You’re So Jelly
I scream as the world goes completely out of control, the ground shaking so hard that I swear it’s going to tear itself apart. And then I scream again.
I can’t help it. The pain is overwhelming, so different than when Jaxon bites me that I can barely comprehend what’s happening.
“Stop!” I scream, shoving Cyrus off as I desperately try to complete my shift.
But I can’t transform, my body already moving beyond my control as the pain starts shooting down my arms, turning my legs weak and my blood to fire.
Oh God, it hurts. It hurts.
Tears bloom in my eyes, but I blink them back as I push at Cyrus, desperate to get him off me. But he’s already off, already pulling away. I don’t understand how that’s possible when the agony inside me is only getting worse.
And that’s when it hits me. He’s not drinking my blood like Jaxon did. All Cyrus did was bite me, and it’s that bite that burns like the surface of the sun.
Venom.
Cyrus turns to the crowd, his arms wide, and announces in a bellowing voice that carries in the silence like a lone bell, “Our little gargoyle has admitted she cheated. We all saw it. And the penalty for cheating the Trials is death, is it not?” He holds the arena in the palm of his hand. “How dare she try to subvert our traditions, our rules. She is not one of us and never will be.”
And on that final note, he turns back to me just as a loud tearing noise rends the air. Suddenly the crowd sounds much louder, even though the ground has finally stopped shaking. Which is good, I register, as everything starts to shut down inside me, because my legs are giving way.
I start to crumple, brace myself for the impact of the ground and whatever else will come from Cyrus when I’m finally lying there defenseless.
But I never hit the ground, because just as suddenly as Cyrus struck, Hudson is here, beside me. Catching me.
Like I was yesterday’s trash, Cyrus has already turned and walked away. I stare at his tall form stalking across the field, and I wonder if anyone will ever challenge this brutal vampire. How much longer until the entire world is on its knees before him? How naïve was I to think I could temper his reign? Me. A tiny half-human gargoyle.
Hudson scoops me up into his arms, his face ravaged with a fear and rage like I’ve never seen from him before. “Grace!” he shouts hoarsely. “Grace, hang on.”
There’s nothing removed about him now. Nothing sardonic or defensive or even snarky at all. And I suddenly realize, even through the pain, that I might be looking at the real Hudson for the very first time.
I like what I see. Except…the sudden tears in his blue eyes only make them look deeper.
I reach a hand up and brush them away. “Hey, it’s okay,” I tell him even though I know it’s not. “Don’t do that.”
I know this is bad, even without Hudson’s tears. It’s not like it’s exactly a surprise as pain and burning continue to spread through every part of my body. It doesn’t mean I’m not sad, though. I was looking forward to getting to know him when he wasn’t in my head.
I was looking forward to a lot of things.
I glance over to where Jaxon and Macy are trying to get to me. They’re halfway across the field, but Jaxon is struggling—I can’t imagine what it must have taken for him to rip that magical dome apart, especially as depleted as he already was.
I wish I could go to him, wish I could hold him one more time.
But I’m already cold, the rain and sleet able to reach the stadium with the magical wall gone, and I can already feel everywhere Cyrus’s venom touches as it works its way deeper and deeper into my system.
“Grace, look at me,” Hudson says with an urgency I’ve never heard from him before. “I need you to look at me.”
I slowly turn my head back to him, even as I wonder how much longer it’s going to take the venom to kill me. Everything hurts so much, I can barely breathe, barely think.
“You have to hang on,” Hudson whispers. “We can fix this—I know we can. I just need you to stay with me a little longer.”
“Eternal bite,” I whisper to him. A reminder that I know what’s happening here. Just like I know that he’s lying. Because no one ever recovers from Cyrus’s eternal bite—not even gargoyles. History has proven that.
“Fuck the eternal bite,” he answers. “You’re not dying on my watch, Grace.”
I laugh—just a little—because the pain makes it hurt too much. “I don’t think even you can stop this.”
“You have no idea what I can do.”
Speaking of which… “I think I have something that belongs to you,” I whisper.
Another wave of pain racks my body so hard, I almost pass out. I vaguely register Hudson’s shouting at me, pleading with me, though I’m not sure why. He doesn’t want me to do something…probably not die. Yeah, I don’t want that, either. But if I’m going to die, I’m going to at least give him a fighting chance at living again.
As the pain finally recedes, I reach my hand up, lay it on his cheek. Then reach inside me to find the brilliant blue thread that’s never been there before—it’s right on top, laid over all the others like it’s just been waiting for this moment.
Then again, maybe it has. I’m sure Hudson knows what to do with his powers much better than I ever will.
With the last remaining strength I can muster, I wrap my hand around the string and channel Hudson’s power back into him.
There’s a lot of it, more than I’ve ever imagined was possible for one person to hold, let alone wield. I’ve seen Jaxon’s power, felt it through the mating bond, and it’s immense. But this…this feels limitless.
The exchange goes on and on, Hudson’s eyes glowing a little brighter with every second that passes, his lips moving, but I can’t make out the words he’s saying over the sound of his power rushing in my ears as it leaves me. Until finally, finally I’m empty. Finally, the last remnant of Hudson is gone, and I am well and truly alone.
Which seems fair, actually. I guess when it all comes down to it, everybody dies alone.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him, tears blooming in my eyes once more and mingling with the soft rain on my face. “I should have—”
“You,” Cyrus says, his fury barely contained as he stares down at the son he so recently lost. “How are you here?”
Someone must have told him Hudson was beside me, and he came back to see for himself. I wish he would leave. I can tell I only have a few more minutes left, and I want to spend them with Hudson.