Page 83 of Bad Moon Rising
He lifted his head.
“I have to die. I’m not like you. I don’t have a purpose in this world. I’m dangerous. So much so that my former self said I can’t be allowed to remember. Whatever’s in my head might cause me to go after your king—”
“He’s not my king,” he interrupted.
“It might cause me to do other things I don’t want to and can’t control. We don’t know.”
“Exactly. We don’t know.”
“You and me…something happened that is tearing me up inside. Something I don’t think my former self anticipated.” She put her hand over his chest. “I’ll be in here. Always. You’ll get off this bed and go to London. You’ll live to fulfill your purpose. I know you’re close to finding a way out of the curse.”
He blinked.
“Do this for me.” She knelt in front of him and took his hands in hers. “Please.”
His hands shook as he pulled one out of her hold and rested it against her cheek, memorizing the silky texture of her skin and the beautiful angles of her face. The air seized up in his lungs as his heart raced. “I was dying on the inside before I met you.” He brought her palm to his mouth where he pressed a kiss. “I didn’t know I could feel like this or have a reason to exist other than for that which I’m forced to do. If I lose you, I’ll have nothing.”
“That’s not true.” She gripped his hand tight between both of hers and sat next to him.
“I need you like I need air, Nova.” He kissed her knuckles.
She swiped her free hand across her eyes to clear the tears. “This hurts so much.”
He reached out to cup her face once more, letting his thumb pass over her soft skin. “You were meant for me.” He placed one soft kiss on her lips. “I love you. I’ll always love you.”
“No,youwere meant for me.” She hugged him tight. “Watching this is going to hurt. I couldn’t imagine if I had to see you be murdered. But you will survive. You have to. You’re going to hold on to hope. You will grab it tight and not let go. They can steal everything else, but they can’t take that from you. Even on the darkest night, the sun will rise the next day. There is a way to get you free. Somehow, you’ll figure out how to wrangle it out of Antonio.” She rose and kissed him once on the lips. “Then you can learn how to live again.”
“Nova…” He dropped his head. “I can’t do this.”
She gripped his chin tight to force eye contact. “Swear to me that you won’t retaliate against Cooper or your mother for helping me with my decision. Swear it.”
Promising this to her was him agreeing to her death. “I’m not going to watch you die. You’re the one who’s going to go, and Cooper can kill me.”
The curse’s internal punishment returned. He steeled himself against the pain. He wasn’t letting her do this.
“Roman, this is our only option. Deep inside, you know I’m right. If you don’t do it this way, Flynn will die when the curse pushes him to hunt me. Ky will die. Your brother, Shane, who might not be dead and may or may not be free of the curse, will die. Or maybe he won’t because he doesn’t know me and might be happy to take me out. Then we’re both dead and no one wins.”
Breath whooshed out of him. “Fuck.”
“Your mother couldn’t handle losing all of you. We have no other option. It has to be me. Swear to accept that I’m going to die. This is real. It’s not a trick or magic. It’s going to be ugly. If you feel like I do, it’s going to hurt so much. This is my choice. Don’t take my choice away from me. Let me have dignity in my end.”
His mind was too clouded between pain from fighting the curse’s will and shock she’d chosen death for herself to respond.
He swallowed hard and looked upward. “This is wrong. I won’t accept this.”
Pain from the curse channeled through his body again, deep, hard, and unforgiving. It stole his ability to move his chest. He leaned over wheezing and wiped blood from his nose.
Her burner phone dinged. “It has to be me. I’m not going to watch you bleed until you’re dead.”
External pain burned his arm. He jerked away to see she’d injected him with something. She whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
“What’d you do?”
“I love you. I knew you’d never accept me doing this, so I got something from your mother.” Tears poured down her face, which blurred in and out of focus. “I love you.”
“Nova…”
Chapter Twenty-Five
