Chapter 154: Even Death Denied
(ALICE)
My eyes are only half open as I stare at the brightly lit chandelier above . I can’t move anymore. I can’t scream anymore. I can feel my body growing cold. Is this what death is like? Will I finally be at peace now?
The pain stops.
I close my eyes, wanting to laugh miserably. Why is it that every ti I am on the cusp of death, I am not allowed to die? Even now, I’m still breathing.
Why?
Soone is holding
to them, lifting
up. I hear Mary’s cries. "Alice! Alice, look at !"
I open one eye, but I can’t focus at first. I don’t want to focus. I want this to end.
"The sealing is complete. We will brand her now. Step aside, please. We are going to remove her clothing."
"That’s enough!" I hear Jason say angrily. "She’s been through enough. You can do that later!"
"Your Highness—" I see the witch closest to
turn toward Darian.
"Does she have to be stripped of her clothes for the branding?" Darian asks calmly. It’s almost as if he’s unaffected by the agony I just underwent. Of course he is. He orchestrated this. "Yes," the witch insists.
He’s going to agree, isn’t he?! He wants
to suffer. Having
naked and branded like an animal, like livestock, would be the last nail in the coffin.
I can feel my mind begin to fragnt.
Hide .
Hide
where I can stop feeling.
"Your Majesty!" Jason raises his voice again. "Even if the prince does not care about his fated mate, she’s still a young girl. There’s no need to subject her to such humiliating torture. She has done nothing. If the branding is absolutely necessary, it can be done later, once she has recovered, and in a private setting."
"Why are you trying to save her?" Willow retorts. "She’s not a shifter. She’s a dark witch—"
"Shut up!" Jason snarls at her. "I am not talking to you!"
"Are you going to let him speak to
this way?" Willow demands of Darian.
My fated mate, the man who so skillfully manipulated , stirs at the insult to his intended. "Willow is to be the future queen. Watch your mouth, Alpha Marrock." His tone is harsh.
"Supposed to be," Jason snarls. "And I was talking to your father, not you. Your Majesty, please!"
"I agree with Alpha Marrock," King Griffin says, his voice uneven. "There’s no need to humiliate the girl. Take her to her room."
"The ritual has to be completed!" the white witches protest.
"And it will be," the king responds sharply. "But not here. And not till she recovers. She looks half dead. I do not appreciate this. Take Miss Lane to her room now!"
Soone is picking
up, but I don’t know who it is. Jason’s face swims into my vision, and I use the last bit of my strength to whisper weakly to him, "Kill . Please."
His eyes soften, and I see the pity in them. "I can’t do that." My arm falls limply to my side.
I feel myself fading in and out of consciousness, my awareness declining. At so point, there’s a bed underneath . A wet cloth is being rubbed gently across my face. I can hear soone sobbing.
Why?
Why waste tears on ?
I feel the warmth of healing magic, but it doesn’t have the impact on
that it usually does.
I’m relieved.
Mary’s voice is shaking. "Alice. You can’t give up. My healing magic isn’t going to work if you lose your will to live. Don’t do this."
My eyes remain closed. Lose the will to live? That sounds about right. I try to chase the darkness. I feel safe there.
I hear sobody crying softly, but it doesn’t bother . Nothing bothers . I can see the end approaching. It’s just a waiting ga now. I’m tired of reality. I’m tired of having to face it all.
What is there to live for, anyway? I’ve been called a dark witch. I’m going to be branded like livestock. And I’m sure Darian has other plans to torture . Why should I stick around for that?
The door creaks, and then I hear a familiar voice. "How is she doing?"
"She’s not—She’s in and out, Jason. I’m trying, but she doesn’t want to live."
"There’s soone here to see her."
Silence, and then Mary’s shocked voice. "Your Majesty! Why are you here?"
"I wish to have a word with Alice."
