Our bond beat like a bruise. Her sadness hit me like a brick to the chest. Then, like twenty bricks. Then, like a house made of them. Crushing and never-ending, the weight was stifling. And, it had teeth. It was a black hole, not screaming or wailing, butpulling. It dragged at the edges of my soul. The raw magnitude of it had me physically reeling. It was so all-consuming. That was just what overflowed into me. What Byrd was actually feeling was… There were no words for this. There was no language equipped to hold or fully understand this kind of devastation.
I had no frame of reference for what it felt like to lose this much. I had lost my grandmother, uncle, and family friends, sure, but to love someone so deeply and for so long and then have them taken from you in front of your eyes? Again and again and again?
It was another family member Byrd had grown up with gone. It was Talli, a woman whom Byrd saw as an aunt. Talli, who had befriended Byrd’s mother and created the very necklace that Byrd wore to this day. Talli, who saved Byrd’s life. Talli, who had been there for Byrd when she lost her parents. Talli, who was on my side even when Byrd’s uncle very much wasn’t. Talli, who made rosemary potatoes that I still hadn’t perfected. Talli, who was the smartest witch-fae I had ever known. Talli, who would never get to squeal over Byrd’s ring and help her plan our wedding. Talli, whose kids wouldn’t have a mother anymore. Talli, whose mate was now a widow. Talli, who had fought for Byrd.
Talli, who was now gone.
I wanted todosomething, anything, to help Byrdie. But what could I do? There were no words to soften this blow. No spell would undo this. My blades could avenge, but it wouldn’t bring Talli back. My mouth was dry. My grip on my daggers was loose. Once again, I was helpless as Byrd’s grief poured through me like thick, black tar. Nothing could get through it.
I couldn’t fix this, and I knew I didn’t need to attempt to. She needed to feel this, needed to sit in this wreckage for a time. I placed my hand on hers as she held Maisie. Just to let her know I was still here, that I wasn’t going anywhere, that she wasn’talone. It was all I could offer. She cried even harder. Her tears slid down her cheeks, dripping onto Maisie’s bloodied shirt. I blinked back tears of my own.
Yet again, my Byrdie wasbroken.
Movement out of the corner of my eye brought me out of the world centered around Byrd’s quiet sorrow. I noticed Cooper then, just as he raised his gun toward Byrd. Rage surged behind my ribs. My heart hammered.
I was in motion in an instant, Tina and Amy in my hands and ready to leap into action.
Cody and Cole intercepted me.
“Stay with your mate, Quinn. She needs you right now,” Cody said over his shoulder. “We got this.”
“We’ll take Cooper down. Get Byrd, Maisie, and Talli out of here!” Cole barked.
Cooper scoffed. “She won’t make it out of here alive!”
Cody and Cole surged forward then. I had grown up seeing the triplets fight more times than I could count. It was crucial to our training for us to spar with each other, but it also became our way to settle squabbles. This wasn’t anything new, but it was different. Whereas before there was always a playful back-and-forth when we battled, now there was genuine anger in each blow. Every pull of the trigger was meant to not just land, but harm. This was real. This was life-or-death. This was brothers against brother.
“Quinn! Byrd!”
I looked away from the triplets to see Nat and Simone sprinting toward us. Nat’s purple waves were wind-tousled, her freckles stark against her pale skin. Her blue eyes were wide with panic, but focused like she was trained to be, having been raised in its fire. Beside her, Simone’s eyes were already wet with unshed tears, her lips quivering as she knelt down near Maisie and Talli’s heads. Her defined evergreen curls fell around herpretty face to frame it nicely as she gathered as much snow as she could between her palms. Her hands glowed a blue-green as the snow melted into water, and that water wrapped around her hands like gloves.
“Ohmigods ohmigods ohmigods,” Simone whispered in a rush, her voice cracking as she tried to stay steady under pressure, unlike in the Archive after I returned to my body.
Simone pressed her enchanted watery hands onto Maisie’s forehead. Byrd stopped rocking to watch Simone’s work. Maisie jerked. A weak, strangled sound escaped her lips.
“Thank Poseidon and the other gods, she’s alive,” Simone exhaled like she had been holding in her breath the whole time. “Just barely, but she’s alive. There’s blood magic in her still, I think. I’m trying to hold it back… but it’s… I’m not able to remove all of it. She’s going to need a witch. A strong one. This is just a patch, not a real fix.”
“I’ll call the Archive and Teddy and tell them to get ready for us,” Nat said, already pulling out her phone.
Maisie groaned, her body convulsing under Simone’s magic. Byrd flinched like she could feel it. Soon, though, Maisie settled into a murmuring rest, her body twitching. Byrd sighed shakily, a tiny ease bobbing in the mourning seas. Byrd closed her eyes, putting her forehead against Maisie’s.
With Maisie okay for the moment, Simone turned to Talli.
She reached out, placing her hand onto Talli’s forehead. Simone held her place there for a time. Still, nothing happened. Talli didn’t move. Her color didn’t return. Her chest didn’t lift. Simone inhaled with a trembling breath. She glanced at Byrd, who was still resting her head against Maisie’s. Then, her stormy eyes met my own. She gave a quick shake of her head. She didn’t dare say the truth out loud.
Some truths didn’t need to be spoken,shouldn’tbe spoken, because the moment your lips gave them shape, they became alltoo real. I knew the truth before Simone confirmed it, but there was a tiny part of me that held out hope for a miracle. For my girlfriend’s sake.
Still so very helpless.
“Come on, Cooper! Stand the fuck down, bro!” Cole’s shout brought me back to the fight they were waging nearby. “You can still make it out of this alive!”
“I’m not your fucking brother. Not anymore,” Cooper snapped at the same time as his trigger. “I stopped being that the second you all sided with thatlizard. You’re all disgraces with no pride.”
Cody dodged Cooper’s bullets and said, “C’mon, bro, Dad tried to kill Byrd first.”
“Are you all really this dumb, naive, forgetful, or all of the above?” Cooper spat loudly. “Self-defense is still fuckingmurder! Dad hadcrystalssticking out from his legs that hediedfrom. Doesn’t that look familiar to you? How are you fuckers okay with all that? You think that’sjustice?”
“How are you okay with fighting your ownbrothersover ashitfather? You know he was trash and he is dead now, yet you are fighting your family in his honor?” Cody yelled. “Come on, man! Stop being a brainwashed dumbass and see that you are outnumbered here.”
