Page 119 of Feral Possession

“Is he…”

“He livesss,” Shadow reassured her. “But not long.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “He’s dying without you, Shadow. You have to go back.”

“Can’t.”

“What? Can’t or won’t?”

“Can’t. Energy gone. Yours and mine.”

He was right. Her tank was totally empty.

She flicked a glance to a groaning Tiberius. He wasn’t dead yet. That meant his soul was intact.

“I’m not losing Marcus. Not like this. Not after everything we’ve been through.” For once, she was going to be the badass necromancer she was always meant to be. No more holding back. No longer would she make herself smaller, hiding from others’ expectations. The only one she needed to fear disappointing was herself.

“I know what I need to do. May the fates forgive me.”

Scrambling to Tiberius’s side, she leaned over him. The vampire looked more like a bloated bag of raw meat than a powerful monster, thanks to her. She planted her palms into his bloody chest, cringing at the squelching sound.

His eyes cracked open, and she nearly screeched in surprise. “Do it,” he sneered.

Surely, she didn’t hear right. “You’re ready to die?”

“I’ve already won.”

She didn’t have time for his nonsense. Not while Marcus slipped away. “This will go easier for you if you don’t fight,” she sneered the words he’d once uttered to her.

Her chest unfurled, the sensation like a black hole had opened in her gut. Darkness rose in her center and pulled inward. Midnight blue vapor wafted up from Tiberius, his essence entering her body. Strength flooded her empty cells, her glyph igniting with power.

The connection between them shut off and Dove tumbled back, bile rising in her throat.

Ew! Ew! Ew! We just ate Tiberius. Don’t think about it, Dove. Don’t think about it.

Tiberius stared up at the sky. Lifeless. From his corpse, a furious shadow rose. “No!” It snarled in an unnatural voice. “No drone can defeat me.” It drifted on the breeze for a moment until a sunbeam sliced through its disintegrating form. The stench of sulfur burned Dove’s nostrils. Then, poof. It was gone.

“Shit. Was that Zion?”

“Yesss. Hurry,” Shadow urged.

“Right.” She hustled to Marcus’s side. He already had the Keres brand. Hopefully, the talisman would work as she hoped.

“Get ready, Shadow.” She whipped the chain over her head and pressed the talisman against Marcus’s chest. Everything that mattered to her in this whole screwed-up universe rested beneath her palm. “Hold on, Marcus. Don’t give up on me.”

Energy pulsed through her veins. Her glyph sparked along her back. Tangled locks lifted from her shoulders in an invisible wind. His spirit called to her. Thin ribbons connected them. There you are. Thank goodness she’d interrupted Zion in time. The Chosen bond remained. Dove focused on that connection, opened herself to it, sensed it deepening. This connection it went beyond a blood bond. Deeper, to a place of love. The ribbons between them thickened, twisting together until a channel opened.

In that connection was another presence. Shadow. He glided along the pathway. Sliding along its length, his roots stretching deep into Marcus. Connected. Her limbs tingled, growing cold as though drained of life. The shade’s presence inside of her dimmed. Grew faint. Disappeared. Beneath her palms, the talisman cooled. The purple light extinguished.

Dove panted, afraid to move. Did it work, or did she destroy them both?

“Marcus?” She smoothed his hair back. “Shadow?” No response. Her heart thundered, panic rising. Silence closed in, suffocating her. It didn’t work. She’d failed. A sob rose to choke her.

“Please, answer me.” She patted his cheek. No. It wasn’t fair. She couldn’t lose him. “Marcus!” Without thinking, she cracked her hand against his cheek.

His lips parted with a groan, and her heart leapt. She clasped her stinging palm to her chest. “Marcus?”

“We really need to work on your bedside manner.” His husky voice was music to her ears.

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