The shock is followed by anger. "If you’re here about the branding, don’t bother." Mary’s voice is thick with tears. "She doesn’t want to live. Look at her. Her body is rejecting my healing magic. I can’t force her to live. I made her co to the mating gathering. She didn’t even want to be here. This is all my fault. Everything is my fault. I told her that Darian—that he—"
"It’s not your fault, child. Please give
so ti with Miss Lane. I wish to speak to her, even if she is unconscious."
"Co, Mary." Jason’s voice is firm. It feels like I’m floating in the room, but everything is dark. However, I can hear each and every word.
The door closes, and then the bed creaks. "This isn’t what I wanted for you."
Why does the king sound regretful? He should be happy.
"I know you can hear , Alice. Open your eyes. I can hear the shift in your heartbeat."
Open my eyes? I can barely function.
"I don’t want you to give up." His tone is hard now. "Your life isn’t over. I made a mistake once, and I will not repeat it. I want you to live, Alice. I want you to have a happy life. Your world hasn’t ended just yet. Your life has just begun."
My eyes flutter open, but my vision is blurred. I can’t make out the king’s face, but I can see where he is.
There’s sothing I want to say to him, just one question I need to ask him.
My voice is hoarse. "I didn’t d–do anything to you. Why did you d–do this to ?" Getting those words past my throat is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
He takes my hand in his, but I still can’t discern his features. "This wasn’t my doing. I promise you I am going to facilitate a way for you to leave.
Alice, you will not be branded. You will not suffer. I will make sure nobody gets to you. Consider this my gift to you. I wish I could have done more."
He gets to his feet, and before I can stop myself, my hand reaches out to grab his sleeve. But my grasp is weak, and my hand falls back down. He notices and wraps his withered hand around mine.
"Do you want to say sothing to ?"
"Why won’t you let
die?" I gripe, forcing the words out.
He’s silent, and then he strokes my hair so gently that tears co to my eyes. "It’s a selfish reason. You remind
of soone precious. Live a good life, Alice. And rember, you are not weak, and you are not worthless. I ant what I said. You don’t owe the world anything."
I watch him leave. I don’t owe the world anything? The world doesn’t seem to think that way. It’s collecting so sort of vicious debt from .
I find myself fading away again. The next ti my eyes open, I’m in the back of a car. I hear soone panting, and then I hear Jason say, "Don’t give up. Just a few more minutes, and we will be there."
Mary’s voice is strained. "Her heart is quitting. I’m trying to hold on!" Jason’s voice is hard. "Just a few more minutes."
The world fades to black again.
The next thing I see is that I am in so sort of hospital room. My body feels stronger, but I am so tired. I look at the ceiling wearily. Exhaustion fills .
"Why am I still alive?"
My voice is whisper-soft, but it wakes up the person sleeping in the chair beside my bed. Mary jumps to her feet, and when her face flies into my field of vision, I realize that I can see clearly now.
"Oh, thank God, Alice. I thought we lost you!" Mary sniffles, taking my hand in hers.
"Where am I?"
"A private clinic. How are you feeling?"
"Why did you save , Mary?"
My friend looks at , her eyes welling with tears. "You are very important to , Alice. I don’t care if the whole world is against you. I believe in you. And I can’t lose you."
Her words should make
feel better, but I just feel tired. "They called
a dark witch. Darian—He orchestrated it all. He told —" I don’t want to think about it. "But I was nothing to him. He crushed
like a bug under
his shoe. I just don’t want to—I know you must think I’m weak but—"
"I don’t think you’re weak," Mary says fiercely. "I think you are incredibly strong. And you have to be even stronger now. You have to recover and live the life you wanted to live."
I sigh, a hollow sound.
Mary grips my hands, her expression grim. "There’s a reason you have to live now."
That’s when I notice the blood on her hands.
I look over the side of my bed and see a woman lying there, dead.
"Mary?" I ask cautiously.
My friend swallows. "There’s sothing you need to know."
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