Bitten – Episode 37

Chapter 37

 

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“Where do you think you’re going?”

 

 

Vincent froze, bringing us both to a halt. My eyes went over his shoulder, where Luca and Joel were standing. Slowly, Vincent turned around, setting me onto the ground. When he caught sight of Joel, he narrowed his eyes. “Joel?”

 

“S’up, Vivi?” Joel responded, waving. “How’s life?”

 

Vincent stared flatly at him. “Where did you come from? Are you really stupid enough to not notice what’s going on?”

 

He frowned. “You’re the stupid one.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“You can’t figure it out?” Luca said, rolling his eyes. “You’re a lot dumber than you look. Emily figured it out quickly.”

 

Vincent turned to me. “Figured what out?”

 

“Joel’s on their side. He’s been on their side all along,” I told him quietly, squeezing his arm. “He was the traitor, Vincent.”

 

Shock passed across Vincent’s face before his expression turned to complete rage. “You asshole!” he spat at Joel. “Come over here so I can tear your head off!”

 

Joel feigned a scared look, holding his hands in front of his face. “Please don’t hurt me, Vivi!”

 

Vincent easily pushed me to the side. “You’re going down.” Out from nowhere, he produced a stake.

 

“Wait!” I cried, but it was too late. He’d already lunged at Joel.

 

Luca took a step away from them, letting their fight begin. It was hard watching the two attack each other— after all, even thought it may not have seemed like it, they’d been best friends. Vincent definitely cared about the blonde.

 

 

“You’ve always been a better fighter than me, Vivi!” Joel called, stumbling backwards as Vincent swung out his fist, the stake clenched in it.

 

“How do I know that’s not an act too?”

 

“You’re getting sharper!”

 

“You’re a fucking bastard,” Vincent growled.

 

A heavy sigh came from behind me, making me gasp in surprise. Twisting around, I came face-to-face with Ashton. Anger boiled up inside me and I swung my fist out at him, landing a hit on his jaw. He winced slightly, but otherwise seemed unaffected. My fist, on the other hand, throbbed painfully, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. It felt like I’d punched a brick wall.

 

“Are you angry? You had to do that to Sebastian,” he told me calmly, taking a step forward.

 

I took a step back. “I didn’t do anything.”

 

“I do believe you were holding the stake.”

 

“I didn’t kill him,” I said through gritted teeth.

 

He cocked an eyebrow. “You shoved that stake right through his heart. It’s okay though, Emily. He needed to die.”

 

My heart lurched in my chest. “You need to die!” I retorted, clenching my fists. “You’ll pay for what you did. You’ll never become King. You’ll burn in hell.”

 

He laughed. “Hell? You expect me to believe such a silly thing like that? Don’t think I’m that foolish. Hell is a silly mortal idea.”

 

As he continued to advance toward me, I carried on moving backward. We were slowly closing in on Sebastian’s body. The sound of Joel and Vincent fighting met my ears— slander being thrown, the sound of rustling clothing, and swearing. Ashton glanced at them briefly, an amused smile on

 

 

his face. “I see they wasted no time in getting at it. Poor Vincent. He must feel so betrayed.”

 

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“How did you get Joel to be on your side?”

 

“It’s easy to convince someone who needs money to do something for money,” he explained, shrugging. “He’s actually a pretty good actor. Sometimes he was so happy I thought he was double-timing me. It’s good to know he’s always been on my side though.”

 

I glared at him. So Ashton was the type of person to use another person’s weakness against them. How fitting. “I hope you enjoy the next few minutes because it’s the last few minutes you’ll have in this world.”

 

He laughed loudly. “What? You think you, a scraggily, weak human girl such as yourself can kill me?”

 

“I don’t think. I know,” I corrected him, narrowing my eyes.

 

“Wait!”

 

The abrupt cry from Joel made both Ashton and I turn in his direction. Vincent had him pinned against a tree, the stake placed at his chest. Joel was struggling, trying to push him way, but Vincent wasn’t having any of it.

 

“Please don’t kill me,” Joel pleaded.

 

Vincent scoffed. “Begging for your life? After what you did? Please. For a man, you sure do lack dignity.”

 

“Vincent, please.”

