I put my hand on the doorknob. When I opened the door, I couldn’t help but let out a scream.
Ethan was curled up on the floor. There was a broken chair beside him. He was cradling his arm, as if he’d twisted it by falling down.
There was a broken piece of rope hanging from the ceiling. The other end of the rope was wrapped around Ethan’s neck.
“Oh my gods!” I ran to him and fell to my knees. Ethan’s face was blue, but color began to come back into his features as he gasped for air. His eyes flooded with pain as he took in my face.
“Damn demonic magic,” Ethan wheezed. He sounded so hopeless.
“We need to get you to the infirmary.” I was crying so hard that my tears were hitting his face, falling rapidly like rain. “You need to talk to someone, you need to get help—”
“I’m not depressed, Emma. I’mdesperate,” Ethan gasped. “I can’t let it hurt you.”
A well of pain swallowed me whole, body and spirit. Ethan attempted to end his life tosave mine. Him attacking me the other day was the last straw. Ethan thought if he killed himself, he’d kill the demon, too. The leshane had broken the rope with his dark magic before Ethan could suffocate, to keep his host alive.
For once in my damn life, I was grateful as hell to that monster. I wanted to worship the ground he stood, for preventing my mate from taking his life… even if it was for the demon’s own selfish purposes.
I’d had the thought earlier someone should put Ethan out of his misery. I hated myself for it.
The door banged open behind me. I heard hurried footsteps. Alexei and Stefan were beside us in an instant. Alexei looked as if he might pass out. I knew he was feeling every inch of anguish as it poured off Ethan and I in waves, but his mouth was thin and he remained cool.
Stefan’s shaking hands formed into fists. He was forcing himself to keep it together. Ethan stared at him blankly, as if he didn’t even recognize him.
“Ethan could’ve—” I put a hand over my mouth. Odette’s vision had nearly come true, right in front of my eyes, and I hadn’t any time to prepare.
“We got to him in time. That’s what matters,” Alexei stated. He was being awfully calm, like he had experience with this kind of thing. He pulled the rope off Ethan’s neck and tossed it to the other side of the room.
“But he— we—” Gods, I couldn’t even talk right now.
“Emma, you need to get out of here. It’s better if you don’t see this,” Alexei said, before nodding to Stefan. Alexei remained on the floor by Ethan’s side while Stefan began dragging me toward the door.
“I want to help him.” I could barely speak through the tears that were pouring out of my eyes.
“Just go. We’ll handle it.” Stefan’s words were so firm, they caused a shiver to race across my skin. He forced me out of the dormitory and into the hall.
Delmare was already waiting. I crossed from Stefan’s arms into hers. She must’ve felt Stefan’s panic through their bond and come running. She’d caught a glimpse of the scene before Stefan shut the door.
I buried myself in Delmare’s shoulder and bawled. “What’s happened to him? I shouldn’t leave him alone in there!”
“Alexei’s a griffin. Empaths are good at things like this,” Delmare said as she patted my back. “He’ll set Ethan on the right path.”
I was still shaking, but Delmare’s words caused reason to flood my veins instead of fear. She was right. Griffins had empathy magic that could foster emotional stability, which is what Ethan needed right now. “But what are we going to do? He can’t last much longer.”
“We’re not giving up, Em. Just keep holding on,” she said. “He needs you.”
She was right. Ethan needed me. But I needed him, too.
I didn’t know how much longer I could keep doing this.
Chapter Five
Ethan
Icouldn’t imagine how I could sink lower than this. The bruises around my neck had healed quickly, but my actions from the other day had permanently caused a wedge between Emma and I.
No matter what I tried, I kept fucking things up. When the noose was around my neck, I thought it would all be over, but I was deathly wrong. I could hear the demon screaming in my head as I fought for oxygen. His magic burst out of me, causing the rope to break and me to fall upon the chair, snapping it under my weight.
He wasn’t going to let me go. There was no way out of this except to exorcise him. The leshane was damn well determined to take over my body and use it to hurt people. Nothing I could do would stop him. Even if I tried to end my life again, it wouldn’t work. I had to rely on the help of others to prevent the worst from happening.
