Chapter Thirty Seven

It was five thirty in the morning when the house phone started ringing. Reaching for lamp and tugging the cord, Damiane picked up the phone and read the caller ID. She didn't recognize the number except for the area code. It was the same code Jessie would call her family with. Damiane took the call before it could end.

"Jessie, dear? Is everything alright?"

Her granddaughter never called before sun up. Most of the time she was in bed considering her night schedule. The latest she would contact anyone would be past the afternoon unless it was a family member calling for her. Something must've happened if Jessie decided to call her grandmother before the sun even rose in New Awlins.

When all Damiane could hear was deep breathing, her old heart seized from a sense of foreboding. There was a chocked sob and sniffling on the other end. Hearing nothing but someone trying hard not to cry brought back old memories Damiane thought she would forget. The last time she heard anyone react to this was when Adelais found out her twin sister was dying. Then it was Abrial's turn when it was Adelais who died instead of her.

"Grams."

Damiane clutched herself when she heard Jamie instead of Jessie.

"Grams," he sobbed. "I messed up. I fucking messed up."

Standing in the doorway was Danielle. Damiane's twin sister held her robe close to her body in a tight grip, suspecting the early call wasn't a friendly one. As for Damiane, she noticed how her hands were shaking. She willed her body to obey and the shaking ceased just as fast as they began.

"Jamie, what's wrong."

Her grandson inhaled, his lungs drawing in a gallon of air. "It happened so fast. I didn't see them and…and…and she pushed me. God, Grams, she pushed me. Why didn't I see them? Why couldn't it have been me?"

It felt like Damiane was reliving the past.

"Is Jessie dead?"

This time Jamie didn't try to keep it back. His bawling was all Damiane needed to know her granddaughter was no longer with them. Jamie hiccupped some words which sounded like apologies while Danielle drew her sister in her arms. They sat in the old room for what seemed like hours when Jamie finally calmed down.

"I need the words."

It had been thirty years since she last heard the request and she had always hoped it would be the last.

"Jamie, just come—"

"Nithard took Notker's pain seconds after his death," Jamie spoke in a calm voice. "Nithard brought his brother from death, even if it was only a few seconds. Jessie…Grams, she's been dead for almost an hour. I need to take her pain. Please, I need the words."

"But that would mean…" Damiane didn't have the heart to finish her sentence.

"This fate was promised to me, Grams. Now let me fix it. Let me take her pain away."

Danielle squeezed her twin's shoulder in a comforting way. They both just lost one grandchild and was about to lose another one to save the former. Taking physical pain away was one thing. Trading one's life for the other was never easy, no matter the century a Beauvillier lived in.

It was every generations' choice to use their gift and Jamie had chosen.

The sun was would rise in thirty minutes and they had yet to find Jamie. No one so much as mentioned Jessie in fear for their prince. Ever since the Brothers returned to the mansion, Fhear hadn't spoken a word. He just sat in a chair he was placed in and stayed there well after the others had been checked clear.

Again and again, he could see Jessie's body falling and there was nothing he could do. She had risked so much and had died for nothing. Her dream of calling Caldwell her home would never come true. Everything for the future ended with her last breath.

Fhear barely registered the gentle hand on his shoulder or his mahmen whispering his name. His vision began to fade in and out when Beth got down to her knees to look at her son's face. It was like his senses wanted to cut him off from the world. The blurred version of his mahmen left his line of sight. Assuming he was now alone once more, Fhear's mind continued to replay Jessie's death.

Someone pulled up a chair across from Fhear, the dull sound of them taking a seat barely heard. Whoever it was didn't speak our touch the prince as a sign of comfort. The person just sat there, neither speaking or reaching out. They sat together in silence for so long that Fhear soon forgot someone was in front of him.

The world suddenly spun when the person grabbed Fhear from the back of his head and drew him to their shoulder. Sight and hearing snapping back to attention, Fhear was momentarily stunned until he realized the person who had drawn him into their embrace was his father. Without his seeing dog or anyone by his side, it was just Wrath in the infirmary with his son. Fhear also noticed how his father wasn't wearing his shades, his blind green eyes staring at the wall across from them.