 

Ashton shook his head. “Well, if he doesn’t kill Joel now, I’ll do it myself later. What a pathetic excuse for a vampire.”

 

“My family needs me,” Joel continued desperately.

 

 

I stared at them, forgetting to breathe for the moment. It was strange to see someone begging for their life. Sebastian hadn’t done it. Sebastian had faced death calmly. Sebastian… I clenched my teeth. It hurt too much to think of him right now. I needed to focus at the moment, not wallow in guilt and pain.

 

Vincent pulled the stake back, ready to bring it forward and pierce Joel’s heart. I sucked in a breath, ready to shout and tell him to stop, but his hand was too quick. I closed my eyes, unable to watch another death. Joel cried out, but stopped instantly as I heard a dull thud echo through the open space.

 

Slowly I opened my eyes, relief filling me when I realized the stake had been stuck into the tree, and not the blonde.

 

“I won’t kill you,” Vincent started, his face close to Joel’s, “because I considered you a best friend. Even if you acted the part, and I seemed like a horrible friend, I still appreciated it. And for that, I’ll spare your life.”

 

“Vivi, thank—”

 

“In return, never speak to me again,” Vincent finished in a growl, punching Joel straight in the face. “And that’s what you get for betraying us.”

 

Joel’s eyes snapped open and his hand went to his nose, which was bleeding profusely. The stupefied expression on his face almost caused me to laugh. Almost. Ashton’s next words gained my full attention. “Luca, kill Vincent.”

 

“No!”

 

Ashton switched his gaze to Joel, who was staring at him in disbelief. “What, Joel?”

 

“You told me you wouldn’t kill Vincent! You promised!”

 

“Just like I promised not to kill Sebastian,” Ashton responded, shrugging. “If I lied about one, why not the other?”

 

My eyes shot to Joel. He didn’t know Ashton was going to kill Sebastian?

 

“You can’t kill Vincent!”

 

He rolled his eyes. “Please, Joel. Why would I throw away the chance of killing both Rutherfords while I had the chance?”

 

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“You promised me!”

 

“I told you. I lied.”

 

Joel’s eyes formed slits. “You bastard…”

 

Ashton cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you grew attached to the little brat while playing make-believe with him, Joel.”

 

“I—”

 

“It doesn’t matter,” Vincent interjected snippily. “I beat Luca once, I can beat him again,” he continued confidently, turning his gaze to Luca, who was prowling around the outskirts of the forest.

 

“We’ll see about that,” Ashton commented casually. “Now Emily…” He faced me. “I guess we should have a little chat.”

 

Now at Sebastian’s body, all I had to do was bend down to pick up the stake. It took all I had not to gaze at the deceased man’s face. Just thinking about it was making my eyes prickle.

 

“Are you upset over his death?” Ashton asked mockingly. “You’ll get over it, I promise.”

 

I clenched my fists. “Shut up.”

 

“While we chat, we can watch the little brawl going on behind us, shall we?” he inquired, suddenly disappearing from my view.

 

 

Surprised, I whipped my head around, searching for him. Cool hands wrapped around my bare arms and once again I was chicken-winged into an immobile state, my back pressed against Ashton’s muscled chest. “Let me go!” I cried.

 

“Shut up and enjoy the movie.”

 

My gaze went to Vincent and Luca, who were both circling each other threateningly. For a brief second I imagined them five hundred pounds heavier as sumo wrestlers, but I quickly shook that idea away. This was serious.

 

Luca made the first move, lashing out at Vincent. His movement was so quick it barely had time to register in my mind before he made his next attack. Vincent managed to avoid all assaults with ease, gliding to the left or right swiftly. Once again I realized as they fought that Vincent was at a disadvantage because of Luca’s nature. Vincent, like Sebastian, wasn’t a rogue vampire. He didn’t know how to fight like one. However he seemed to fare better than Sebastian did.

 

“Vincent!” I screamed as Luca smashed him into a tree. Even from where I was I could hear a bone snapping somewhere inside him.

 

“Ah, it seems that Luca has the advantage this time…”

 

Vincent recovered from his assault promptly, moving forward to retaliate against Luca. To my relief, he still seemed perfectly okay. That or he was incredibly skilled at dealing with pain. “You caught me off guard,” I heard him saying to Luca. “You’re stronger than last time.”

