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Thea pressed a hand to my forehead. “Still hot. How are you feeling?”
“I’m …” I paused and analyzed myself. My heart was racing, my skin felt warmer than usual, the two magics inside me were pushing against one another, but other than that, “I’m fine.”
Thea’s brows slammed down. “You gave us quite the scare.”
Oh no. “Did I explode? Were you able to close me in? Was anyone hurt?” I glanced around again. The witches seemed fine. I let out a breath of relief, but I still felt bad about the situation. “I’m sorry I almost hurt you all.”
“Don’t worry about that, dear,” Almae said, her voice gentler than usual.
I finally took in the room I was in. It was an infirmary, much like the one in DuMoir Castle, but this one was a little bit different. I was sure I was still at the Silver Moon Academy.
Shane had come all the way here? Of course he had. He stared at me with pure concern in his dark eyes. I squeezed his hand. “I’m fine.” They probably had given me more elixir and done whatever they had to neutralize the dragon’s magic. “I’m sorry you had to come all the way here.”
“As if I wouldn’t have come.” He straightened his shoulders. “Besides, Thea said she had something to tell us.”
“Oh?” I turned to Thea.
“Yes, I was waiting for you to wake up.” She averted her eyes and pressed her lips tight.
Almae stepped to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. “While you were out, we did another examination on you.”
This didn’t sound too good. “All right. And?”
She glanced from me to Shane, then back to me, her eyes growing more sorrowful. “I’m so sorry to tell you this, but Raika … you’re dying.”
6
SHANE
The moment Drake called me saying we should go to the Silver Moon Academy, I knew something serious was going on. When I arrived, I advanced on Raika, growling at Thea and Almae, who hovered over Raika as if she was a precious jewel. She was my precious jewel. They told me to calm down or they would spell me away from the room.
I growled again, but backed away. I asked Lavinia what was going on.
“I don’t know,” she said. “They are talking in hushed tones, even I can’t hear it.” And Lavinia was a freaking vampire.
After a few minutes, Thea and Almae told me to sit down and wait. They would talk to us once Raika was awake. That, though, took hours. As the clock ticked by, I grew anxious and demanded they either woke up Raika, or told me what the hell was the problem? Because there was a problem, wasn’t it? Why all the secrecy then? But again, they threatened to take me out of the room by force if I didn’t behave. Another growl rose through my throat, and my instinct was to tell them “I would like to see you try.” But these were two of the most powerful witches in existence. If they wanted me out of here, there wasn’t much I could do. So I stayed seated beside Raika, holding her hot hand.
When Raika woke up, I braced myself.
Almae said, “I’m so sorry to tell you this, but Raika … you’re dying.”
I had been expecting bad news.
But not this bad.
Everyone around us went quiet. Raika turned big, blue eyes to me.
I blinked. This was a joke, right? A bad one. “I’m sorry, I heard you wrong.” A chuckle escaped my lips. “I thought you said—” I swallowed hard, my throat dry. The sympathy and sorrow on Thea’s and Almae’s faces told me they weren’t joking.
Baring my teeth, I shot to my feet and snarled. The chair fell back behind me, echoing through the silent room. Raika flinched.
“Shane, calm down,” Killian called. “Being mad won’t—”
I turned to him and snarled some more. By now I was sure my eyes shone bright and a little fur covered my arms.
“Shane.” A whisper.
My arms drooped by my side.