As his father held him close, the numbness in Fhear slowly faded, leaving his broken body to fend for itself. Once every sense was returned to him, the prince felt the tear slide down his face and soak Wrath's shirt. He didn't make a sound as he wept for Jessie, taking hold of his father when his body began to shake.

"I thought she was joking," whispered Wrath. His arm holding his son tightened. "She said she would die if she loved you."

Fhear could see the tarot cards float across his mind. They, who had been The Fool, found one another, thus The Lovers came true. It was just that The Death card was always meant for Jessie and for him to witness. In the end, the cards they drew came true.

"She was going to come back," the prince found himself saying. "Once they were back home, she was going to move to Caldwell. Live in the city. Stay with us. Be a part of our lives."

"Fhear—"

"She wanted to stay by my side. We were going to work it out. Perhaps be friends and leave it like that. She understood my duty and accepted it. She accepted it if it meant she could stay." Fhear reached over and pulled his father's hand back, drawing away from the male. He wiped his eyes even though Wrath could see him. "To find her brother and to get back here once it was over, that's why she went with us. She just wanted to come back."

Wrath closed his eyes and leaned back. The silence had returned between father and son, the distance lengthening with each passing second. Soon Wrath stood and patted his son on his shoulder. "I don't doubt you two could've made it work but it wouldn't have lasted." The king moved his hand and placed it on top of Fhear's head. "The love between you two would've broken your friendship."

In his mind, Fhear couldn't help but agree. He could never see Jessie as a friend no matter what. And if things had gone the way they had imagined, she might've thought the same way.

"She was never meant to be by your side as a friend, Fhear. She was much more than that."

Fhear lifted his head up and found his father looking directly into his eyes as if he could once again see. "Human she was, there's no doubt in my mind she would've found you one way or another. She was your other half as you were hers. Even I could see that."

Finding himself mute again, Fhear could only nod his head in agreement. Wrath felt his son's answer and gave him a nod as well. He then picked up his son back to his feet and told him they would have to find some way to notify Jessie's family. Again, Fhear nodded as a way of volunteering. He knew Jessie's grandmother would believe the news if it came from him.

As the two began to leave the infirmary, one of the stands holding medical equipment vibrated. The steel and tools shook from the source which happened to be a cellphone. More specifically, it was Fhear's phone. The prince vaguely remembered placing device, along with his weapons, on the stand. The guns and hira shurikens were long gone, leaving the phone vibrating with the incoming call.

Reaching for the device, the prince meant to end the call when his thumb froze over the button.

It was Jessie's number.

Staring at the phone as the call went to messages, Fhear broke out of his daze when the same number appeared. Ignoring the door to the room swinging open and the person joining the males, Fhear took the call with every intent of demanding to know if this was some kind of sick joke.

"Did you know Jessie was afraid of dogs?"

Fhear sucked in a sharp breath.

"I take that as a yes," chuckled Jamie.

"How—"

"Her phone was broken. The memory chip survived. So you knew about Jessie's dog issue. Did you know how she came to fearing them?"

The prince jumped when V snapped his finger's next to the prince's ear. Twisting around to the male, he saw some sort of tracking device in Vishous's hand, narrowing the call's location.

"We were four when Grams told us about the rougarou. It was punishment because Jessie broke some dishes out of a temper tantrum. Told our grandmother she wasn't afraid of anything. That all changed when Grams told the story. Who knew the tale of a rougarou that dragged children to the bayou so it could eat them would do the trick. I knew Grams only did this to teach her a lesson. Scarred Jessie for the rest of her life."

The device was close to pinning Jamie's location.

"It was a month later when we all found out about Jessie's fear. One of the neighbor's dogs got loose and into the backyard. That was the only time we ever heard Jessie scream. And I guess you could say that was the very first time I acted like a brother. Saw my sister was in trouble and came to her rescue without a second thought. Then again, it turned out the dog was friendly so there was no real trouble. Either way, she needed me and I was there for her."

Fhear knew where Jamie was when they secured his location. Somehow, Jessie's twin wasn't in the city but was at a nature trail a few miles out. The ping centered in a clearing which happened to be in the middle of the trail.