 

Luca smirked. “I’m stronger than you.”

 

“It must be nice to have such a delusional way of thinking.”

 

“You piss me off,” Luca stated, narrowing his eyes. “Let’s finish this quickly.”

 

 

Vincent nodded. “Agreed.” Within the blink of an eye, he had Luca pinned to a tree. “I’ll give it my all now. For revenge for Sebastian. You’ll die painfully.”

 

A flash of steel entered my vision and my heart sunk in my gut when I realized Luca had produced a knife. Vincent hadn’t noticed yet though. “I don’t think so.”

 

I opened my mouth to warn him, but Luca already had the blade in his shoulder. It seemed to have the opposite effect than what he was expecting though. Vincent had no reaction whatsoever. He simply held Luca with one arm while reaching for the knife in his skin. “Knives won’t work on me,” he stated, pressing the blade to Luca’s throat. “But will they work on you?”

 

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“It may just end up being you and me from now on,” Ashton murmured in my ear. “If Luca can’t defeat Vincent he’ll be useless.”

 

“You’ll kill him?”

 

Ashton nodded. “If Vincent doesn’t.”

 

“You’re a horrible person. A murderer.”

 

“Aren’t you the same as me?” he questioned in an amused tone. “You killed Sebastian.”

 

I stiffened. “I didn’t.”

 

There was a crash from where Joel and Vincent were standing and a glance toward it told me that the knife had been abandoned and now they were fist fighting again. Blood ran down Vincent’s arm, but he paid no attention to in. Unease washed over me and I prayed he’d take down Luca quickly.

 

 

“Yes you did,” Ashton spoke up, gaining my attention. “Don’t you remember the feeling of the stake sliding through his skin like butter? Right into his heart?”

 

“I didn’t do that!”

 

“Your hand was on the stake.”

 

“I didn’t kill him! It was Luca!”

 

He chuckled. “Whatever helps you sleep at night. It’s your fault he died, you know. You were a distraction to him. You brought the stake to the battle.”

 

My heart clenched in pain. It wasn’t true. I knew it wasn’t true. Luca had control of the stake, not me. I wasn’t the one who pierced it through his heart…

 

But at the same time I was.

 

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head.

 

“Yes,” Ashton breathed. “How can you live with the guilt?”

 

My knees suddenly gave out from under me and I collapsed back into his chest. He let me go, letting me fall roughly to the ground. Pain didn’t register in my mind as I glanced at the body next to me, noticing Sebastian’s hand only inches away from my own. My eyes began to sting as I stared at it. It wasn’t my fault… It couldn’t be my fault… but I’d brought the stake. I’d tried protecting him and failed…

 

“How can you face his family?” Ashton questioned happily.

 

My hand went to my chest, clenching the material covering it. I couldn’t face his family. How could I tell his parents? How could I tell Fiona? There was no way. Not when it was by my hand…

 

“Wouldn’t it be better just to run away?”

 

Would it? No. I couldn’t run away. That would be shameless.

 

“You killed him.”

 

“I didn’t kill him!” I shouted, finally snapping. My hand went to the stake next to Sebastian’s body. I clenched it tightly in my hand, twisting around to jam it into Ashton’s chest. He managed to avoid the attack though, grinning in amusement as he did so.

 

“That was close,” he sighed, putting a hand to his heart. “You almost got me. Now put down the stake like a good girl.”

 

“No.”

 

“Do it or I’ll break your wrist.”

 

I narrowed my eyes. “No.”

 

Suddenly Ashton was thrown off his feet, falling down hard next to me. I blinked, realizing a few seconds later the thing that knocked him down was Luca. The blonde groaned, rolling of Ashton quickly. “Bastard,” he growled, jumping back to his feet and glaring in Vincent’s direction.

 

“Did that hurt?” Vincent asked in mock concern. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to throw you that hard… You were just a lot easier to toss than I expected. Weaker, too.”

 

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Luca scowled. “Weak?”

 

“Move,” Ashton growled, shoving Luca to the side, and right into me.

 

“Stupid girl,” he snapped, stepping on Sebastian’s hand as he tried to steady himself.

