Twelve days.
Not twelve days left. Twelve days passed.
Twelve days of Killian constantly fussing over me, and of the circulus researching possible cures for the Sight. Researching, and failing.
Unsurprisingly, there's not much literature on the Curse of the Seers. Even with Akoni, Killian, and Gabe searching through the Archives, there simply was no information to find. No Seer writes or tells about the Curse because fighting it is pointless, and we Know death is inevitable.
Twelve days of Kilian making me try absurd ancient healing rituals the circulus would find in ancient texts, to no avail. I tried to explain that healing simply cannot help my body from decaying from the inside out, but of course, they were insistent, so we spent the days doing those ridiculous rituals.
During the nights, Killian held me, and we pointedly ignored talking about my death, thankfully. He started off hopeful in finding a cure, but even without my Sight or my sight, I could see that he had begun to accept that my death was an inevitability.
And day and night, I bled nonstop.
Coughing and throwing up dark red blood multiple times an hour, blood dripping from my eyes and nose constantly. But the blood wasn't even the worst part.
I was blacking out.
I started going unconscious for brief periods of time, each blackout longer than the last. My body was completely giving up, preparing for my eventual death.
On the plus side, before my death, I would fall unconscious, and be passed out for the duration of my death. Definitely a positive, because drowning in your own blood couldn't possibly feel good.
Not that anything feels good these days.
"Drink," Killian instructs, holding out the glass of water.
"Yes, doctor," I say mockingly, taking the water.
"That's Alpha doctor to you," he says jokingly, but like all of his jokes these days, they're forced, and feel like they're for my benefit more than anything.
I take a sip of the water, but unsurprisingly, it doesn't stay down, and I vomit blood into the blood bucket.
"I said drink, not throw up," Killian teases, but sounds nervous as he takes the cup of water back and pulls me into his arms.
"Sorry," I mutter, laying on his chest, and hear his heart beating erratically. Luckily, he didn't seem disturbed by the large quantities of blood I constantly was expelling at any given moment.
"Don't be sorry," he says softly. "Just go to sleep. I have another plan for tomorrow."
My heart twists in despair. "Killian, please... There's nothing left to be done."
"This one will work," he says, but doesn't sound nearly as confident as he was when we started.
"If... If it doesn't... No more," I say quietly. "No more plans. After tomorrow, I only have until noon the next day. I just want to rest and... be done. No more."
Killian is silent for a moment. "Okay," he relents, choked up, and I'm glad I can't see his face.
I exhale in relief. "Goodnight," I tell him.
Killian doesn't say anything in response, simply placing a single kiss on the top of my head.
Since being back, our physical contact remained limited to him holding me and doing his best to quiet the Sight, and frequent kisses on the top of my head. I didn't dare attempt to kiss his lips, nor did he attempt to kiss mine. We both know there's no happy ending, and every touch makes the impending goodbye harder.
I just wish it didn't have to be goodbye.
****
Killian
"Darling," I whisper, shaking her gently as sunlight falls on her face.
The only response is a small stream of blood that trickles out of her nose.
I swear under my breath, and dab her nose with a handkerchief as I move her from my chest on to the bed, although I suppose it didn't really matter if I cleaned the blood from her nose. My sheets and bed would always be tainted with the smell of her blood. With the smell of her.
Another black out. Likely, the last one before...
I don't let myself finish the thought.
I tried to wake her up for my next plan, no, my last plan.
I had no more ideas left.
Even if Katrina hadn't begged to stop with the random healing rituals, I wouldn't have had any left to try. We tried everything.
This was my last hope.
I shower quickly, washing her blood off of me, and get dressed. When I go back into the room, Katrina is still unconscious. I mindlink Knox and Jae to come guard her, the only two who were capable.
Maryn, Layla, and Kage get too sad, make it too obvious, and I can see it distresses my Katrina. Knox and Jae are much better at concealing their emotions, though it's clear to me that they are just as upset.
And well, Gabe just isn't strong enough to guard.
Before leaving, I bend over to ruffle Katrina's hair and kiss her forehead. "I'll be back soon, my darling," I whisper. I would always come back for her.
Taking one last painful look at her, I go into the in between.
