As I died, so did Marianne, but I had a much farther distance to fall. Her eyes closed on Cyrus’s ballroom, her second death as much a relief as the first one, and this time she died with her husband’s name on her lips.

When her soul left my body I came jarringly awake, shivering uncontrollably from the blood Nathan had consumed from me. His mouth was still fastened to my neck, but he no longer drank. He kissed my wounded flesh and sobbed, crushing me to the rock-hard wall of his chest.

“She is gone,” I heard Bella say, and for a terrifying minute I thought she meant me.

Nathan lifted his head. His eyes met mine and went cold. My heart froze with them. It wasn’t me he wanted. For a moment, he’d held his wife in his arms again. Now that she was gone, only I remained.

To his credit, he masked his grief quickly, trying to smile for me as though his tears were joyous at being reunited with me. “Did I hurt you?”

More than you know. I didn’t trust myself to answer him. Instead, I eased from his grip and tried to stand.

When I collapsed, Max caught me. Instead of easy encouragement, he whispered, “I’m sorry I let you do this.”

He’d seen it, I realized. He’d seen Nathan’s disappointment when he’d found it was me in his arms.

“I will tend to Nathan. You make sure she is all right,” Bella instructed.

I wanted to lash out at her, to slap her or scream at her, but I didn’t have the strength and it wasn’t her fault, anyway. All she had promised was to cure Nathan of his possession, and her ritual had done just that. She’d never guaranteed I wouldn’t be left empty and hurt in the process.

Max scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the living room, to lay me on the couch. “We’ll get some blood into you.”

“You could let the rest out of me.” I tried to make it sound like a joke, but the horror of the suggestion was evident on his face.

“Don’t say that. You’re just upheaved by this whole ordeal.” He squeezed my hand. “I can’t imagine what you went through.”

“Hell.” The word bubbled from my throat and I coughed, spilling wetness onto my lips. When I wiped it away, I saw it was blood.

Max went to the kitchen and made a horrible racket. He hurried as if my life depended on it, and in a way, I guess I was in danger. But it would take a lot more to kill me.