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“Haven’t you noticed?” Victor said.
“She’s dying,” Vira blurted.
“Stop lying,” Dorian said.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Can’t you smell it?” Victor asked. “Death. It’s all over her.”
“No,” Dorian said. “That’s not it. That’s not…No.”
“It’s true,” I said. “She said the damage is already done, and I know she’s telling the truth. It’s a matter of time.”
“I will never believe that.” He reached out and gripped Vira’s arm roughly. “Amelia will help. She’ll find a way. It’s never too late. We can never give up. There has to be something you can do to help us!”
Panic filled Vira’s eyes, but she didn’t struggle, only stood there impassively, her face slack.
I recalled the scars on her palms, the fear in her voice when she talked about her past. I could only imagine what Eli and their cult had put her through. “Dorian, let go of her.”
He let go of her arm, but his eyes said he didn’t understand why. “She’s here now. She can help us. We can deal with this.”
“This was a mistake,” Vira cried. “I only ever make things worse. I can’t do this again.” She fled.
Dorian made to run after her, but I got in his way, forcing him to stop.
“What are you doing?” he said in disbelief.
“Let her go.”
“Why?” he demanded. “Why does everyone keep letting her away with this? She keeps coming here, throwing bombs, and then leaving us to deal with the fallout. Why can’t she help us?Why?”
I wrapped my arms around him. He was shaking. “I’m sorry.”
“No,” he said in a choked voice. “Stop that. You don’t say sorry. This isn’t over. We can fix this. We’re going to fix this. All of it.”
“Okay,” I said, holding him tight. I would say anything to make him feel better. “We’ll try our best.”
“Good.” He stepped out of my reach, wiping his eyes with the cuffs of his sleeves. “Great. Victor, let’s… let’s take her home with us and come up with a plan. A great plan. Right now.”
Victor glanced at me. I shook my head.
“The baby is coming home today,” Victor said after a moment’s hesitation.
“We can make a plan tomorrow instead,” I said gently.
Dorian looked horrified. “Tomorrow might be too late.”
I didn’t have the heart to remind him that it was already too late. He needed time to process, time to deal, and I had a feeling only Nathan and Perdita could help with that.
But Dorian refused to listen to me anyway. “No,” he said for the umpteenth time. “No more. We’re dealing with this now. All of us.” And then he reached for my hand, and he refused to let go.
CHAPTER20
Dorian
Nothing was impossible.Nothing. I refused to believe that there was no solution, that fate would steer us to darkness and death again so soon after the birth of Diane. I wasn’t planning on losing another person either way.
So I held on to Margo, and I refused to let go. “We’re going home.”
