"I will not lose it," she said into the darkness. "I'm in pain, yes; I'm scared, yes. I want to see my friends and my mate. YES! But I will not lose it. So put on your big girl panties, Jennifer, and pull it together!" Jen was grinding her teeth by the end of her little pep talk. She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. She'd won the battle. Tonight. But the war wasn't over and she had a feeling this was just a skirmish compared to what was coming. Her eyes closed and darkness poured over her. She tried to open her eyelids, but they were heavy. She felt herself being pulled under, her last thoughts about battles, wars, and love.

"Is she awake yet?" A gruff voice rumbled as Jen began to wake from the deep sleep she had finally drifted off into late last night.

"It's been a week since we saw Peri." It was Rachel speaking now. "And every day she looks weaker, paler. I'm doing everything I can for her injuries, Gav. It's not working. She isn't getting better."

Gavril walked over to the girl who lay in their kitchen. Her face was pale even as it glistened with sweat. He pressed his hand to her forehead and watched her eyes squeeze in pain. Did his touch hurt her?

"She's responding to touch," he told Rachel.

Rachel stood next to her mate and watched as Jen's face grimaced. Suddenly Jen rolled over,  a loud groan escaping her throat. She flung her head over the side of the bed, vomiting violently. Rachel rushed forward and pulled Jen's hair out of the way.

"Gavril! Get some cool wet towels, please." Rachel's tone was firm and in control.

Jen felt Rachel rub her back gently, murmuring in some language that she was pretty sure wasn't Romanian.  The heaving finally stopped and she was able to catch her breath, but that was too good to last. Just as Rachel started to help her back up the nausea rushed through her again. Jen doubled over as something metallic filled her mouth. Her eyes widened as she watched bright red liquid hit the floor. Blood.

Rachel's gut tightened as she watched the blood pour from Jen's mouth. She closed her eyes and laid her hands on Jen's stomach while Gavril held Jen's hair back and held her steady. Rachel reached into Jen's body, seeking out the source of the sickness. She could feel the pain that flowed through her very veins. She reached into Jen's mind and gasped as she felt what Jen did. Her veins felt like they were on fire, like the very blood that flowed through them boiled. She tried to find what it was that was causing it. Infection from her injuries, some sort of bacteria somewhere, but she found nothing. Blackness was reaching into Jen's mind, a dark void cloaking her, and nothing Rachel did could cause it to recede.

Rachel pulled her hands back and opened her eyes. She looked up at Gavril, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Rachel, Luna, what's wrong?" Gavril's voice was gentle as he watched his mate.

Rachel shook herhead. "She's dying and it's my fault."

Jen finally stopped vomiting and Rachel took the moist towels Gavril had brought her and wiped her mouth and face.

"What do you mean she's dying?" he asked her.

Rachel looked deep into her mate's eyes. "You know how the darkness was beginning to consume you before you met me?"

"The darkness begins to consume all males without their true mate," he answered.

"I broke their bond."

"What does that have to do with it?" Gavril stepped around Jen's bed. He put his fingers on his mate's chin and gently raised her head so he could see her azure eyes.

"There is darkness in her, consuming her. The kind of darkness I found in unmated males anytime I had to heal them. It's killing her. There's no balance in her without him and somehow when I severed the bond, it's like the darkness in him, the darkness she would keep at bay, somehow seeped into her. I don't know how to describe it."

"It sounds like dark magic." Gavril stroked her face gently watching as his mate's heart broke over the dormant. "You were only protecting us," he whispered gently.

Rachel's head snapped back as if he had slapped her. "It's my job to protect her, to protect others! I'm a HEALER!" Rachel was shaking – so angry with herself, with the Fae, with everything. As a healer, it broke her heart to think she had hurt another. If Jen was going through this, what was her mate enduring?

"Peri said that her mate had been cursed by the witch. Maybe that is why the bond being severed has caused this reaction in her. It may not have anything to do with you."

"Regardless, you and I both know we should have risked whatever we needed to get her back to her mate."

Gavril lowered his eyes, something an Alpha rarely did. Rachel reached up and touched his cheek. He pulled her into his arms. "If I was her mate I would kill me." His voice was soft and deep. "You're right, love. If someone kept you from me, if someone took our bond, I wouldn't be able to stand it." He stepped back and raised her chin once again. "We will fix this."

Rachel nodded once and looked down at Jen. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was labored. She propped a pillow under her to raise her chest up. She took a seat next to the bed and held Jen's hand. "We have to."

Decebel fell to his knees as he doubled over in pain. He felt nausea rolling through him, but nothing came up. His head hung and sweat dripped from his brow despite the cold air. Sally, Cynthia, and Costin surrounded him but didn't touch him.

"This is the sixth time today," Cynthia spoke quietly to Sally. "It's been a week since we started off. He gets worse every day. Pretty soon he isn't going to be able to walk."