“About Rosalie...” I swallowed hard and dragged in a breath. “She... She betrayed us, Sabrina.”
“What?” Sabrina paled, shock and hurt flashing across her face. “How? What did she do?”
I sighed, my hands shaking as I recounted the story. “She was working with Castro this whole time, feeding him information about us, about our family. We found out when Ty and Isaiah did a deep dive into all the employees, and I confronted her. She had no choice but to admit everything.”
Sabrina jumped up from the table, suddenly blazing with fury. She paced back and forth in front of me, her fists clenched at her sides. “I can’t believe this, Liza! We trusted her. We let her into our lives, and she just... stabbed you in the back.”
“Believe me, I know.” Recounting the story of Rosalie’s betrayal had brought my own rage back to boiling from where it had been a steady simmer. The bitter taste of betrayal still lingered in my mouth as a harsh reminder of Rosalie’s deception. While I watched Sabrina pace around, I felt a surge of protectiveness toward my best friend. We didn’t often let others into our close-knit circle, and to have one of them turn on us stung deeply.
The door swung open suddenly, and Liam stepped inside. He scanned the room, one eyebrow raised, until he finally settled on me. “Liza, I?—”
He spotted Sabrina, and his entire demeanor changed. His whole face softened, and he lost all sense of purpose, as if he’d forgotten why he’d come looking for me in the first place.
“Uh… hi, Sabrina,” Liam said, smoothing down his hair.
“Hey.” The word was little more than a breath. It was as if the anger that had been consuming her had suddenly evaporated, replaced by an entirely different emotion.
I sighed. I hadn’t yet found the courage to deal with the elephant in the room—that my brother was fated to a human. It wasn’t that I cared about Sabrina being human, it was the fact that she was my best friend and had no idea what destiny had in store for her.
“Damn it,” I said under my breath, rubbing my temples as I tried to focus on the present instead of the tangled mess of emotions swirling inside me.
Before I even began to process it all, the atmosphere shifted, and an ominous feeling of dread settled over me. My instincts screamed to act, to protect those I loved most, but I couldn’t pinpoint the source of the danger.
“Get down!” Liam screamed suddenly, but it was too late.
The world exploded around us in a deafening blast, glass shattering and raining down like deadly hail. As the shockwave slammed into us, Liam’s arms wrapped around Sabrina and me, shielding us from the worst of the impact.
Time passed in slow motion for a few seconds. Liam’s mouth moved, and I had to blink several times before his words registered.
“Are you both okay?” Liam’s voice broke through the ringing in my ears. The chaos had subsided, leaving us surrounded by shattered glass and debris. I gasped for breath, trying to ignore the sharp pain in my side where the force of the explosion had thrown me against the wall.
“Y-yeah.” I was shaking, and breathing hurt, but otherwise, I couldn’t identify any other injuries. “I think so. What about you, Sabrina?”
“I’m fine, thanks to Liam.” She was equally unsteady. She looked up at him with gratitude shining in her eyes. She may not know about their connection yet, but what would happen when she did? What changes would it bring about?
“Thanks for saving us,” I said.
I lifted my hand from Liam’s shoulder and froze, staring at the red fluid staining my fingers. The metallic tang filled my nostrils, making my stomach twist with nausea. My breath hitched in my throat.
Liam was hurt, and badly.
Blood coated everything; a macabre painting splashed across the room. Dark crimson flowed from Liam’s neck. It seemed to pulse out from the artery in his neck and made my breathing hitch in terror. Every time his heart beat, it sent more of his life’s blood down his chest. My hands shook as I tried to hold back the panic.
Sabrina began shouting. “Liam! No, no. Liam!” I wasn’t even sure she was aware of what she was doing or why. The bond strengthened between them even though neither had acknowledged it.Fuck, Sabrina wasn’t even aware of its existence.
She looked up at me. “Liza, what do we do?” She grabbed the nearest thing to her—the tablecloth—and tried to staunch the bleeding.
“Stay with me.” I desperately tried to stop my voice from cracking. “You’re going to be okay.” I had to stay calm.Think, Liza. Come on, think!
“Li-Liza…” Liam gasped weakly, a gut-wrenching gurgle coming from his throat.
I needed to focus. I couldn’t let my fear take over. I inhaled deeply, forcing myself to remain calm. Tears streamed down my cheeks. Tears… My tears could heal! I had to act quickly, otherwise I’d lose him.
“Please, Liza...” His voice was becoming weaker, the pristine white tablecloth Sabrina was holding to his neck now saturated red, soaked with my brother’s blood. I pulled it out of the way, and had to physically push a sobbing Sabrina back.
“Shh, Liam. Save your strength.” I wiped my face with my hands and placed them on the jagged wound in his neck. The warmth of his blood contrasted sharply with the cold, clammy skin beneath my fingers, then I kneeled over him, and with my tears falling onto the wound, I willed my healing power to flow through me and into him.
“Come on,” I said, more to myself than to Liam. “Work.”
