Premonition of Peace (Her Immortal Monsters #3)

Chapter 19

nineteen

NATHALIE

The bell above the door slammed around as I burst into Se?ora’s shop, fear and urgency pushing me forward. Inside, the room was thick with tension, the scent of herbs and the faint hum of magic weaving through the air. As I came to a halt, I took in the scene before me. August was already there, cradling a limp and emaciated Marcel in his arms, his own face etched with worry. Lucifer stood nearby, his expression grave as he watched me enter.

“August,” I breathed out, rushing to his side and grabbing Marcel’s limp hand. The coolness of his skin sent a shiver down my spine, amplifying the fear gripping my heart. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” August replied, his voice steady but tinged with concern. His usually calm demeanor was replaced with an edge of panic, something I rarely saw in him. “Estrid started pawing at his door and crying loudly. She’s never done that if it wasn’t for food. I found him on the floor.”

“How long?” I asked, brushing a lock of hair away from Marcel’s damp forehead.

“I called you and the Se?ora as soon as I found him. Before that, I don’t know.”

The sight of Marcel, so lifeless, pale and hanging from his arms, was almost more than I could bear. My mind raced, searching for answers, or for anything that could explain why this was happening, besides what I already knew.

Marcel’s time was up.

He paused, his gaze flickering to Marcel’s. The dark lines of magic that usually sat beneath Marcel’s skin were now pulsing and vibrant, dancing in victory as if it won the battle and would soon consume its host. Cracks formed as if the magic were threatening to burst out of his body at any moment.

“I’m going to get Se?ora Rosara,” Lucifer announced, breaking the tense silence. He gave me a meaningful look before leaving the room. His usually confident demeanor was overshadowed by concern.

“Let’s get him to the side room. That’s where she’ll want him,” I said, motioning toward the back of the shop.

August followed me as I led him past Se?ora’s curious cats and into the small room that had been my own sanctuary during my eye surgery. The room was dimly lit, the air thick with the scent of lavender and sage, a stark contrast to the sterile environment I’d been in not long ago. August gently laid Marcel’s unconscious body on the long table, then stepped back to stand beside me.

August placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. His touch was warm, grounding me in the moment. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I couldn’t do more, Nathalie.”

Pressing my lips together, I nodded and swallowed the lump forming in my throat. This was it. I was no closer to a cure than I had been when I started.

I said none of that, keeping my eyes on Marcel, blinking back tears. It wasn’t long before Se?ora swept into the room, Lucifer hot on her heels. She barely acknowledged us, her gaze fixed on Marcel. She retrieved herbs and magical instruments from the shelves around her, creating a small circle of items around his body. We all stood back, giving her the space she needed to work. Se?ora tsked softly as she assessed Marcel’s condition, her movements precise.

The threat of losing him became more real than it ever had been. August kept his hand on my lower back, swirling his thumb and grounding me as best he could. Lucifer stood next to me; his arms crossed as he watched for my reactions. I stepped away from them both, knowing that if Marcel was ever going to have a chance, I needed to come up with some last-ditch effort. No matter how wild or unlikely, I just needed something.

Gods. Everything was happening all at once. The Morrigan was out there somewhere, plotting her next move. She wasn’t even hiding it anymore. I didn’t have the chance to tell anyone what had just happened. I couldn’t. I had more questions than answers, all while Marcel’s chances at surviving were plummeting by the second. Somehow, with all of that, he was all I could focus on.

His breaths were shallow and raspy. Running a shaky hand through my hair, anxiety tightened its grip around my heart as I turned to face Se?ora. My heart dropped as she looked up at me with a pitying gaze and she shook her head slightly.

“No, not yet,” I whispered, cutting her off before she could say anything, shaking my head in defiance. “Keep him alive. Do whatever you have to do.”

Se?ora’s expression softened just a touch, and her voice carried the weight of the truth we all knew. “Nathalie, there is nothing more I can do. His time draws near.”

“I know there is something you can do to fix him, Se?ora. I don’t care what it costs.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly. “You will.”