****
The clearing is empty.
Where there was once a large wooden house, there was now absolutely nothing.
"Hello?" I call out, taking a few steps closer.
After a few moments, darkness swirls, and before dissipating, reveals a young woman with hair black as ink, and eyes like the sea. I recognize her instantly, despite all of the years that have gone by.
"How can I help you?" She smiles kindly, taking off a pair of gloves covered in dirt, and tucks them into her back pocket.
"Onyx Knight?" I ask, just to confirm for sure, though the darkness that swirled around her was confirmation enough.
Her smile falters slightly. "Sorry, do I know you?"
I open my mouth to respond, when someone else appears next to her, and I realize that she's concealing a house of some kind with her black magic.
The man shifts slightly in front of her, a small, almost unnoticeable act, but certainly a territorial one. His face twists slightly in confusion when he realizes who I am.
"Alpha Killian?" Lucas, the former Gamma of Blood Lake says in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
Onyx freezes, aside from her eyes widening. "Killian," she says so softly, if I were not an Alpha, I would have missed it.
And then her eyes darken as her mouth presses into a hard line.
Before I can say anything, Onyx raises a hand, and the grass under my feet instantly dies, and a black mist swirls around my feet, paralyzing me, and forcing me to my knees. Her Gift was even blocking mine.
Holy shit.
Onyx Knight is the most powerful wolf alive.
I try talking to explain, but can't move my mouth as Onyx glares daggers at me. Lucas looks perplexed as Onyx walks over to my frozen frame, and bends over until she's eye-level with me.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" she hisses, her eyes completely black.
The magic eases up enough so I can finally talk. "Help," I gasp, my lungs finally able to inhale. "I need your help."
"I do not get involved with pack issues," Onyx snarls, and the darkness looms over her slight figure menacingly. "Especially not where Alphas are involved. You will leave immediately. If you come back, I will kill first and ask questions later. That goes for you and anyone you come with. Understand?"
No, no, no. She has to help. If anyone can, it's Onyx Knight.
"Please," I beg, for the first time in my life. "My-... Katrina. I love her, and she's dying. You have to help. I'll give you anything you want. Please."
Onyx freezes at my words, her lower lip trembling slightly as pain floods her eyes, and they return to their normal bright blue.
"Nyx?" Lucas says hesitantly, softly.
Onyx's eyes unfocus for a few moments, and she sways slightly, and Lucas reaches for her, steadying her with his hands, and she flinches at the contact, but her eyes refocus on me.
She bites her lip nervously, seemingly deeply disturbed and conflicted. "Fine," she says finally, her face paled. "I-I can try to help. Where is she?"
The darkness dissipates around me, and I rise to my feet. "My territory. Crimson Shadow," I answer, so anxious my words are rushed together. "I can teleport us there, and take you back immediately."
"No," Lucas says immediately, his eyes narrowing. "She's not going to go to a fucking pack for fuck's sake."
"Not a pack," I correct. "My pack. She'll be more protected there than she'll be anywhere else in the world. And I'll have her back as soon as she heals her."
Lucas' jaw clenches as Onyx says quietly to him, "You know why I have to help him."
"Please," I beg. "There's not much time left."
Onyx nods, her expression determined. "We'll go now," she says to me, and to Lucas, "I'll be back soon. Make sure Dean doesn't burn the house down."
Lucas glares at me, a look that says: I will kill you if anything happens to her.
For a moment, I think they may be mates, but their scents are not at all intertwined, so they clearly haven't been Marked by each other.
I flick my hand and open a portal, mindlinking Jae and Knox to let them know they can leave their post. I hold out my hand to Onyx, who's looking at the portal with her mouth slightly open, but she takes my hand without arguing.
And Onyx Knight visits Crimson Shadow for the first time since she was kicked out.
****
We land in the room, and Katrina is still unconscious, blood dripping from her nose and eyes.
Onyx looks at her in horror, and her face turns green.
"Onyx?" I ask, but she runs into the bathroom and I hear her throwing up.
A few minutes later, she returns, her face pale and sweat pooling at her hairline, and she trembles slightly.
"Are you okay?" I ask in concern, not sure why she had such a visceral response to seeing my Katrina.