 

Without thinking, I slammed the stake down into his foot. He howled in pain, jerking away from me violently. Somehow I managed to keep my hold on the stake so he wouldn’t take it with him. “Don’t step on Sebastian,” I warned in low voice.

 

 

“Bitch,” Luca swore, grabbing the front of my dress and hoisting me to my feet. “You’re going to die.”

 

“Don’t touch her!” Ashton and Vincent demanded at the same time.

 

Luca glared at the two. “Shut up.”

 

“You know you’re not allowed to touch her,” Ashton apprised him. “Do so and you will—”

 

“Don’t care,” Luca responded offhandedly, yanking his hand down.

 

My eyes flew open in surprise as I was forced against the ground in a rough manor. I cried out in pain as my head ricocheted off the hard ground painfully. Within the next few seconds I felt his foot making contact with my side.

 

“Luca!” Ashton shouted.

 

“That’s what you get for staking me,” Luca told me, now stepping on my hand that held the stake. “Let it go.”

 

“No,” I stated defiantly. If I let it go, he’d grab it, and then be able to kill Vincent. There was no way I was letting go.

 

Vincent appeared in my field of vision next to Luca, his hands going for the other’s neck. Luca elbowed him in the face efficiently stopping his attack. However, it didn’t stop him from trying again. This time a fist made face with Luca’s face, forcing him to step away from me. I instantly scrambled to my feet, holding the stake tightly.

 

“You’ll pay for that,” Vincent said menacingly.

 

“You’ll pay for— Argh!” Luca staggered forward, holding his back.

 

Glancing behind him, I realized Joel was standing there, the bottle of holy water in his hand. “I won’t let you kill Vincent.”

 

“You traitor…” Luca seethed, turning to send daggers his way.

 

 

Joel’s face was impassive. “I may have betrayed the Rutherfords, but I won’t you kill Vincent.”

 

“Joel—”

 

He suddenly moved forward, knocking Luca to the ground. “Vincent! The stake!”

 

Vincent’s head snapped to me. On instinct, I chucked the stake at him. In an instant he was on Luca, the stake against his chest. “Any last words?”

 

“See you in hell?”

 

“You don’t deserve to die by a stake,” Vincent told him, his jaw set. “If I could, I would have stripped off all your skin and then burned you for what you did to my brother.”

 

Luca faked a smile. “Aw, isn’t that so sweet? The little brother who put up a cold front but actually cared about his older brother. It’s a shame that he’s dead now, isn’t it? Though, personally, I could really care less. One less wasteful person on this—”

 

He never got to finish his sentence. Vincent rammed the stake into his chest, causing him to gasp. He didn’t only do it once though. I flinched, looking away from the scene. Even if he did deserve it, it was still hard to watch. A death was still a death, after all.

 

“Damn,” Ashton swore quietly. “Looks like it is you and me. I’ll have to come back or Joel later and dispose of him. Let’s go, Emily.” His hand wrapped around my wrist and he began dragging me toward the forest.

 

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“Vincent!” I screamed.

 

 

Immediately Vincent was at my side, holding my other hand tightly. Ashton came to a stop, an annoyed expression crossing his face. “Don’t you want to take care of your brother’s body?” he asked in a bored tone.

 

“After I take care of yours first.”

 

“You have five seconds to let go of Emily’s hand before I break her neck.”

 

“You wouldn’t do that. You need her alive.”

 

“Three, two…”

 

Scowling, Vincent leg go. I gaped at him. When he noticed my stare, he clenched his jaw. “Do you not see his reaction to Luca’s death? He doesn’t care. He wouldn’t care about killing you.”

 

“Smart move,” Ashton told him. “Now, we’ll take our leave… Wait, actually, since it seems we have time, let’s dispose of Joel. Vincent, I’ll leave that to you.”

 

“I told you I won’t kill him.”

 

“That’s sweet, but it’s either him or Emily.”

 

Frustration welled up in me as I once again felt my arms being chicken-winged. Why couldn’t I do anything? Why did I have to be such a weak human? I struggled violently to liberate myself, grunting form the effort.

 

“If you keep struggling you might cut yourself.”

