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“Benedict, you’re white as a fucking sheet,” Hawke said, leaning forward slightly

I lied I’m sorry Don’t trust my mother

Jocelyn’s voice The thoughts burst into h the doorway the bond left open between us, and I sat upright, h every inch of my body, and I lurched to my feet

“It’s not me,” I whispered “It’s her She’s hurt”

“What do you—” Hawke started

“What the fuck?” I was already tracking her through the bond, feeling the starlight of her aura far from where I’d last sensed her in the witch palace She was in lycan territory, a a set of hills I’d visited the last time I’d been called to help

I wended without another thought, cutting through the frigid night air as I folded the space between us I opened my eyes and the world carass of the hillside just inside the lycan boundaries A blush formed on the horizon

Fuck

I openedthe threads that bound us as I raced down the hillside

There A puddle of lavender rested in the gulch below

I wended, appearing at her side, and my stomach lurched as I fell to my knees beside her

“Jocelyn,” I whispered, rolling her to her back and brushing the hair from her face “Oh shit”

Blood stained every visible inch of her skin, and the leathers she borrowed from Olivia were slick with crih, and her pulse weak, the sound of her heart sloith every beat

“I’ve got you, little witch” I scooped her into my arms as delicately as possible

Thud

Thud

Thud

Her heart was failing She was bleeding out right in front of me

I cut out the panic and fear in order to concentrate and wended, focusing on Gabriel’s clinic, deep beneath the royal residence The sterile scent of alcohol hit my nose before I even opened my eyes

“Dear God,” the doctorthe sandwich he held in his hand as his eyes flew impossibly wide

“Save her” They were the only words I could force past my lips

He nodded and pushed through the double glass doors that led to the trauma room in his infirmary “Put her here”

I gently laid Jocelyn’s liurney as two of Gabriel’s nurses appeared in the doorway

“Call the king,” Gabriel ordered one of theot to work