Lucien went absolutely rigid next to me. He didn’t say a word, but his body language spoke volumes.
Selene turned back to me. “His aura is the only thing keeping yours from unraveling completely.”
I stared at them both, utterly baffled. How had I lived for two hundred years and never heard any of this? I knew the answer—I’d never hung around with witches before. But it still blew my mind.
Finally, Lucien cleared his throat. “Well. That explains why you haven’t threatened my life—or my bouncers’ lives—in a few days.”
I arched a brow. “Are you suggesting you make me sane?”
“I’m not suggesting anything,” he deadpanned. “She is.”
Selene gave a sage nod. “His presence is currently anchoring yours. The madness that might have taken hold—rage, obsession, grief—hasn’t because of him. Because your true mate is shielding you from it. Even if neither of you realized it.”
Understanding had me covering my mouth with my other hand. “But Trystan?—”
“Has no shield,” Selene finished.
The room fell silent. Even Ricky, who’d been lounging against a bookshelf, straightened.
“He’s spiraling,” Selene went on. “And unfortunately, the madness will grow until it consumes him completely.”
My stomach twisted. “Then how do we stop it? How do we fix him?”
Selene didn’t hesitate. “We don’t.”
The finality of her tone sucked all the air from my lungs.
As though sensing my distress, she gave a slow nod. “There is no healing this, Isadora,” she said. “The only thing that ends this is death. His or yours.”
Lucien unleashed a savage growl.
I squeezed his hand, then looked up at him before glancing at Ricky. Neither argued with her. No one said that there had to be another way. Everyone simply looked…resigned to this.
“He cheated on me,” I said, as if saying it out loud might help. “He destroyed my family, our relationship, everything. He dragged my parents into this mess, bankrupting them. And he did all that before I broke the bond.”
Still, no one spoke.
“Don’t get me wrong, I hate him for all that he’s done. But none of that—none of it—justifies killing him.” I sucked in a trembling breath. “But Thorne… What he did to her…” My voice wavered. “I want to eviscerate him. Except, it’s all my fault.” Tears welled in my eyes. “I’m the one who broke the bond and set all this in motion. I’m the one who came here and befriended Thorne. If it weren’t for me, he never would have known about her and certainly wouldn’t have hurt her.”
I stared at Lucien, my vision blurred with tears. “I did this.”
He crouched next to me, pulling me into his arms. “This isn’t your fault. You didn’t know.”
“That hardly excuses it,” I said. “Thorne nearly died tonight because of my actions.”
Lucien said nothing. He simply tightened his arms around me, fiercely protective. Like maybe he could squeeze the guilt out of me. But he couldn’t. No one could.
After a long moment, I exhaled and pulled back. As much as I wanted to stay buried in his comfort, there were far more important discussions to be had.
I wiped my eyes. “How long does he have?”
“I can’t answer that,” Selene said. “Madness doesn’t follow a timeline. But based on what he did to Thorne? I’d say we’re out of time.”
My chest tightened until breathing felt impossible. For a century, Trystan had been a part of my life. It hadn’t always been great, but it was hard to give up on him.
“And you’re sure there’s no other way?” I whispered. “What about locking him away in a facility?”
“What facility could hold him?” Selene asked kindly. “I know this is hard, but Trystan has become a danger to anyone around him—human and paranormal alike. We have to ask ourselves, which is kinder? Imprisoning him to an eternity of madness, or freeing him?”
