Page 115 of Witch Undecided
The door burst open and Conah strode in, chest heaving, golden hair windswept, sapphire eyes bright as they locked onto me.
“Cora, Jessie told me what happened. I want to help.”
“Then find a fucking cure.” Tor’s words were delivered in a vicious growl. “Can you do that?”
The light in Conah’s eyes dimmed and his throat bobbed. “No. There is no known cure, but I can… I can make it painless.”
My pulse sped up. Conah never admitted defeat. If there was even the slimmest possibility of a cure, he would be holed up in the library searching for it. The fact he was here…
My terror, held at bay by my anger, surged up to choke me.
“I’m going to die.” The words were flat.
“Yes,” Conah said at the same time Tor growled, “No.”
Leif barreled back into the room, bridged the distance between us, and tugged me into his arms. He squeezed me tight, pressing his lips to my temple.
“I feel it,” Leif said. “Cora, I can feel it.”
He could feel the infection through our bond.
No doubt now. No doubt at all.
My eyes pricked and I squeezed them shut.
No. I would not cry. No fucking way.
Then Tor’s chest was pressed to my side, and his arms were around us. Rune’s head nudged my thigh.
Cora…
No. Stop it.
I locked gazes with Jasper over Leif’s shoulder. His mouth was turned down and his face blurred through a haze of tears.
I blinked, dislodging the moisture.
“No,” Jasper said. He shook his head and walked toward us. “I don’t feel it at all.”
Leif pulled back. “What?”
Jasper stepped closer. “Move. Now.”
I expected the guys to fight him, but they surprised me by releasing me and stepping away.
Jasper cupped my face, his hands cool against my feverish skin.
Tor’s chest rumbled but he didn’t move to stop him.
Jasper’s emerald eyes bore into mine like all-knowing lasers, and for the first time since donning the amulet, his soul brushed mine in the briefest of contacts.
“Yes. Okay, I see it now.” He canted his head, thumbs sweeping across my cheeks soothingly. “It’s growing slowly.” His lips curved in a smirk. “But it’s no match for us, is it, Cora?” One of his hands slid down to hug my throat. My pulse sped up beneath his fingers. “No match at all.”
A pressure swelled at my solar plexus, cold like ice. My breath hitched. “What are you doing?”
“Speeding things along.”
And then my blood caught fire and a scream tore a path up my throat, but it was never given voice because darkness swallowed me whole.
