Page 113 of Lost Girl

“Tavi, please,” I beg him to hone in on my presence. “I’m here, love. I’m here.”

But again, I go unheard, unseen, unfelt.

He’s thrashing about beneath me, bordering on convulsing. My body follows every one of his movements, hands fisting his dark fur, and yet it does nothing to soothe him.

Doesn’t deter the phantom weight either.

From one moment to the next, Tavi’s cries and howls of misery grow to an excruciatingly deafening degree. He’s yelping right in my ear, forcing tears to stream down faster behind my cinched eyes. I hug him as tightly as possible, hoping and praying that everything will just stop.

And soon thereafter, it does.

Tavi’s cries, his movement, everything falls under an eerie stillness.

Eyes snapping open, I ease back and find him staring at me. I don’t know if he sees me, but he’s staring right at me, his eyes glowing in the same way they did during my last episode. His breaths come harsher by the second, and that’s when I notice just how much blood he’s lost.

How much he’s still losing, the grass beneath him no longer green.

It's not just around him, it’s all over me, coating my front like a thick red paint.

“He’s going to die…” The whisper emerges, voicing my worst fear. “Stop thinking about Rosewood, about coming back. There won’t be anything here for you except people who hate you. They hated you then, and they’ll detest you now for bringing down the Chief’s son. Forget Rosewood, Wendy. Forget it all…”

Shivering, I’m shivering at his side, sights blurred by a deluge of grief as Tavi’s breaths come harsher, yet all the more shallow.

No. No, no, no.

“Tavi!” I yell, my hands cupping his face. “Tavi, stay with me!”

Each breath comes with a hoarse whimper, the faintest cry that lances right through my chest. I keep yelling for him, hoping something will breakthrough, but time is working against me. The light in his eyes is fading, and fading, and fading, until he takes one last breath and—

As always, first comes the gasp.

Then I shoot up from the concrete at my back. My heart’s still in my throat, both my cheeks and eyes drenched.

I was actually crying.

No, I’mstillcrying, heart aching as what took place in that dream hits me in a horrifying reel all over again.

Tavi.

He can’t be… God, no, please—he can’t be… I can’t even think about it; don’t want to believe that any part of that dream could be real. Considering how the last episode ended, though, with me banging down the castle doors after such vividly real scenarios...

I have to get to him, have to make sure he’s okay. At least send a message and hope I can get one in return. The whisper may have advised against it, but I can’t sit here and not know. I’m liable to go insane.

Peeking out from under the bridge, I note the light colors now claiming the sky. It’s quite early in the morning, something I take as a good sign.

What I don’t take as a good sign is the raven that appears out of nowhere, landing just feet away from me. Beady black eyes boring into mine, it cocks its head aside and bounces its way closer, shuffling me back into the curved concrete of the bridge. It’s right about then I notice the piece of parchment clasped between his beak. A few hops more, and it deposits the note, squawking as if to announce it’s for me.

I don’t reach for it until the raven takes its leave, but when I do, and I fully absorb the words scripted out for me, I’m leaving the safety of that bridge without a second thought. It’s a sign, and I’m not ignoring it, I can’t.

I just hope these witches aren’t about to tell me my wolf is dead.

We have news from Rosewood.

Please find your way to Covent Garden as soon as you possibly can.

The coven awaits your arrival.

xx

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