She wasn’t breathing.
She was bleeding from her nose.
And, no one was helping her.
Fuck, no.
No no no?—
I wouldnotlet one of Byrd’s friends or family die. Not on my fucking watch.
I shoved the pain down. Shoved itdeep.The kind of deep that left scars that bit long after they were healed. I allowed my huntress instincts and training to take over.Breathe, scan, move, repeat.Somehow, I turned over and managed to get my arms under me. My muscles screamed, but I started to crawl. Sweat made my curls stick to my forehead, cheeks, and neck, yet I dragged myself forward. Every joint in me shrieked and locked up with every inch like they were made of rust, and my blood had been replaced with battery acid. Gravity felt like she had a personal vendetta against me as my body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Still, I forced my body to obey until I reached her.
Her silver-tipped brown bangs were matted to her forehead from a sheen of sweat dotting her brow. She was so pale, and her lips were starting to turn blue. I cursed as I got to my knees. I gripped her wrist tightly, pressing my fingers to her pulse.
Nothing.
No.
Wait.
There.It was faint, barely a flutter, but it was there.
I dropped her wrist. Then, I jabbed my fist into her sternum. With a shaking arm, I rubbed my knuckles up and down her breastbone.Hard as fuck.
Maisie gasped violently like someone had yanked her out of deep water. Her chest rose in a shudder. Her eyes shot open, wide and unfocused, locking onto mine.
Alive.
She wasalive.
“Respira.Breathe. Just breathe.”
“What in thefuckdid you do to me?” She coughed.
“Sternum rub,” I exhaled, head dropping forward for a moment in relief. “It’s a trick my Mama taught me from the ER.”
“Maisie! I am so sorry!” Simone said, helping Talli to sit up. “I-I-I just panicked, and I didn’t know what to do?—”
“Forgiven. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again so Quinn doesn’t rub one out on me again. That shit fuckinghurt,” Maisie said, rubbing at her breastbone through her sweater.
I smirked.
Behind us, Izzy, Journee, and Teddy were starting to stir. I heard their murmured reassurances and gratitude to their mates between kisses. I gave them some space, deciding to use the opportunity to actually breathe for a second. Unsure if they were allowed to enter the circle since I was the only one still left in it, my cousins just stood as close to the edge as they could, clearlyhappy to see me. Even the Archive seemed to be catching her breath as her leaves rustled with the relief of a tree after a storm.
Well, more like the calm within the eye of a hurricane.
Suddenly, I swayed on my knees. I watched as the relief that had broken through like a dam on my cousins’ faces shifted into something else. With everyone okay, the pain, Byrd’s pain, surged up in me from where I had pushed it down earlier. The bond was gone, but the pain hadstayed.Her wounds had left fingerprints on my soul. I couldn’t see them, but Ifeltthem, each one inked onto me like branded sigils with their own magic. I still felt the wounds on her legs and her stomach, her fear, her despair. No, I didn’t just feel them. Theywereme. They consumed me. It was an agony that didn’t fade. Didn’tbelong.And yet, itowned me.
Itshould’veended.
But, it didn’t.
It felt like she was dying.
Over and over again.
And, there was nothing I could do to save her.
