A Curse of Shadows - Page 62

Once again, my body gets lighter until I start to float back to the surface. The elder wolf keeps one hand on my head and the other on my chest. I sense her energy, but I have no clue what she’s doing and I don’t care. So long as when I rise to the surface again, there’s no more pain.

“I need you to die, Isobella,” she whispers to me. “You must die to be reborn and even though you have this new body, your old one still lives. Kill yourself and you will live once again.”

What the hell is this crazy woman saying?

“I’m not crazy,” she replies, somehow hearing my thoughts. “I’m in your head, connected to your soul. Now, you must die.”

I still don’t understand, but when she forces my mouth open and I start to swallow water, I begin to realize that she truly means to end my life.

This time, I fight back, punching and kicking, but somehow, she evades every hit. I can hear Asher’s roars of wrath, but he never comes for me.

I try to breathe, but there’s no air down here and I’ve taken in too much water. Second by second, my body grows heavier and my heartbeat stops completely.

“You must die to be reborn again,” she repeats, and because I don’t have any other choice, that’s exactly what I do.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

ISLA

My lungs are burning—a dry, ragged ache unlike anything I’ve felt before, coupled with a sharp, stabbing pain right at my breastbone. I try to lift my hand to feel for some sort of wound, but my arms are like lead-filled weights.

“I told you she would come back.” Elyn’s voice filters through from a distance, her tone matter-of-fact.

“I’d keep your fucking mouth shut.” Asher’s voice is taut with fury, his hands gripping mine with a strength that speaks volumes of his fear and relief.

Well, this sounds like things are going swimmingly.

I hear shuffling and then a deep growl. “I mean it, Elyn. I don’t care if you’re an elder or that you belong to another pack. You killed my fucking mate and you’re not going to get away with that. If I didn’t think she needed me right now, you’d already be dead.”

Elyn snickers. “Kind of like your mate just was,” she taunts, and Asher’s subsequent roar makes my skin ice over.

Or maybe it’s because he releases me and is probably charging the crazy old lady. I should probably do something about that.

“Ash,” I groan between coughs. I throw my arm over my body, forcing myself to turn onto my side, but I end up twisted into a painful position.

“Issie?” The agony that accompanies my name as it falls from his lips nearly rips my chest open, but my body is shaking so badly that I can’t concentrate on any one ache in particular.

I open my eyes in time to see Asher drop Elyn to the ground. I’m pretty sure he just had his hands around her neck, but that’s not anything I can care about because in the next second, his arms are around me, his body like a shield against the cold and chaos. His warmth seeps into me, battling the chill that has set into my bones, making my teeth chatter.

“You’re okay, love,” he whispers, his lips pressing a series of kisses to my forehead. “I have you.”

I try to talk, but the air is still returning to my lungs and I need a few more moments before I brave more words.

Elyn appears in my line of sight, red marks on her neck, and she stays about twenty feet back while meeting my stare. “Where does it hurt most?”

I start to point to my chest, but Asher turns me away from her. “I told you to stay away from her.”

“You might be the king, but you know nothing of what your mate needs right now,” she says without an ounce of fear in her voice. “You asked me to come here to help her and I’m going to finish what I started or she’ll never find peace, I promise you that.”

His chest rumbles, vibrating my whole body as he speaks. “You said you would heal her blocks—you never mentioned anything about killing her. You can’t possibly expect me to let you near her after that.”

“I not only expect it, but I know you’re going to,” she says haughtily. “She needs me and, even if you don’t want to admit it, you know this to be true, which is why you haven’t killed me yet. The bond thrums wildly inside you, searching for its missing half. I can give you that.”

Asher looks down at me, his eyes dark and wild. “I’m so sorry, Isla. I never thought you would be hurt like this, or I wouldn’t have asked her here.”

“I know.” My voice is raw and scratchy, but I can’t stay quiet any longer. “But I think she’s right. I don’t remember dying just now, but there’s an echo of something inside me that wasn’t there before.”

“It’s your wolf,” Elyn says, cutting in. “Once you shift, your pain will be gone and you will know your heart of hearts, but I can’t assure that your mind will be fixed. There’s a darkness embedded within you that I’ve never encountered.”