She gulps as she looks at her. "I don't do so well with seeing blood."
My heart tightens. Something traumatic has happened to this girl, which was likely my fault for getting her kicked out.
"What's wrong with her?" Onyx asks, stepping closer, and leaning over Katrina.
"She... has the Sight," I answer hesitantly, unsure if that will mean anything to her.
Onyx's eyes flash in surprise, then in recognition.
"Do you know something about the Curse?" I ask, hope swelling in my chest.
She winces. "Not much. I just know it... it isn't good. I heard from... it doesn't matter," she mutters, her eyes glazing over remembering something I can tell she's tried to forget. "And you're sure it'll kill her?"
"Tomorrow," I answer, trying not to let the panic seep into my voice.
Onyx's face pales even more. "I-I don't know if there's anything I can do. I haven't-"
"Can you try?" I ask impatiently.
"Open the window," she instructs softly, and I do. She raises a hand towards the window, and then a hand over Katrina, and darkness swirls around both of them as Onyx closes her eyes. The black and grey fog envelops them completely, tendrils of smoke moving through the air as though it's alive.
For a few minutes, nothing happens.
Until the darkness dissipates, and Onyx opens her eyes.
"Sorry," she whispers, unable to meet my gaze. "It- Whatever is wrong, it doesn't respond to healing."
My heart sinks. "Can you use your magic to take her Sight away?" I ask, daring to hope. If Katrina has no Sight, then it can't kill her.
Onyx's dark eyebrows furrow. "I-I don't know," she says hesitantly. "I've never tried to take someone's Gift before. I don't know how that works. I... I can try."
"Do whatever you have to do," I plead desperately. This has to work. It has to.
Once again, darkness swirls around them, this time, for almost thirty minutes as I watch impatiently. If it was taking this much time, that's a good thing, right?
And the darkness stops.
"Killian," Onyx says, her voice somber. I can already tell by her voice what the outcome was, but she says it anyways. "I'm so sorry. It won't work."
My heart shatters into a million pieces.
"Why?" I choke out.
"Her magic is too attached to her life force," Onyx says, looking sadly at Katrina. "I can sense it. You can't take away her Sight without killing her in the process. It's woven too deeply with her. You simply cannot separate them."
"Her magic?" I ask in confusion.
Onyx shrugs. "Magic, Gift, Sight, whatever you want to call it. I suppose all of our Gifts stem from magic of some kind."
I look at Katrina, feeling utterly helpless.
I failed her.
"I'm so sorry," Onyx repeats quietly, tears in her eyes. "I wish there was something I could do. You have no idea how much I wish that."
Katrina was right. There is no cure.
"I'll take you back now," I tell Onyx, my voice hoarse.
She nods, taking my hand as we step into the in between.
We land in front of the clearing, only this time, I can see the same house I saw almost two years ago after leaving the Palace of the Gods and delivering Ares to Cain. I cursed Helios silently-- he had known this was her fate. Known, and had not told me, because this was her punishment for saving Cain.
Even if he would help now, which I had no doubt he wouldn't, he couldn't. I already had the thought that maybe since I declined immortality, he would save Katrina instead, but the portal to his dimension only opens once every 400 years.
I release Onyx's hand.
"For what it's worth," I tell her quietly. "When I became Alpha, I tried to find you. To bring you back to Crimson Shadow. I... It wasn't your fault. I'm sorry that-"
"Don't," Onyx says, her voice soft as night. "I was always meant to be a rogue. If I hadn't..." Her voice trails off, and I don't dare press it. "I'm sorry that I couldn't help."
"It was always a possibility," I say, my stomach knotting with anxiety, and my chest feeling like a million pounds of pressure was resting on it.
Onyx steps towards the house, before turning back to look at me, her expression full of grief.
"I lost my mate, too," she says, and her pain is audible. "If you need someone to talk to..." Her voice trails off, and she shakes her head slightly before going into the house, and makes it disappear behind her.
I stand, staring at the empty clearing for a few moments while her words sink in.
She thinks Katrina is my mate. She wasn't wrong, I did lose my mate.
But this death would hurt so much worse.
///////////
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