Convergence

Chapter Thirty

They're really alive. But... How? I want to ask, but I know if I open my mouth I won't be able to contain the screams. I clench my jaw shut and shudder as another wave of fire sweeps through my veins.

It started in my fingers and toes -- like billions of fire ants crawling underneath my skin. Now it is up to my stomach, steadily approaching my heart. I remember Philippe telling me that once that happens, it will be all over.

I try to pay attention to what's around me -- to ground myself in some way -- but the world is hazy; the fire consumes everything.

"It's spread too far by now, there's nothing I can do." A sad voice echoes distantly.

"What the fuck do you mean you can't fix it?"

"You've got to do something!"

"Dammit, this can't be happening!"

The voices swirl around my head, blending together into incoherent cacophony. I want to tell them to stop arguing, to stop worrying about me.

I want to tell them many things.

Like how I was ready to experience life with all nine of them. How they all made me feel like I finally had a home. How even though they drove me crazy and had a long way to go, I was looking forward to traversing it together.

Silent tears slip down my cheeks as I feel the fire race through my veins, closer and closer to my heart. I clench my eyes tighter and work to control the tremors wracking my body -- maybe they can have some peace if I can keep the ugliness of the transformation from them.

My heart begins to beat frantically, as if fighting for any last shred of its humanity. The pain in my chest grows and I gasp for breath. I fight to control my panic as the tendrils of fire wrap around my heart. The world slowly fades into the background and I grow still.

Peace. Maybe someday I can find it too.

Victor's POV

We all felt the moment that her heart stopped. It was as though my own had stopped with it.

"The imprint bond... it's-"

"Gone... it's gone, Gabe." I whisper, my throat closing as the pain of the shattered bond tears into my heart. She's gone.

I stare at my Princess, laying there so pale and still. The rosy blush I had quickly become accustomed to was gone, never to come back. That thought is what breaks me. I drop to my knees as tears pour from my eyes. I'm so sorry, Princess.

My brothers drop down next to me, even Mr. Blackbourne, who stares fixedly at Sang with a glassy gaze.

"We tried our best gentlemen." He slumps and clears his throat, removing his glasses and rubbing at his eyes.

"Well it wasn't fucking good enough." Gabe shouts bitterly. "We weren't good enough." He mumbles with his face in his hands.

I want to argue, say something to stop his obvious downward spiral, but I realize that he's right. We weren't good enough for her -- in fact, we failed her at every turn. This is the biggest failure of all. We should have been there in time.

"We must move her to somewhere safe before she wakes up." Carlisle's quiet voice, drenched in sadness and regret, interrupts my dark thoughts. I glance up through blurry eyes and see Emmett move towards Sang's prone body. North growls and Emmett stills, looking at him quizzically.

"We will carry her." North gruffs out, dark eyes filled with anguish.

Emmett nods silently and steps back, eyes flicking around the rest of us as we huddle around her still form. Silas lifts her into his arms and we all reach for a part of her, seeking some small comfort through the connection.

I shiver as my hand makes contact with her own. She's already so cold.

"We have a cabin to the north where we go to hunt occasionally. It would be safe... and isolated." Carlisle says hesitantly.

I hear the unspoken meaning. My Princess would wake up hungry for blood; a danger to the humans we are sworn to protect.

I shiver again, this time at the thought of her blood red eyes staring at me hungrily. My eyes dart up to see Edward studying me with a frown. I drop my eyes, uncomfortable that he heard the direction of my thoughts. But I couldn't help it. I didn't know what would become of Sang, and if that person would be the same one that I had fallen for.

I peer down at her, so pale in my brother's arms. With the imprint bond broken, we were no longer tied to one particular person. We could all leave before she even woke up. The thought sends a pang through my heart.

Am I really ready to let go of her... of my Princess?

A/N  *hides behind barricade* I'll fix it, I promise! 

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