Page 27 of Till Death

“Jade.”

That one word, croaked out and colored by unimaginable agony, broke me. It ripped apart any last shred of hesitation because he still recognized me. Even now, he knew it was me.

I shifted closer to him and this time my hand did dart out, landing inches from his knee. He followed the movement keenly, his eyes narrowing. Predatory.

“Shit, Cole.” I slowly slid my hand back.

He’d wanted me to stop the Halfling inside of him before it took over and I hadn’t been ready to lose him entirely. Now he still fought. Still tried to subdue that part of him.

This? This was by far worse.

“You do remember me. You’re still in there. It’s not just the beast.” My gaze slid from the tips of his clawed feet to his curling fingertips and everywhere else.

My mind flashed vividly back to the visions during my last Trial. My final step toward becoming an Archangel and how I’d seen the happiest version of my life. Cole and me, in an old Victorian house in a part of Fairport that might not even exist anymore. Making coffee, laughing, sex in an alley…

As improbable as it had felt in the moment, now I clung to the vision. Thewhat if. The culmination of this entire crazy situation that I hadn’t realized I wanted until it was ripped right out of my hands.

What did I do now?

I couldn’t lose him.

Everything I hadn’t known I wanted had been dangled in front of my face only to be ripped away from me now. No one said life was fair, but this felt above and beyond. Considering everything I’d been through in my last life, living in Laurel Heights, with Ed…

I didn’t remember any of my other lives, but I distinctly recalled every detail of my fake future with Cole. I know what he wanted me to do, the price he’d asked. Agreeing to it cost me more than I wanted to admit, and failing nearly broke me apart.

No. No matter what happened, no matter how impossible everyone called the situation, I’d find a way to bring Cole back to me. I didn’t care who reminded me of the impossibility of the situation.

I’d gotten this far on sheer dumb luck and hope, hadn’t I?

“Careful,” Amon warned again.

I shot him a glare, showing him in no uncertain terms that I wanted him to shut up.

“I’m being careful.”

And then the guy had the nerve to laugh. “You?Careful?”

A warning finger did nothing to shut him up either so I did the next best thing: I tuned him out.

“Hey. It’s me.” Taking a risk, I finally did reach out to Cole, running my hand along the grayed and cracking skin of his cheek. Keeping the touch as soft as humanly possible.

He didn’t attack despite the low grumble in the back of his throat.

“Cole,” I whispered. “Do you remember the Jeep?” The memory brought a flash of heat to my core despite his current appearance. Because in my memory, he smiled. I’d see the smile in my dreams for the rest of my life…if I made it out of here. “Do you remember when you shot me?”

His growls stopped but he didn’t say my name this time. His eyes darted back and forth behind his closed lids. His lower jaw jutted outward painfully, the tips of his fangs visible just above his lips.

Suffering. Cole was suffering because of me. Except I only shouldered part of the blame for his condition.

Bertha.

A thought brought my sword to my side and I swung around, ready to kill Amon. The decision was made in an instant. The tip of the blade pressed into his neck but he didn’t flinch; he didn’t evenblink. Instead, he stared at me through half closed lids with his posture relaxed and his hands in his pockets.

“Cure him,” I growled. “Fix him right now or I’ll kill you, and there’s no coming back from the final death.”

I’d make sure it was painful, too.

“I wish I could.” Amon’s voice was a low rumble. He didn’t look concerned in the least with the sword pressed to his throat. If anything, he seemed cool, distant. Almost bored.

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