"Here's another secret. Did you know that Nithard actually brought Notker back from the dead?" There was a pause, Fhear hearing something unzip and shuffling against grass. "La Chanson de Lily says Nithard took his brother's pain seconds before death. The truth is that Notker died. Died in his brother's arms. But even in death, Nithard could still feel Notker's pain, his ability yearning to be used. So he took the pain to be his own, thus taking Notker's place and died. Nithard died and brought Notker back to life. If he could do it, why not me?"

"Jamie—"

"She was always there for me. Now I need to be her brother and save her a second time."

Not second guessing what he was about to do, Fhear knew where he wanted to go and dematerialized. Appearing in the clearing of the phone's location, the prince could see the rays of the rising sun slithering over the trees. A grey pond began to come to life when beams of light traveled over its surface.

There was a pickup truck with a busted side window parked near the pond. As light poured over the clearing, it revealed Jamie sitting against the truck. Soot mixed with his white hair and clothes, obscuring pale skin which was tinged with red. The only part of Jamie that was second instead of first degree burns were his arm. Sleeves burned clean off, red arms scarred with popped blisters and one hand bleeding black from busted knuckles was enough to tell Fhear that Jamie managed to drag his sister out of the factory before it collapsed on them suffering burns just to do so. In the hand not suffering from breaking glass was the phone, continuing its call. By his feet were three tarot cards, their shapes eerily familiar to what was in the desk back at the factory.

Jessie laid in front of her brother.

Dropping the phone and running to her, Fhear collapsed next to her body. The vest had been removed, her bloody shirt and bruised skin visible for all to see. Deep cuts made from glass and shrapnel scarred her face, cuts that might never heal. Her eyes were closed instead of open like last time. Wishing they would open with nothing but life, Fhear felt a wave of disappointment when nothing happened. He looked up Jamie who was staring at the tarot cards.

The Hermit. The Tower. Judgment.

"The first two came true," he said to the prince. He then tilted his head up to the morning sky. "I refuse to let the last card to end like this."

Ahnger, Adam, and Dhusk materialized in the clearing.

"Thank you, Fhear. Thank you for being there for my sister." Jamie reached for Jessie's left hand, flipping it over so the lily could match his on his right hand. "Né comme un seul et ensemble comme deux, vous êtes maintenant libre, sœur mienne."

Born as one and together as two, you are now free, my sister.

Jamie's lily birthmark began to glow. Mixed with silver and blue, the lily's petal spread over his skin before its color and shape began to shrivel. Fhear forced himself to stay put with a silver petal with blue tips emerged out of Jamie's wrist and floated to the ground. Soon an entire lily with the same colors rose out of his skin and fell on the grass, its once beautiful form rotting away.

Looking away from the dead lily, Fhear gasped when Jamie no longer looked or smelled like a lesser. The prince only smelt the linger scent of a lily coming from a man whose physical form had returned to its former self. However, his eyes were now a pale color instead of the usual blueish gray. That's when Fhear noticed the red blood dripping from Jamie's lips and his still chest.

Blood bloomed over Jamie's chest, starting in the form of a lily then turning into a red mess. Bruises and cuts mirroring those of Jessie's appeared on her brother's body, cutting and beating his skin. The last wound sliced his right arm, bringing Fhear's attention to Jamie's limp hand still holding his sister's, the dried-up lily resting over their fingers.

The other males joined their prince right when Jessie gasped for air.

Eyes glowing just like the birthmark on her wrist, Jessie stared up at the morning sky before they fluttered shut. Fhear quickly placed his ear over her moving chest and sighed in relief when he heard a steady heartbeat. Bringing his head up, he caught sight of the lily blooming from her wrist. Silver with blue tips on the petals, the lily twirled reached out for the sun as if its light would give it life. Soon the petal dissolved back into Jessie's skin, this time the birthmark was twice as big with vines wrapped around her wrist like a ring.

Fhear pulled Jessie into his arms while Dhusk checked Jamie. The prince already knew the brother was dead. It happened after he spoke in French and the lily appeared from his wrist. In his death, Jamie had saved his sister by trading away his life for hers. Fhear knew he would always be indebted to the Beauvillier for saving his female. Now he just wanted to take Jessie home.