 

I paused. What did he mean…? My breath caught as I felt something cool pressed against my throat. A dagger.

 

“Now,” he continued, turning back to Vincent. “Will you kill Joel?”

 

With a hard gaze, Vincent slowly nodded his head. “You give me no choice then.”

 

Joel, who was standing a few feet behind him, froze. Ashton laughed in delight. “Great! That helps me out a lot!”

 

 

“But first…” Vincent disappeared from our view. Then I felt his presence directly behind Ashton and myself. “Wish me some luck.”

 

“Good luck then,” Ashton willed him.

 

My eyes widened when I felt something being pressed into my hand. It was the stake. Why was he giving it to me? Did Ashton not notice? Vincent then returned to my field of vision, advancing on Joel.

 

“I won’t put up a fight,” Joel told him. “You should kill me. I let them kill your brother.”

 

Vincent’s hands clenched into fists. “I won’t kill you.”

 

Ashton’s hold on me tightened. “Excuse me?”

 

“I won’t kill him,” Vincent repeated.

 

“Then you don’t care if I kill Emily?”

 

“Nope.”

 

I stared at him, trying to comprehend what he was thinking. Did he have some sort of plan? How was I supposed to do anything without knowing it?

 

“How could—”

 

All of a sudden Vincent reached out and grabbed Joel, twisting on his heel, and sending the blonde toward us. Ashton let go of me. I took this as my chance, ducking out of Joel’s way as he crashed into Ashton. Vincent shouted something at me, but I didn’t hear it, turning around so I could see the two vampires now on the ground. Joel was holding onto Ashton by the shirt, keeping him pinned against the ground. Unfortunately, Ashton still had the dagger. In a split-second decision, I kicked the hand that held it, causing him to let go.

 

“Get off!” he roared, shoving Joel to the side.

 

Now it was my turn to pounce of him. So I did. Straddling his waist, I held the stake up threateningly. “Don’t move.”

 

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He gazed up at me, amusement flickering in his eyes. “You think you can kill me?”

 

I held the stake tighter. “I know I can.”

 

“Ahh, that’s right. Because you already killed poor Seb, huh?”

 

“I didn’t kill him.”

 

“Emily! What are you doing?” Vincent demanded in a stressed voice. “Get away from him!”

 

I shook my head. “I want my revenge too.”

 

Ashton grinned at me. “Go ahead. Do it. Stake me. Make yourself a murderer, just like me.”

 

My hand was shaking by now, but my grasp on the weapon didn’t loosen. It was now or never. I could end this all… All I had to do was bring my hand down. Closing my eyes, I raised my hand a little higher.

 

“Emily!” Vincent cried, sounding incredibly frustrated. “Get away—”

 

I brought my hand down, only to hear a sickening crack as my arm was forced away. My eyes shot open and I tried to scream in pain, but couldn’t find my voice. Ashton smiled evilly at me. “Did you forget you were a human? You never stood a chance. And now I have the stake.”

 

“No,” I groaned as he forced me back to the ground.

 

Vincent appeared at my side seconds later, gazing down at me worriedly. “Are you okay?”

 

“Vince—” My warning came to late. Ashton had already jumped at him, knocking him to the ground next to me.

 

 

“Watch as I kill Vincent myself,” he ordered, holding the stake to Vincent’s chest. “I knew he’d let down his guard if I injured you.”

 

“No! Please don’t!” I pleaded desperately, my wrist throbbing painfully as I tried to push myself onto my knees.

 

Vincent glared at the man above him. “Even if you kill me, you won’t get the throne.”

 

Ashton laughed. “What makes you think that? No one will know I was the one who killed all of you… Or at least, will be able to prove it. I’ll kill you, and then Joel, and then no one will know what I’ve done.”

 

“Except me,” a deep voice interjected.

 

My heart soared as I recognized the voice that spoke. Solomon! He was like God, standing a few yards away from us, at least a dozen of shadowy figures behind him. Two of them stepped forward and I recognized them as Fiona and Luella.

 

Ashton immediately dropped the stake. Vincent pushed him aside, springing to his feet and then helping me off the ground.

