The Beast And The Blessed

Fifty-Eight: Joselin

Joselin's P.O.V.

Cyrus threw up for a long while. The healers pushed me aside when it went from stomach acid to blood. As much as I detested vomit, even though I was able to hold back some of my own, I stayed. He needed people, and I needed answers.

A line of sweat appeared across his forehead, and every time his eyes instinctively closed as he lost his stomach, he would jerk them right back open. He hadn't been kidding about the darkness he saw when he closed his eyes.

He looked haunted and terrified. The man, who typically looked like a teenager, was nothing more than a scared little boy right now, and it broke my heart.

Tobias had his chest to my back with his hands on my hips. While half of my mind was on Cyrus in bed, there was nothing I could do until this wave of nausea passed.

The other half of my mind was zeroed in on how Tobias had his thumbs sliding along my waist to show that he supported me.

It was so comforting, but I was still waiting for him to tell me that I smelled different or that he could hear or feel a little heartbeat inside me. I wondered if he would know before I did since I was stalling.

Once again, I pushed aside those thoughts. I didn't have the courage to take a test right now, nor did I have the time to run to a store, get one and then take it without anyone seeing me.

Deal with Cora first.

I had to keep reminding myself to stay on task. Cora was the threat here; the potential of a baby inside me was not. It was a distraction, one that I could push aside until I received confirmation that it was even true. Until then, I could continue to pretend it wasn't real and focus on the actual issue.

When the healers stepped back, they looked uncertain and uneasy. Flora's hands were up like she was backing away from a rabid animal and looked exhausted.

She had healed him several times, but it hadn't held. Trauma and magic were powerful things.

of water. He took a large sip, gargled it, and spat it into

I fought back the

and while he was worried, I also sensed his amusement

weak, and it would

so pleasant," Cyrus muttered with a grimace of disgust as he moved his tongue around his mouth, more than likely still tasting his vomit. His lips pursed, and his eyelids lowered

any longer. We didn't have time for more delays. We needed to be ready to take action as soon as we

to talk to her, to Rona. I don't know how it worked, and it was only for a short period." He looked off into the distance, his eyes staying open abnormally

someone who had actually been in Rona's head almost made me feel relieved. I knew she was a terror as a kid, and I assumed that Cora controlling her had been recent. So, I still wasn't a huge fan of Rona, but knowing that the motive behind her most

track her. Rona was trying to find out what Cora was up to, but she

This was it.

was so determined to find out what I was. Rona didn't want my power for herself; she just wanted to find Cora's weakness. She wanted to figure out

my hands on the foot rail of his bed to stay out of the way of any vomit or the healers in case they needed to rush

more by speaking so ill of someone he had bonded with before they died. They may not have been friends or anything more than that, but they went through something awful together. He had been there, in her mind, when she died, and that would be enough to make

facing me." A tear leaked from his eye, and he wiped it away quickly. "The first attack hadn't been strong enough because she

my unattended tower. I knew I was already going to hell from my past actions, but those were all intentional, and I owned those. This one was unintentional, and that made it

his life would

her, but this time I could see through her eyes and feel her pain. We were trapped in her body, but I couldn't talk or move. Cora was ranting about how the love of her life had been taken from her,

around Cora for most of his life, but he looked

ever shown any interest in anyone I could remember, and I had to wonder what else I had

angry at Rona, saying that she should have

him. "What had Rona been told to

know. That was when Cora started cutting and chanting. I couldn't understand anything she was saying at that point. I didn't even know if it was Rona pulling at the chains or if I was, but neither

know," I whispered as I remembered the force that had sent me flying across the dining hall when I was trying to save him. He had used his magic; he just used them through his body and hit me instead of through Rona's to get to Cora. I wasn't even sure if that was possible,