners for years. They could hear everything around them, yet they couldn’t move or speak. That must’ve been awful.
“You can free them,” she coaxed. “Either by waking them or….” She trailed, but she didn’t have to finish. I knew what she meant. “But my advice? Give them what they want and not what you want.”
I shook my head furiously as my sobs finally emerged. “What if they’ve changed their minds? What if they want to come back?”
“Then ask them.”
“How!” I demanded. She kept telling me to ask them, yet she was telling me not to wake them. How else will I speak to them? They can hear me, but I can’t hear them.
“I can connect you to them,” she answered, and my crying stopped instantly.
Drew, on the other hand, didn’t seem too fond of the idea. “How would you do that?” he asked with a protective edge in his voice. It seemed like they both knew something I didn’t, and I glanced between the two of them, waiting for them to give clarity.
“I can send her to them.”
“No,” Drew said sternly. “You are not killing my mate.” His veins stood in his forehead, and his eyes flashed to their deep-red hybrid color. I held onto his hand as Elma stepped back.
“I’m not killing her,” she quickly defended. “I will send her to them where they are.”
“And where exactly is that?” Drew asked in a matter-of-fact tone.
Elma didn’t answer right away. It was either that she didn’t want to, or she didn’t know. “I-I am not entirely sure where—”
“Then no.”
“—but I’m sure I can send her there and pull her back unharmed.”
Drew narrowed his eyes even more at the witch, and I had to stand in front of him to put distance between them.
“You want to send my mate into a realm of neither the dead nor living, and you expect me to be okay with it?”
“I’m okay with it!” I shouted over his voice to get his attention, and he dropped his gaze to me, looking reluctant. “Drew, she’s right. What if I wake them and…”
A hundred possible ways this could go wrong swam in my mind. I knew that they didn’t want to be hybrids. What if I wake them and they refuse to speak to me? What if they end up ending their lives either way? I didn’t want to take the risk. And if Elma was sure she would pull me back from wherever they were without getting me lost in there, then it was worth the risk, right?
Besides, I’m sure that Elma knows what would happen to her if I die in there. No spell would be fast enough to save her from Drew’s wrath. So, I used that thought to drive my motivation.
“I want to do this,” I told him in a softer voice. “I’ll talk to them and wake them if they want to. If they don’t, then…” I didn’t want to think about that part because as much as I was trying to support this freewill thing, I was hoping that I could somehow convince them to come back. I’m their baby sister, after all.
“Amber, I can’t—”
“You won’t lose me,” I cut him off, already knowing what he’d say. “I promise, I’ll come back.”
He closed his eyes for a while, and I could tell he was trying his best to calm himself. What I loved about Drew, though, was the fact that he’d oppose anything to protect me, but if I made a decision, he’d always respect it. He wasn’t controlling and dominating, and I adored that.
“What do we need to do to make this a hundred per cent perfect?” he finally said as he slowly opened his eyes.
Elma seemed pleased as she held onto my hand and lay me on the bed between them. I held onto their cold hands, hoping that they could feel my touch. A smile pulled on my lips as Elma and Drew’s mumblings became background noise, and I simply observed them.
As always, Aliah’s long brown hair flowed in natural waves down her back, and a very distinct beauty spot on her upper lip remained there. And Alex, being the identical male version of her, still seemed like his serious self. There wasn’t a single smile line on his face, unlike Aliah’s, and it was then that I realized just how much I really missed them.
“Hey guys,” I mumbled. “Please don’t be mad at me for doing something so utterly dangerous. But you must know that if I have a chance to see you again, I definitely will take it.”
Maybe my mind was telling me things, but I could’ve sworn I felt Alex’s fingers twitch against mine as if attempting to hold my hand too. Whether it was my imagination or not, it evoked even more tears to stream down the side of my face. It was crazy, but I couldn’t wait to see them.
“… you’re far too emotionally connected, Drew. Being her anchor could be dangerous.” I refocused on the bickering between the two, and I realized that she needed someone to anchor me in the world of the living.
However, she was sure that Drew was too emotionally connected, so it could be.
“Who else is gonna do it?” he demanded. “It’s safer to do it this way instead of sending her in blindly.”
As if right on cue, the twins entered, holding Styrofoam cups in their hands. Max held a cup for Drew too, and their confused expressions when they entered almost made me laugh.
“Err, sorry. I didn’t know we had company. Continue doing…whatever this is,” Mason said as they started stepping back, looking creeped out.
“No, wait.” Elma stood as she called them over. “You two can do it.”
“Do what?” Max asked, sounding terrified. I could assume how bad this looked. I was lying in the middle of my two supposedly dead siblings, with a witch among us and Drew looking as if he’d explode any minute.
However, Elma explained to them quickly, and this only made Max even more afraid.
“Is this safe, though? What if we can’t hold onto her?” he asked as his eyes momentarily flashed to mine.
“You won’t have to do anything but stay focused. You can’t let your emotions stir too much, or you might lose her. When she’s in there, you’ll feel what she’s feeling. I would only assume this will be very emotional for her, so you will need to be strong.”
Silence followed, and after she said this, I realized why it couldn’t be Drew. If they are going to feel my emotions, then the minute I step in there, Drew would possibly lose it.
“I’ll do it,” Mason announced. “I can do it.” He met my eyes as he said this, and with everything, I trusted him with my life.
Seeming pleased, Elma rested a chair down for Mason before taking my knife and a small dish in her hands. First, she made a small slice in Mason’s hand, dripping some of his blood onto the platter before doing the same with me.
Drew already seemed uncomfortable, so I smiled at him and nudged him in my mind.
‘Hey you,’ I said as Elma did some weird magic stuff.
His eyes shifted to me as an instant smile spread on his lips. ‘Trying to distract me?’
‘No, but I’d feel a lot better if you weren’t looking at Mason and Elma like you’d kill them if one of them messes up.’
He chuckled out loud a bit before coming to the other side of the bed to place a kiss on my forehead. ‘You know I would.’
I knew I couldn’t talk him out of it, so I simply prayed that this would go right.
“Okay, Amber. I need you to be focused now, okay?” Elma said, sounding and looking serious—more than I’ve ever seen her before. “You may stay as long as you need, but you will be able to hear and feel what is around you, so you will need to stay focused too, okay?” she added, and I nodded. “As for Drew and the second twin, you will have to remain silent. Any interruptions—”
“I know,” Drew said, cutting her off. “We will stay silent.”
“Good.” Elma nodded as she held onto Mason’s hand and sat beside him. “Amber, close your eyes and focus on your siblings. I must tell you that once I send you away, I no longer have control of where you land. Hence, you need to stay focused on them, so you land in their definite paths. The good thing is that they are hearing, so they should seek you out once they feel you arriving. Now, are you ready?”
With a deep breath, I nodded and let my thoughts flow to my siblings. All the memories, both good and bad, all the wishes and regrets I had. I simply thought of them. Soon, I heard Elma’s mumbling, and my consciousness started drifting.
And then, I fell.