Mordred merely shrugged. “Life as I am. Death as I am. What’s the difference?” A shudder worked across me at his blasé attitude. “If this works, I shall be human. I shall live in their world. If it does not work, I shall be dead, and the issue will be resolved. All parties are happy then, yes?” Several of my mates hissed, and I knew they were as shocked as I was at his simple acceptance of his own possible demise.
“If this is what you want, then I will grant you the option,” Damien said slowly, even as part of me rebelled at the thought of potentially murdering someone.
I might be the leader of Faction Opal, but the idea of stripping shifters didn’t sit right with me. In my short time as faction leader, I had made considerable progress advocating for choice regarding this very topic—only shifters who asked for the service would be stripped. Other than a few radicals, most of my faction seemed reasonable. Still, it was hard for me to truly wrap my head around actually destroying an alter. My Phoenix screeched anxiously in my head as I clamped down on my objection.
It was Mordred’s choice, and one I could understand. Besides, I had to remember we were in a war, and one not everyone was going to survive. This danger paled in comparison to what we were all about to face.
“For now, I will ask you to think of anything that may be useful for us. It will be faster to share the information mentally while Ryder prepares.” Damien and Mordred locked eyes as Ryder and Theo disappeared from the room, gathering whatever they needed to move forward with stripping his powers.
“You okay?” Killian whispered in my ear, kissing the tender skin behind it gently.
“You don’t have to stay for this part,” Hiro added, his voice just as quiet. “We’ll be able to handle it.”
“It’s alright.” I smiled, taking in the way his eyes softened while they searched my face. Hiro didn’t need mind reading abilities to read me, he just needed my body language. “I want to. I need to know what happens,” I admitted.
It only took a few minutes for Theo and Ryder to return with a kit and a bucket between them while Damien and Mordred continued their silent stare off. “Are you ready?” Ryder asked, the lines around his eyes tight. I knew he wouldn’t like this, my gentle man. He was about saving people, not harming them.
“I’m ready,” Mordred replied calmly.
“We’ll need to bind you,” Theo told him. He indicated the bucket, which I now realized contained water. “I know your chains hold you now, but with what we’re about to do, I prefer to have additional restraints.”
“Please,” Mordred agreed, his eerily empty eyes tracking their movements. “Whatever you need.” He reclined back onto the cot, his head settling against the pillow, the chains on his wrists hanging slack as he waited patiently for whatever Theo and Ryder had planned.
Is this some kind of trap? Ryder inquired cautiously.
I don’t think so, Damien responded. He opened his mind for me as much as he could, maybe even more than he meant to. He truly seems to desire becoming human. Though I would keep eyes on him when he is if this actually works. The last part seemed to be an afterthought.
Water rose up in a stream, solidifying into thick bars of ice that secured Mordred’s hands and legs to the bed before Theo and Ryder approached with whatever was in Ryder’s syringe.
“As a healer, I want to ask you again,” Ryder said. “There is a significant chance this will kill you or drive you insane. Are you sure you’re willing to take that risk?”
My heart was breaking for Ryder, and I knew it would kill him if Mordred died under his care despite the fact he wasn’t one of ours and was even technically still our enemy. Ryder was a healer through and through, and I never wanted that to change.
“I am.”
“Then proceed,” Damien declared, stepping back to join us as Theo and Ryder positioned themselves on either side of Mordred. My other mates closed in around me, their shoulders tense as they watched. If this worked, it could offer the children here who had been experimented on a different life—but that depended on the cost. The injection was smooth and simple as both Ryder and Theo stepped away, allowing the venom to creep through his veins. I hadn’t seen it work before, and I had no idea what I was waiting on. Did it take minutes? Hours? From their watchful eyes, it clearly wasn’t something that took days. Mordred remained calm and quiet, merely breathing as though he planned to take a nap where he lay on the bed.
I turned to Damien, my mouth opening to ask, when a shriek ripped through the room, echoing off the ceiling. I nearly fell, the pain in the sound haunting as it tore out of him again, his back bowing off the bed. He screamed a third time, so loudly I was sure his throat would tear, as he threw his head into the mattress, his blank eyes trained on the ceiling.
“What’s happening?” I asked, even as Killian and Joshua caged me in.
Ryder and Theo had jumped forward, holding him down as he thrashed and howled. A line of blood dripped from his ear, a single streak of crimson plummeting to land against the white sheet.
“It’s the venom,” Joshua answered grimly. “It’s always painful, but this…” He shook his head, his own golden skin pale as he watched, his hand seeking mine in comfort. I shuddered, unable to look away even as my mind screamed for me to turn, to hide myself from his suffering. It might have been minutes, though it felt like weeks, when the shrieks tapered off to broken whimpers and he fell limply to the bed. His skin was gray, sheened with sweat, and he became quiet as his head lolled to the side. Ryder scrambled to find any sign of life, bending his head to listen for a breath while his fingers searched Mordred’s wrist for a pulse. The room was achingly silent as we waited.
“He’s alive,” Ryder whispered, his gaze lifting to meet mine. “Now we just wait until he wakes up.”
I drooped, but Killian’s quick reflexes kept me from hitting the floor as he scooped me up. “Come on,” he growled. “You did your part. More than your part. You’re going to eat and rest.”
“We’ll update you when we know anything.” Theo smiled softly, even as he pulled the ice restraints from Mordred. “Killian’s right. You need rest.”
“Fine,” I sighed. “But I don’t want to train any more tonight.”
Hiro chuckled, leading Killian and me from the room and down the hallway, back toward the lobby so we could head home. “Now, that’s very not nice. I think maybe I’ll add that attitude to my count.” His dark eyes were warm as they met mine, a smirk on his lips. “And I’m counting, baby, so I’m sure I can figure out something we can do to help distract you and destress.”
The naughty promise in his smile had me shifting in Killian’s arms, my day brightening. Oh, I liked where this was going. “Promises, promises,” I snarked, and his eyes lit up.
“That’s two,” Hiro replied, beginning to roll up his sleeves. “Killian, let’s head back to our cabin. I’m thinking our mate here wants me to get to a count of three.”
Three
Nix
The sound of laughter was a stark difference from Mordred’s cries of pain that were still ringing through my head. I smiled as I watched Emersyn run and play with the other hybrid children, her squeals of delight making my heavy heart just a little lighter. The sun hung above the horizon, glistening on the snow that had finally stopped falling. I wanted to see the grass again, to hang up my jacket and feel the sun on my skin, and I couldn’t help but wonder what this upcoming summer would look like for all of us. What would the shifter world be like after the war was over, and more importantly, would we still be alive to witness it?