But the curse pulsed in her chest like a second heartbeat. Dark and heavy and waiting.
The door opened again and Lucian entered.
He looked worse than Sebastian. More tense. More volatile. Like he was barely holding himself together.
The moment he saw Lilith awake, something in his expression cracked.
"You're up," Lucian said.
"I'm up," Lilith confirmed.
Lucian crossed to the bed in three long strides and dropped to his knees beside it. He took Lilith's free hand, the one Sebastian was not holding and pressed his forehead against her knuckles.
"I thought we lost you," Lucian said, his voice muffled. "When you collapsed after the battle. When the necklace failed. I thought..."
He stopped and Lilith felt his absolute terror through the bond.
"I'm still here," Lilith said gently.
"For now," Lucian said. "But in two days you're going to attempt something that might kill you. And we're all just supposed to sit there and watch and hope it works."
