Page 48 of The Storm
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Let me die. I do not want to live. Let me die with them. Let me die and go to them. Give me peace.
A sickening whisper in her mind. “There is no peace now.”
Renata felt the scream rip from her chest as raw sorrow sprang from her mind and into the dusty air of the library. In the distance, she heard running steps and could only think of Grigori running up the stairs. She fell to the ground and felt the little girl crouch beside her.
“I’m sorry,” the little girl whispered again. “I’m sorry.”
Chapter Ten
Max burst into the library and came to a halt, not understanding what he was seeing before him. He’d heard the child crying. Heard Renata’s screams.
His lover was writhing on the ground, curled into the fetal position as the little girl knelt beside her. Evin had her hands on Renata’s cheeks, and tears poured down her face, which was set in grim determination. The child looked up as soon as Max and Zana ran in.
“Evin, what are you doing?” Zana yelled at his daughter.
Max knelt and lifted Renata in his arms, but Evin kept her hands on Renata’s cheeks.
“The sick”—she sniffed through her tears—“it had to come out. Her heart was hurt.”
Empath. Max could see the little girl’s skin growing pale even as her golden eyes glowed brighter and brighter.
He said, “Evin, her hurt is too much. You need to stop.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I can make it better. Someone has to make it better.”
Max heard someone else come in the library, but he couldn’t turn from Evin’s eyes.
“Let her go.” It was a woman’s voice, rasping and unused. “Evin, let go.”
The little girl shook her head. Max held Renata in one arm and gently took Evin’s small hand from Renata’s skin.
“Let go, little one,” he said. “She’s lighter now. Can’t you feel it?” Maxim did. The spiked energy that always emanated from Renata had softened under the little empath’s hand.
Thawra came and knelt by Evin, pulling the child into her embrace and pressing Evin’s face to her neck. “Shhhhh.” The mother made some sign at Zana, and the Grigori took off down the hall.
Renata was unconscious, her body limp and heavy. He could feel the glow of her magic resting within her, and for the first time in a long time it felt… tired. Not extinguished, but dimmer. He lifted her and sat on the sofa, pressing kisses to her forehead and writing spells on her forehead.
Peace. Hope. Love.
He wrote those simple spells in the Old Language over and over across her forehead.
Peace. Hope. Love.
Max couldn’t think of anything more elaborate than that.
Peace. Hope. Love.
Finally, she let out a ragged breath and curled into him.
“Rest, my love.” He held Renata and looked to Thawra and Evin. The little girl was limp and drawn, far paler than she should be. “What does she need?”
“These,” Zana said from the hallway. He was carrying…
