Page 110 of Bound By Roses

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

QUINN

It’s been nearly two weeks and there’s been no word from Ty. Either he hasn’t shifted, or he’s dead. With each day that passes, the latter becomes more likely.

We’ve busied ourselves in the usual ways. Training, building enough shelters to support the thousands we hope to rescue from Lunae, and making sure we have enough food for them. The wolves have been hunting—along with Abby, through their eyes—and we have enough dried meat to at least make the transition a little easier. It’s not like the people of Lunae are accustomed to eating much more than scraps.

Despite being as prepared as we are, many are growing restless. Sending Ty back to Lunae was only meant as a way to gather as much information about our current enemy as we could. His silence does nothing to change the plan that is already in place. In one week from today, we’ll make the journey through the forest and camp on the border of Lunae. And the following night? We infiltrate.

While the dragons and wolves slip into the lower city under the cover of night and evacuate as many as possible, I’ll goafter Arabella myself. We get in and out with as little notice as possible—but we come prepared to fight if necessary.

Just one more week.

One more week to ready Marein. One more week to train the fighters for Lunae’s retaliation. One more week to prepare our souls for the journey through the veil and whatever lies beyond. Not everyone is making it out of this. Whether it’s a war on Lunae’s soil or Marein’s, wariscoming. That much is unavoidable, and when it comes, it will be bloodier than any that have come before. I’m too much of a strategist to know that not everyone is going to make it out alive, and the sword that swings above my head is all too prominent for me to even hope that I will survive it.

All I can do is cling to the words that Evan gave me.

Live for her.

That’s been my motto every day since Evan’s lips spoke the soundless phrase. It’s the first thought I think when I wake, and it’s my final prayer before I allow myself to drift into an uneasy sleep.

“Are you sure about this?” I ask when I enter the room where Jade once floated. As far as I know, this small healing pool has remained empty since he awoke, but once again the room is filled with people donning expressions of concern.

“She is,” Petra says, and I detect a hint of annoyance in her voice. I don’t blame her. If it was Abby asking this of me, I’d be pretty fucking annoyed, too. Gods, I haven’t even considered that possibility and I say a silent prayer of thanks that Abby clearly hasn’t thought of it either. She doesn’t deserve this curse, and neither does Teagan.

But to Teagan, this isn’t a curse. It’s a chance at salvation. A chance to once again exist in the same world as her mate. A chance to be free of the shackles of her fins. It’s not my place to tell if this is a sacrifice worth making. Nor is it my place to denyher that freedom when it was my claws that stole her voice and triggered the fever that left her trapped in this aquatic body.

I blow out a sigh and move to Abby’s side. She’s kneeling at the edge of the pool just in front of where Teagan bobs happily in the water. How either of them looks so calm, I’ll never understand. I can feel Abby’s nervousness through the bond, but she does well to hide it. We’d talked about this and the risks, but in the end, we agreed that this was Teagan’s choice. Our only stipulation was that she had to think long and hard about it.

Today is the day I said I would change her if that was what she still wanted. And judging by the wide grin that hasn’t so much flickered, there’s not a doubt in my mind that she still wants this. That doesn’t change the fact that I was hoping she would change her mind. I don’t want to do this to anyone else, and knowing that Ty might already be dead isn’t helping.

I crouch down in front of her so I can speak directly to her. “I know I keep asking, but I’m going to do it again. Once this happens, there’s no taking it back. Are you sure this is what you want?”

She nods emphatically.

“We don’t know how your body will react. It might not work.”

She lifts a dripping hand from the water and takes hold of mine. Her eyes are pleading, and I know she’s asking me—no,beggingme—to let her take the chance. She knows the risks. She’s willing to take them.

“Who’s going to hold her?” This is so much harder in the water. Drowning is a very real possibility, and that’s exactly why we have two siren healers, Tess, Petra, Dru, and even Merrick, crammed into this small room. I suspect Ory and Wyatt—the dragon brothers—are staying with Nuri if Merrick is here.

What’s surprising is that Jade isn’t. Rhett is on patrol, so it’s possible he’s with him, but I thought out of everyone he hatedTeagan the least. I expected him to be scowling at us from a shadowy corner of this room.

Petra moves and I expect her to lower herself into the pool, but instead she helps pull Teagan out of it. I guess they’re going to try to do this out of the water. As far as I know, Teagan isn’t supposed to be out of the ocean for more than a few minutes at a time. At least it’s easy to slip her back into the pool if she reacts badly. That’s not going to ease any of the discomfort that comes with the bite and the fever it brings.

Teagan lays her head on Petra’s lap, and Abby takes hold of her hand. This probably isn’t enough to keep her still, but the single nod Merrick gives me says he’s more than prepared to move in if he has to.

“The chest is best,” I say, only half-confident. Ty took only a day to make the change, but that doesn’t necessarily prove my theory. It could still very much be random. “Or as close to the heart as possible.”

Teagan pulls open the waterproof robe she wears to expose…scales. The same intricate design of tightly woven scales that make up her tail travel all the way up to her collarbone before fading out and disappearing entirely around the back of her neck.

“Can you bite through that?” Abby asks. This is the first time her nerves have broken through the calm facade and I’m not the only one who notices. Teagan gives her hand a slight squeeze, and Petra makes a sound of annoyance.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t do this. At least until your sister can weave the outcome.” Petra’s voice cracks, and I realize then that it’s not annoyance I’d seen in her. It’s just fear for her mate.

Teagan shakes her head before tilting it back to meet Petra’s stare. I know they’re having a silent argument that likely has everything to do with the fact that in just a week, I’ll be going to Lunae and there’s a very strong possibility I won’t be comingback. She wants to do this now because she might not get another chance.

“I don’t feel comfortable biting the neck, so it will have to be the arm. I may not get deep enough through the scales, and I don’t want to use more force than necessary.”

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