Page 58 of Cherish

I shoot Hudson a quick glance. Evil or not, it’s clear we need to tread carefully here—wearetalking about her mother, after all.

Hudson returns her winning smile. “It’s wonderful to hear she loves you so much. I’m sorry that your sister has treated you so poorly, then, and your mother was unable to prevent it.”

“Well, it’s not my mom’s fault she couldn’t help me, is it?” she asks. “She’s trapped in the Shadow Realm.”

It’s clear this is getting us nowhere, so I try again. “Why don’t you tell us why you’re hiding in the Witch Court, with protective wards on the doors, if you’re not afraid of your mother and sister?”

She nods. “Well, you were right that my sister, Liana, and I share an unbreakable soul bond. However, you’re wrong that she is still hurting me to gain power. At least not now. When we were younger, she was kind of a mean little brat to me, I’ll give you that. But I wasn’t so innocent, either.” She sighs. “And our mother saw that we could very easily hurt each other, especially when we were mad, which is why she did something terrible to try to undo my father’s magic. I don’t know what it was, no one would tell me, but it was so bad that a god banished her to a prison realm with my sister. I was with our father then, and we were practicing time magic—I was awfully adept as a child, if I do say so myself—when the prison walls came down.”

Tears well in her eyes, but she quickly blinks them away. “Liana and I were trapped on opposite sides of this wall. But she had recently won our power struggle—so a piece of my soul is trapped with her in that prison.” She gestures toward the door. “My body was left weak, but worse, my soul yearns for the other piece of itself. And so, if Viola does not keep me locked inside, for my own good, I feel compelled to try to cross to the Shadow Realm to reconnect with the rest of my soul.”

My eyes widen, and I reach for Hudson’s warmth. “You’ve been imprisoned here? All this time?”

She raises a hand. “For my own good! I cannot cross realms—part of my soul is also trapped here. But still, I try…”

Her voice trails off, and my eyes search out Viola, who adds, “When she tries to activate the gateway to the Shadow Realm, she receives a massive shock. And in her weakened condition, if we don’t keep her locked up, it could kill her.”

I gasp. “Then why live so close to the fountain at all?”

Lorelei shrugs. “Any farther away and the agony to reach the Shadow Realm is too much to bear.” She idly draws circles on the sofa cushion with her finger as we absorb everything she’s saying. “At least in the Witch Court, it’s more of a dull ache, manageable as long as I stay in here.”

I swallow the bile rising in my throat. My God, the Shadow Queen’s actions have causedtwodaughters to spend their lives imprisoned. I still hate that bitch—no matter what Lorelei says, I know she’s evil as fuck—yet I can’t help but feel sad for her, too.

I lean forward and squeeze Lorelei’s hand. Her gaze rises to meet mine as I say, “Lorelei, we will find a way to separate your souls. Not just to save our friend but because you are suffering as well.”

Lorelei’s features soften into another wide smile. “Of course you will. Macy has told me so many stories of your adventures—I know you and Hudson can do anything you set your minds to.”

Ahhh, so that’s how she knew about us. I love the idea that Macy has befriended this girl, even if she did tell her some obviously tall tales about me.

“Well,” I start, “we will do our—”

Hudson’s and my phones both start dinging multiple times in a row, and we pull them out of our pockets at the same time. But as I read the texts from Macy, my stomach sinks.

“It’s Mekhi,” I whisper on a ragged breath. “The sleeping draught is no longer working.”

34

You’re So

Kind-Blooded

“What does that mean?” Lorelei asks. “Is your friend going to be okay?”

I shake my head, typing as quickly as I can to ask for more details. “The sleeping draught was the only thing keeping the poison from causing immeasurable pain—before killing him.”

“Let me see him,” she says, and the request is so unexpected that I stop typing to stare at her. “Bring him to me, and I will try to help.”

Fear for Mekhi has me blurting out, “How?” before I can think better of it. I don’t mean for the question to be rude, and from her expression she didn’t take it that way, but still…how could this girl, weak with half a soul, possibly help our friend?

“Because I am half my mother’s daughter, of course,” she says, like that explains everything. And maybe it does, because Hudson reaches over to pat her hand.

“Thank you so much, Lorelei, but we can’t ask you to weaken yourself in any way to help our friend.” His smile is soft and sweet. “You are incredibly brave, but we will find another way.”

The poor girl blushes a fierce red, but she tilts her chin and says, “He should feed from me. My blood will most likely offer some immunity for him, since it’s shadow poison affecting him. It won’t last, but it will give you time to win my mother’s help. I only wish I could go with you and convince her to help regardless. I haven’t seen her in so very long, but I’ve heard that she has grown cold over the years, filled with rage at what she’s done, so I am not surprised you feel you need to bargain with her to help your friend. But just know, she is not an evil woman. Promise me you will not hurt her in your quest, and I will keep your friend alive as long as I can.”

I echo Hudson’s words. “You are very brave, Lorelei, but I have to agree with Hudson. We cannot ask you to risk your health for his.”

But she shakes her head. “Come on, Grace. We can donate a little blood without any risk of injury.” Her gaze flashes to Hudson’s, then back to mine. “Do you not share blood with your mate?”

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