Then one final image burned itself into my brain, releasing with a snap of power.
I opened my eyes and gasped. I hadn’t realized they’d been shut. I was panting and everyone was yelling. I glanced down. Lili was gone. Totally gone.
The only thing left of her was cradled in my open palm.
The last image had seared itself into my soul forever. I blinked, trying to understand what had happened. I glanced down at the pulsing mass in my hand.
That’s when I realized I’d made a terrible mistake.
26
I stood, staggering to regain my balance, clutching Lili’s heart carefully so I didn’t harm it. I shook my head to clear it and the world slowly came back into focus, my senses opening up once again. It was clear to me now that I’d been in some kind of trance-like state.
Rourke and Tyler stood beside me, each of them holding an arm to steady me. I made my way to the Princess, who lay unmoving on the gurney.
Ray stood sentinel by her head, his face as serious as I’d ever seen it. “It’s there,” he said. “Her soul is there and it hasn’t tried to leave.”
“I’m not surprised,” I responded as I met his questioning stare. “You’re going to have to assist me with this. As of right now, I believe this is the sole reason you were created. If this doesn’t work, I don’t want to know what will happen.”
His eyebrows rose, but he nodded gravely, talking his cue from my tone. Everyone in this place had just realized something incredible had happened. And none of us knew its true meaning.
I picked up the knife Lili had used to stab the Princess. There was no spell on it any longer, but I could feel the residue. She had indeed spelled it to kill the Princess. I stood over her listless body, and lifted it high so I could plunge it into her chest when a firm hand stayed my wrist.
“Let me do it for you,” Rourke said, emotion in his voice. I knew he understood the magnitude of what had just occurred, and without hesitation he took the knife from me and drove it into the Princess’s chest, drawing a clean, straight line down from her breastbone to her abdomen.
Had the Princess been awake for this, I might’ve passed out. But she hadn’t moved and I was thankful.
The Prince of Hell stood behind my right shoulder, his mouth pursed in a straight line, hands clasped in front of him. He had to realize what was at stake, and knew his bride would surpass him in power, yet didn’t try to stay my hand. He had likely come to the same conclusion I had—this was out of our hands. The power of the Underworld had to go somewhere, and if it didn’t choose his bride, or she couldn’t be revived, it would probably choose me.
With the power of five supernaturals inside me, I had surpassed him in power.
His Princess was the lesser of two evils.
Suddenly Tyler was next to me. He reached over and parted the demoness’s chest so I could place the heart inside. My love for both my mate and my brother almost took me to my knees. I swayed but stood my ground, knowing I had to complete this task.
I brought my empty hand down and reached into the opening in her chest and clasped it around her deadened heart. “Ray, as I take this out,” I ordered, “make sure her soul stays rooted. It’s the only way I believe she will heal once we’re done.”
“Got it,” he said, placing his hands alongside her temples gently. “The quicker this is over, the quicker we can get the fuck out of here. I’ve had enough of this place to last an entire lifetime.”
“I hear you,” I replied. “I want out of here just as bad.” I tugged at her damaged heart, trying not to tear the tissue around it too much. It wasn’t the same shape as Lili’s. It was smaller and I could only feel three ventricles.
One more tug and it came out. I tossed it to the end of the gurney.
The Princess’s blood was like the Prince’s, thick and amber, not like Lili’s, which was red. With my other hand, I slowly guided Lili’s heart into the Princess’s chest cavity, positioning it as best I could. When I felt like it was in the right place I glanced up and met Ray’s gaze. “This is going to be the hard part. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m going to try to spread the magic I just received around her heart. You do whatever you have to do to get her soul to accept it, including any sweet talk you may have stored away in there.”
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” he grunted. “This soul seems to be waiting for something.”
I gathered the new magic in my mind. It was a mass of lightness mixed with dark, all the different signatures creating a kaleidoscope of energy twirling around inside me. It made me feel strange, not quite myself. My wolf yipped. I hope that means this will get easier to handle later. My brain feels scrambled right now. I concentrated on pulling what I thought I needed, amassing it and sending it out into the Princess’s body, down through my arm.
Her body accepted it immediately, almost greedily, and as my magic spread into her chest cavity, the new heart gave a tentative beat, and then another. Once I felt her body start to heal itself, I withdrew my hand. I hoped it would be enough.
“If she does not come back, as promised to me by the Queen of Vampires,” the Prince of Hell said quietly behind me, “your kin will feel my wrath. They are not stronger than I.” His voice was hard, but I heard his feeling behind it. He wanted her to survive. I did too.
I glanced over my shoulder. “Not only is she coming back, but when she does, she will surpass you in strength.” I stated the obvious so he couldn’t manipulate the situation. “And when I’m done healing your bride, we will all leave this plane unharmed and you will publicly declare your fight with me finished. You and your Princess owe me a life debt, if not more. I will consider it paid if you agree everything between us is completely resolved. As you can see, I never wanted to rule this plane and if this doesn’t prove it, nothing will.”
The image Fate had burned into my mind flashed again, making me shudder.
The Prince’s pupils elongated and anger radiated outward. “I owe you no such promise—”
“You shall leave this place unharmed,” an unfamiliar female voice interjected. “With my blessing and thanks.”
I glanced down, startled. I hadn’t expected her to heal that fast.
The Princess’s voice had been surprisingly refined. She had a regal stature about her even while lying flat on her back. Her long jet-black hair flowed carelessly over the gurney, her features precise, much like the Prince’s, but her skin was pearlescent—not quite scaly, but not regular skin either. Depending on the angle, it shimmered, like everything else around here. She couldn’t have been holding her glamour in death, so it surprised me that her real appearance seemed almost human—if you discounted the wings. I knew the Prince of Hell would look much less human if he dropped his own glamour. “You look more human than I’d thought you would without your glamour,” I commented a little stupidly as she continued to stare up at me.