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She relaxed on the final word, and I knew she was finally listening.
“Dorian,” Victor said gruffly. “Should she be around the baby?”
I glared at him. “We’re. Going.Home.”
In silence, I led the way home, forcing the other two to follow. A grim sort of determination had gripped me. There would be no giving up now. It wasn’t over. Not yet. Not until we had tried more. Not until we figured out a solution.
Along the way, I thought of Eli, of the car almost running us over, of him choosing somebody to hurt, forcing Margo to stop him. Did he know he was helping to kill her? Was that what he wanted?
Back home, Byron and Niall Harding were in the garden, talking. That was better. Margo’s parents deserved to know as soon as possible. She pulled back, trying to avoid it, but I dragged her over.
Byron looked up and frowned, instantly realising something was wrong.
All Niall saw was me manhandling his daughter because he pushed me off her. “What are you doing?”
“Vira was here,” I panted. “She said Margo’s dying. She said it’s too late to stop it, but that can’t be right, so we have to figure something out right now.”
“What are you…” Niall looked Margo over. “How can she say that?”
“It’s true,” Victor said. “Something’s wrong with her.”
Niall pulled Margo closer to him, wrapping a protective arm around her. “She’s not dying.”
“I can sense something, too,” Byron said hesitantly. “What happened, Margo?”
“I…” She looked terrified and yet resigned, too. How could she accept it so easily? “After Perdita gave birth, I started throwing up black stuff. Sometimes, when I look in the mirror, I see death there, around me. I didn’t know what to do, how to say it, so I didn’t. I’m sorry, Dad.”
He looked horrified. “You knew?” He looked at Dorian. “What did Vira say?”
“She said my body’s too weak,” Margo answered for me. “That it’s only a matter of time. Turns out I’m way too human for this. I can’t handle what happens.”
“You’re strong,” I said firmly. “You can handle this.”
“I can’t change biology,” she said with a small laugh. “My body isn’t strong enough for this. If Eli figured that out, he’s going to keep hurting people to get to me. My only options are to stay away from people or hold out as long as I can until…”
“Fine,” I said. “So we run. We get away from him, somewhere he’ll never find us.”
“Staying away from everyone includes you.”
I stared at her. She was deadly serious. I had to think fast. Had to figure something out.
“We need Amelia,” I said to Byron, panic making my voice high-pitched. “She has magic. She’ll think of something. And Stephen. He’ll find some medicine that—”
Byron gripped my shoulders, forcing me to meet his gaze, forcing me to centre myself. “You can’t help her if you’re not calm. Remember who you are.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. I was supposed to be strong when Margo was weak. But now it was the other way around.
She touched my hand. She was so cold.
Opening my eyes, I pulled her into a hug. We clung on, both of us scared, both of us trying to be strong, but it was so hard. I had no control over any of it. I kept watching bad things happen, and that made me sick to my stomach.
“Wait,” Margo muttered, pulling away, confusion written all across her face. Byron and Niall were grilling Victor on exactly what Vira had said. They didn’t notice how Margo’s eyes had turned into an odd mix of blue and grey.
“What’s happening?” I asked. “What is it?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I feel so strange. I don’t understand it.”
“Something’s wrong!” I called out.
