Back in front of the fireplace, I stared at the fireplace not even looking at Jace as he knelt beside me. He gave my shoulder a squeeze and I turned my head, eyes cold.
"You need to calm down. Getting upset won't help you." Jace said and I growled, fighting the urge to punch him.
"Why even bothering doing anything? I've lost my entire world, been turned into a monster and you still want to find a cure for me?!" I snapped, rising to my feet. "Why? To satisfy your curiosity?"
"Ailis, I want to help you." Jace started, climbing to his feet just as I grabbed the desk in one hand. In a fit of anger I flipped it into the far wall, snarling as he watched on with wide eyes. I gasped, weakness striking me so fast I fell to my knees. "How did you..do that?" He asked as I raised my head, giving him a tiny smile.
"No clue." I mumbled, closing my eyes. "Head...feels weird."
It wasn't until I opened my eyes that I discovered I was lying on something soft, most likely the same rug I had previously slept on. I managed to push myself into an upright position using my elbows, groaning a little at the fuzzy feeling in my head.
"So you finally woke up?" Jace said, kneeling in front of me before a cup was gently pushed towards me. "Here, this is will make you feel better."
"Thanks." I whispered, carefully taking the cup in both hands. This time I blew on it before taking a sip, coughing at the strong taste. "W..whoa."
"It's strong but it will make you feel better I promise." Jace told me, sitting beside me. "If you don't mind me asking why did you throw my desk?"
"Your desk?! Sorry I wasn't thinking and I just..." I trailed off when he chuckled, not looking at all angry. "I don't know how I could even lift it. I was never that strong when I lived at home."
Just thinking about home made me feel like crying again. I chewed my lower lip, not wanting to seem like a coward in front of Jace. Feeling his hand brush my cheek made me blink and he smiled, the gesture helping me focus.
"Whenever you're up to it do you want to talk to Liliana?" Jace asked and I tilted my head, one eyebrow raised. He just sighed as I took another sip of my drink, wondering if a cure even existed. "I can speak to her if you don't want to." He offered as I swallowed, thinking it over.
"If you come with me I will." Jace agreed and I nodded, finishing my drink.
Wrapping my cloak around me, I followed Jace as we headed to ask Liliana for help.I didn't really trust the necromancer to fix what she'd done to me but with no other options I decided to put my trust in Jace, who seemed to think that woman would help.
If I didn't know better I swear he likes Liliana.
"Why hello, Jace. What did you need...oh. You brought that...thing." Liliana asked and I growled, resisting the urge to throw something at her as she stood there a superior smirk on her lips.
"Liliana, you know Ailis would like it if you called her by name." Jace said, running his fingers along the bridge of his nose. "We came here to see if you could change Ailis back."
"No, I can't. Once a corpse is transformed into a zombie there's no going back. Unless you want a more permanent death." Liliana replied, eyes moving to me and I took a step back as she took a step towards me. "You're so fun to tease!" She exclaimed letting out a giggle as I hid behind Jace.
"Ailis, you need to be brave." Jace sighed and I glared at him, stomping past Jace. "Calm down." He said but I just raised my head, stepping towards Liliana. Ignoring her raised hand I grabbed the chair she's just vacated. Without a pause I grabbed it, hurling the chair at the wall to her left.
As it smacked into the wall I grinned as she actually flinched, not catching herself in time. Shaking my head, I moved back to Jace's side as he blinked his focus on Liliana. Before his eyes she let out a laugh, seemingly impressed by my display before she grinned.
"I've never seen a zombie do that before." Liliana smiled and I gave her a smirk, not letting on how happy I was. "There's hope for you yet...Ailis."
I gave her a mock bow, waiting a little impatiently for Liliana to offer her help. Of course it wasn't that easy and when we arrived in a dark room I paused, a cold shiver running up my spine.
"This is the only way to figure out how to turn you back. If it's even possible." Liliana said as she walked towards a cold table in the middle of the room. "Now, lie on the slab."
"Slab?" I asked and she sighed, rolling her eyes. Reluctantly I lay on it, shivering from the cold though mostly from fear as she raised her hands over me.
"Now keep still." Liliana ordered and I tried to, until the first tendils of dark energy flowed through me. Then I screamed, back arching as my insides twisted. "You need to keep still or I could rip you apart." She told me, her markings glowing.
More tendils of energy pierced me, one flowing over my mouth gagging me. Unable to scream I thrashed on the table instead, tears welling in my eyes as I struggled against the dark energy tearing me apart.
"Liliana, stop it! You'll kill her!" Jace shouted but Liliana either didn't hear or didn't care, her eyes glowing a deep purple.
In agony I could feel my vision fading, a cold creeping into my body.
Maybe I'm really dying this time.
Ailis, listen to me. You're not dying. Can you open your eyes?
Hm...Jace? Didn't Liliana murder me with her powers?
No, your body couldn't handle it and you fainted. You did make me think you were dead until I read your mind.
That's...good to know. Where am I now?
"Maybe you should open your eyes and find out." Jace suggested and I did just that, my vision blurry. I slowly blinked, finding Jace standing beside me as I lay on my back. "That's better. You keep fainting on me." He pointed out as I rubbed my eyes, back aching from lying on the cold slab of stone.
"The last one wasn't my fault. An eariler warning would have been nice." I sighed and he shrugged. "So...did it work?"
The immediate frown on his face said it all and I closed my eyes, my hopes dashed. "Hey it's okay, Ailis." Jace said, his hand on my hair but I whimpered as he gently stroked my head. "There has to be someway of changing you back."
"There isn't okay? I know it and you do, so does Liliana. She just likes to torment me. I wish I'd died with my family in that fire...at least then I would have been happy." I cried, not expecting Jace to wrap his arms around my neck.
"Don't you dare say that!" He shouted at me and I coughed, confused by his outburst. His eyes glowed a pale blue as he narrowed them at me, the sight terrifying. "You're not giving up until I say it's hopeless. Got that?" He growled, his voice slightly calmer and I just nodded unable to look away.
"That...was amazing. Do your eyes always glow blue when you're mad?" I asked before Jace had fully calmed from his outburst. Speechless he stared as I gave him a tiny smile and before he could react I brushed a kiss against his nose.
Which left me just as shocked as him...