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Slowly, I faced Raika. In this moment, she looked small, fragile, and my instinct was to wrap her in bubble wrap and not let her take one step without checking if it was safe first.
She rested a hand on my arm and offered me a soft smile, unshed tears in her eyes. “Calm down,” she said, her voice thin. “Please.”
My will was to fight. Who, what? I didn’t know. I just wanted to hit something hard right now. But when Raika slid her hand into mine and tugged me closer, I fought to rein in my rage and frustration. They were contained by a thin, frail wall of desperate will, but for a little while, I might be able to stay quiet.
I held her hand tighter in mine and stepped closer to her, standing by her side.
She turned her eyes to the witches. “You said I’m dying,” her voice broke, “as if there’s nothing we can do.”
“We don’t know,” Thea said. For the first time since meeting the Silverblood queen months ago, I saw her falter. This was painful for her too. “We always knew the dragon’s magic might be too much for a human, though when we examined you yesterday, the magic seemed to be merging with you and your darkfire, adapting to you. We were hopeful that you were somehow strong enough to hold it. But when we examined you just now, we saw that the dragon’s magic is indeed merging with you, but in doing so, it’s sapping your energy. It’s taking over your organs and muscles and everything else.”
Raika frowned. “I don’t feel anything.”
“Think of it like cancer,” Almae said. “Sometimes they go for years with a cancer festering inside them, until one day, they faint or have a terrible pain, and find out the cancer is already too advanced for treatment.”
Thea nodded. “For now, you won’t feel more than what you’re feeling now. Just an immense power inside you, a little unstable and hard to control. Sometimes you’ll feel tired, but it’s just a matter of time before that changes.”
I clenched my fists. “How long?” Thea turned her gray eyes to me. “How long until that happens? How long until—?” I clamped my mouth, unable to say it. In a way, I still thought this was all a nightmare.
“Until I die,” Raika finished for me.
My gut twisted. My grip on her hand tightened.
“We don’t know,” Almae said. “We don’t have experience with this.”
Something sparked inside of me. “Then that means this isn’t final.” I held on to that with both hands. “There might be a cure, some way of treating her.” I grabbed my phone from my back pocket. “I can call Kaz. He might know something.”
“I can call Evelyn,” Lavinia said. I met her eyes, glad someone was on my side and not giving up. “There are also plenty of books here, in DuMoir Castle, and the Silverblood Estate.”
“We can contact all of your friends,” I added, now on a roll. “Everyone here knows at least another powerful supernatural with great knowledge. Someone has to know something, or at least have an idea about how we can undo this.”
Thea and Almae exchanged a look. Thea glanced at Drake. He gave her a slight nod.
Thea sighed. “Of course, we can try everything we can, if Raika agrees to it.”
Everyone looked at Raika. She sat on the bed, her face pale, her blue eyes huge and glowing from unshed tears. “Hm.” She moved her mouth. Her brows curled down. “Sure. We can try whatever you think might work.”
I frowned, not liking the wavering of her voice.
“But Shane,” Almae started. “We’ll do everything we can to save Raika, but we’re treading in unknown waters here. I want you to prepare yourself.” She shifted her eyes to Raika. “You too, dear.”
Raika nodded.
I didn’t care what they thought. We were finding a damn cure, even if I had to sell my soul for it.
“I’m sorry,” Thea muttered, the sadness clear in her tone.
“I’m sure you two have lots to discuss.” Almae shooed the others toward the door. “We’ll leave you two alone for a little while. Call us if you need anything.”
Lavinia didn’t want to leave, but Killian put an arm around her shoulder and guided her out of the room. Everyone walked out as if they had lost already.
I couldn’t allow that.
The door closed behind them with a definitive click.
I let go of Raika’s hand and started pacing beside the bed. I had to make a list. Contact Kaz, contact Evelyn, stop by the library in the academy—
“Shane.”
