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“It had to be incredibly difficult to see him so weak.”
Jonas nodded. “As the days went on, he withdrew deeper into the house, moving into the root cellar where sun couldn’t penetrate. Without plants and animals in our diet, our ability to withstand light disappears. Sun and fire become one in the same and the slightest exposure can burn the flesh right off the bone.”
Adam had complained earlier about the sun. When he returned home, she saw the pain in his eyes. But there had been no physical damage. Perhaps that meant they still had time.
“The more symptoms he suffered, the more death surrounded him. The stench of rotting life touched every inch of his home as his soul fouled what hid within. Weakness hobbled him. He grew fearful and irrational, untrusting of others, including those he depended on.”
“Why didn’t he try to find her?”
“No one knows. Such resistance to the call was unheard of. But by this point, it was too late. My father argued with him to the point of bloodshed. Isaiah refused to leave his house. He threw us out and told us to leave him to his misery. My father was devastated. We all were.
“The man I adored was gone. The husk of a man remained, without humanity, and only a rotting soul at his core. As an Elder on the Council, Isaiah’s absence didn’t go unnoticed and soon the order came to put him down.”
She thought of her mother in the final stages, how her thumb clung to the morphine, and Annalise helplessly watched her endure the slow agony of death. She often wondered, during those long, final days, if her mother’s passing would be a blessing for all. Such a wretched thought that still filled her with shame, but she couldn’t bear to watch her suffer anymore. She resented her inability to bring her mother a quicker end. To bring her peace.
Wiping a tear away from the soft skin beneath her eyes, she whispered, “Sometimes death is a blessing.”
Jonas nodded. “Especially to a man whose life became a curse.”
“I’m sorry, Jonas. I know how difficult that must have been.” She wanted to take his hand, but something told her he wouldn’t allow it. Whether it was pride or propriety, she didn’t know.
“He was suffering. Animal blood could no longer sustain him, and as soon as night fell, he’d hunt.”
“Hunt?”
“His animal instincts took over. Corpses fell in his wake. Flocks of sheep slaughtered in one night. An entire herd of cattle bled dry in a week’s time. Yet he remained ravenous. It was too late. Even if he found his mate, he’d already lost his soul. The beast consumed what was left of him and eventually broke free.”
“I don’t understand.”
“We couldn’t contain him. He’d escape to the woods, leaving a trail of carnage in his tracks, venturing farther and farther every night until one dawn he didn’t return. He’d reached the town, and brutalized women. In a bloodthirsty hunt for his illusive mate, he raped and murdered countless innocents.”
Her hand closed around her throat. Could such a fate happen to Adam? Is that what he’d become without her blood? And what if she gave him blood, but refused to bond?
She finally understood what he’d been trying to tell her. There was no other option. Without bonding, he would die. An execution would only protect others, and save Adam pain. There could be no saving himself. That responsibility fell to her.
“Can that—”
“Yes,” Jonas answered, without needing to hear her question. “My son’s time is limited.”
Maybe Adam was different. He was gentle and good, but Jonas described Isaiah similarly. She couldn’t understand how someone so good could become so evil. Then she realized if Adam lost his humanity, he would lose all the pieces of him that made him good, all the parts she cared about.
“I see the desperation in your eyes. You want to find a way to save him without sacrifice.” He turned to look at her. “I love my children very much, Annalise. If there were another way to save him, I would gladly tell you. But there’s not. The same beast that overtook my uncle lives in all of us. Adam is battling it every day. He won’t win the battle. Not without you.”
She struggled to swallow. “How much time will my blood buy him?”
“No one knows for sure. Each couple is different. Sometimes the bonding is first and the rest comes second. Adam is trying to do right by you, and it’s costing him.”
“He’s asking me to give up my entire life.”
“But he’s also offering to sacrifice his. I see what he’s doing, and I can only respect him for trying to hold onto his honor until the very end. But there will come an end, Annalise. This place, these people... There is life here. There’s hope. And there will always be memories if you choose to walk away.”