The harrowing way she spoke sent a shiver up my spine. “Tell me.”

“He will not be himself when I am done. The man you love will not be saved.”

Whatever level of dark and seedy magic she was referring to remained unnamed, but the insinuation was enough for me to understand. I nodded, and she pressed her lips together, allowing me to accept the gravity of the situation in silence.

The whispers of my loci pulled me in, where I found every version of myself scrambling. Peace was crying with hyperventilating hiccups, and even then, she was pushing herself through every plant book we had, furiously wiping the tears away with her arm. Caretaker was by her side, sifting through books of spells we had watched or had read about over my lifetime.

Bad Nat threw another book across the room, kicking the table as she did. “This is pointless. He’s on death’s doorstep and we have no way to slow it down, much less stop it.”

“Keep looking,” Ann muttered, pushing her glasses up her nose while she scanned a shelf in the library.

“For what?” The Warden asked, tossing her hands up. “I hate to agree with her, but Bad Nat is right. It’s not as if we haven’t been looking. The sudden pressure to find something isn’t going to make it miraculously appear.”

Peace sniffled. “There isn’t a plant or flower on this realm that can save him.” She pushed her book away, grabbing another one. “I wish we could just turn him into a flower,” she whispered.

Bad Nat scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You and your stupid movies. Even the other two fairies thought that was dumb.”

The Warden looked up. “Which movie was that?”

“Sleeping Beauty. Animated one,” Ann muttered, blowing a lock of hair away from her face while she read.

“Wait,” Caretaker said, looking at me. “Can we do that? Can we turn him into something?”

I scrubbed my hands down my face and shook my head. “The death magic that’s eating him now will just eat the new form he’d take. It’s not killing his soul. It’s the vessel, the part that’s living . . .”

As I trailed off, thinking of how crass I sounded, Bat Nat’s assessment sounded significantly worse. “Well, he’s mortal, just like us, and there’s nothing we can do to change that. He’s going to die someday. Might as well let it happen now.”

Caretaker threw a pencil at her. “Could you, I don’t know, not be yourself right now?”

Bad Nat took a step forward, fists balled up. The Warden stepped between them before they took it any further, and she began shouting over them to calm them down. “Stop it! What’s gotten into you?”

“She started it,” Caretaker said, jabbing a finger in Bad Nat’s direction.

“I didn’t start shit. You’re just too caught up in emotions to see the fucking truth. This is reality, you twat. Welcome.” The same pencil that had been thrown at her went flying back toward Caretaker.

The Warden swatted it out of the air, midflight. “What the hell, you two? You’re acting like children!”

Ann snorted, turning away disapprovingly before tossing another book aside. “Hardly. Honor and Orson are children. Don’t insult them by putting them in the same category.”

This was a disaster. Not only was I losing Marcel, but the pieces that lived within me were falling apart. Which meant, in fact, I was falling apart. I sighed.

“Wait!” Peace shushed everyone, waving her hands wildly and standing up. The loci paused the bickering long enough to look at the frantic version of myself, her eyes swollen and her nose rubbed raw. “The children!”

“Come again?” Ann turned, giving Peace her attention, but she only looked directly at me.

“You wanted to change him into an immortal–”

“We can’t,” Ann said, dismissing her. “He’s too weak.”

Peace ignored her completely, walking toward me and grabbing a picture of Honor and Orson that was kept on a small table by the couch. She held it out to me. “ Change his reality, Prime.” Her eyes widened as she stared at me, dipping her chin slightly. My lips parted as I inhaled sharply. All at once, the rest of the loci caught on.

Within seconds, I’d jolted myself back into the reality of Se?ora’s shop. August and Se?ora looked at me quizzically, but Lucifer only smirked. Part of me wondered if he’d been there and I was so frantic that I hadn’t noticed. It didn’t matter.

“I’m going to change him into an immortal,” I blurted out.

Se?ora’s eyebrows pinched together, not understanding. “I don’t have that kind of power, Nathalie.”

“You don’t have that power,” I began, pulling my phone out, “but I know someone who does.”