 

“You’re under arrest,” Solomon continued, “for attempted murder, for attempting to steal the throne, and for your traitorous actions. The counsel will fill you in about everything… Won’t you, counsel?”

 

There was a murmur of agreement from the rest of the shadow figures behind him. My heart stopped for a moment. Attempted murder …

 

“Father, Sebastian’s dead,” Vincent stated.

 

The silence that fell after that was almost suffocating. No one spoke for a few moments. Then a piercing scream filled the air. I knew at once it was Fiona. My heart sunk as I glanced over to Sebastian’s body, where the poor girl was now kneeling.

 

 

“Sebastian!” she cried, shaking his shoulders. “No! Sebastian! No! NO! Sebastian!”

 

“How sad,” Ashton snickered.

 

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I turned toward the vampire, aiming a kick where I knew it would hurt just as much as it would for humans. “You’re scum.”

 

“Take him away,” Solomon ordered in a hoarse voice. “Everyone leave. Joel…”

 

“I betrayed you guys,” he confessed. “I guess I’m going to prison too. Here, someone grab me.”

 

Two of the shadowy figures approached him, each one grabbing his arm before leading him back to the house, where all the others were already leading Ashton away. In the background I could still hear Fiona crying and calling Sebastian’s name. It was enough to make my heart feel like I was breaking.

 

Solomon started to move toward his son’s body, as did Luella. Vincent and I followed after them slowly. He grasped my hand, holding it tightly. I squeezed it, feeling tears start to form at my eyes again.

 

“My sweet boy,” Luella said, kneeling down next to Fiona and picking up Sebastian’s hand. “My son… My brave son…”

 

“Please wake up,” Fiona begged helplessly. “How could you let yourself die? You said you loved me! Sebastian! You can’t do this!”

 

“Fiona.” Solomon spoke gently, but firmly. “Calm down.”

 

She turned to him, tears streaking down her face, her mascara running. “I can’t…” Sobs erupted from her throat and she stopped trying to talk, turning back to Sebastian’s body. Her arms went around him and she lifted him up so that she could hug him. “I love you, Sebastian.”

 

“How did this happen?” Solomon questioned, his voice cool and collected.

 

However I could sense a hint of anger in it.

 

“Luca,” Vincent spat, “but he’s been taken care of.” He nodded his head off to wear Luca’s corpse was.

 

Solomon nodded gravely. “I see.”

 

“It’s my fault,” I burst, gaining the attention from every vampire. “The stake— it was in my hand— Luca just pushed it, but I… I… I killed him. It’s all my fault,” I told them, wondering if they could make out my words through my heavy sobs.

 

“It’s not your fault,” Luella told me quietly, appearing at my side. “It’s not your fault for being a puppet.”

 

I shook my head. “No, it is. If it wasn’t for me all this wouldn’t have happened. Vincent should have killed me way back in the beginning—”

 

“Don’t say that,” Vincent snapped. “You’re being delusional. You need to calm down before you speak.”

 

“Fiona,” I started, turning to her. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!”

 

She shook her head at me. “No, it’s not your fault.” Wiping her eyes, she slowly stood, staggering over to us. “Sebastian wouldn’t want you to blame yourself either. He… He…” She trailed off, unable to say more. Luella took her into her arms, cradling her close.

 

“He knew what was going to happen,” Solomon said, turning to me. “He was prepared for this. He knew there was a chance that he would be killed tonight.”

 

“Because of me—”

 

Luella shook her head. “No, not because of you. Because of himself. You should know, Emily, Sebastian is… was a kind soul. He would’ve done

 

 

anything to protect the ones he loved. Even if it was in vain. My son was a brave man.”

 

Nodding, I let fresh tears roll down my face. Vincent pulled me to his chest, rubbing my back soothingly. “Shh, it’s okay.”

 

“We’ll have to move his body,” Solomon started, his voice sounding strained. “We’ll hold a funeral…”

 

“It’ll be difficult from here on out,” Luella stated, gazing at her husband. “Everything’s different now.”

 

He nodded. “We’ll just have to take it one step at a time.”

 

Vincent squeezed me tight. “It’ll be okay, Emily.”

 

But I knew it wouldn’t be. Sebastian was dead and I had six months to live.

 

Nothing was going to be okay.