A Shade of Vampire 77 A Fate of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,22

adversity, entities like the Hermessi could still stand their ground and rise against their evil, obsessed majority.

Knowing that Brendel was still desperately hunting Taeral had also encouraged me. It meant that, even with Death missing, there was still a chance that he might find a way to stop the ritual. As long as Brendel was on her chase, we all had a shot at survival, in The Shade and beyond.

So maybe, just maybe, by tomorrow's nightfall, we'd all look back on this moment and blush, thankful for not having to go through with all this. And if the end did come at the Hermessi's hands, at least those of us who remained would fight them until our dying breath. That was the GASP way, after all.

Nuriya

I was barely holding myself together, much too tired to even bother to hide it. The last couple of days had taken a monstrous toll on me. If, by some miracle, we all survived this—my husband included—I'd need years to recover from all the pain and anguish that had torn through me like raging thunderstorms.

With the GASP evacuation process keeping most of the lead officers busy, I was left alone with Sherus in the glass house. His skin was pale, having lost its amber glow in death, but I took comfort in knowing he was too far away from the In-Between and the Supernatural Dimension to do any damage if the ritual weaponized the five million fae bodies, as would happen according to its lore. The ritual itself was not meant to be a one-off power spurt from a fixed number of influenced fae, though. The mass destruction through their bodies was merely the beginning. Then, the power surge would come, where all the Hermessi would be powerful enough to breach the Earthly Dimension. It also made them impossible to kill, even with Thieron—or that had been my understanding from the last conversations we'd had with Taeral and his crew.

I needed my boy back here, now more than ever, but I limited my communications with him, knowing that he had to keep his head in the game, fully focused on what came next. Death was missing, and that made his mission all the more difficult.

Fortunately, I had a dead husband keeping me company. For now, Sherus's soul was still with us, but I wasn't sure for how much longer. I did hope Taeral's endeavors might convince Death to spare Sherus from dying and to bring him back… but if she was nowhere to be found, how would we even get to ask her?

"I'd say penny for your thoughts, but I'm pretty sure I know what's on your mind," Sherus said, his voice low and soothing as he sat on the floor in front of my armchair. He'd kept himself remarkably calm, given his condition. Then again, Sherus had never been one to succumb to panic or despair. That seemed to apply in death, as well.

"I'm just wondering how this will pan out," I murmured.

"Whatever happens, we both know we've done everything in our power to save our people and protect our loved ones," Sherus replied.

A bitter smile tested my lips. "Aisha and Horatio had to sneak back into The Shade. Not even GASP fae are allowed back, not to mention the Fire Star people. We've left our kingdom behind, my love. The very kingdom we've sworn to protect."

"It's not as simple as that, my darling, and you know it," Sherus said. "Even I am ready to accept that. It breaks my heart, too, but there was nothing left to be done for the fae, considering their connection to the Hermessi."

"If the ritual is completed, it means we'll have left them to die out there."

"As long as some people survive the ritual, it doesn't matter what species they belong to. What matters is that, if the Hermessi succeed in their plans and wipe out two dimensions, you and the whole of GASP must find a way to survive and protect the Earthly Dimension from Brendel and her cohorts," he replied. "Think about it this way: without the Hermessi children, she has no one to topple this part of the universe with. We've already crippled her mission. And if we succeeded in that, we can damn well make sure we keep her out of this marvelous world."

Looking at him, I couldn't help but smile. Even in death, my husband sought to observe and analyze the bigger picture. In a sense, he was right. There wasn't anything else