This is it, guys! My last but one chapter! And my last cliffie, by the way:P .I don't know how exactly did this turn to be an angsty chapter, it just did. I know some of you won't like the ending, but I came to the conclusion that this is the only way to do it. And I will make up for it in the last chapter, I promise!:D

As usually, thank you for your great reviews!

"I am sorry, but this test is designed in such way that it requires both of you to work on it. In the most difficult way possible." Stella said.

"What does the inscription mean, Stella?" Helen asked. "You can tell me, I won't give him the blood. I plan to destroy it, but I need to get it first."

"I won't tell you, Helen. As I said, I like you. And I am terribly sorry that I designed this test, now that I know you. But you are the only one who can pass it. I am afraid you are not prepared though."

"We got the four fragments." Nikola said.

"One thing about Mythology is that it repeats itself. One way or another. So it is written in the book of destiny. Taking those fragments wasn't enough."

"Not that I wouldn't like the idea of kissing Helen again…But we need to forget about the test now. "

"We can't Nikola."

"Have you finished?" Odji asked angry. He pushed the trigger, firing a bullet two inches away from Stella's head. "I am not in the mood for jokes."

"Alright, alright." Helen said. "Let me think. The heart of everything…This has to be somehow related to love, all her tests were. We obviously need to find out what this means. It's probably a riddle, like Sekhmet's. Is this the answer, Stella? Love?"

"No. Not exactly."

"Maybe it has something to do with Egyptian Mythology." Nikola suggested. "The heart of everything…The most important god was Ra. And as I recall, you knew his secret name. Is this what we are supposed to find out?"

"Helen was closer."

"Alright. We need to kiss again?" Nikola asked with a spark of glee in his eyes. "I like the way you think, Stella."

"I am afraid a kiss won't be enough this time, Nikola."

"Do you or do you not know how to take the blood?" Odji asked.

"We don't." Helen admitted.

"Well then…I guess I don't need you anymore." Saying this, Odji pointed his gun at Helen and fired. She felt something pushing her and she fell on the floor. Strangely, she didn't feel any pain. The bullet had missed her. In a split of a second, she pointed her gun at Odji and fired. A single shot. A single shot and everybody was safe. Everybody, except Nikola. He had fallen on the table, blood dripping from his chest. He had taken the bullet for Helen and now he was paying with his life. Reality hit Helen in the head like a club. She ran to him, refusing to accept that his wound was one that would kill him in less than three minutes and took his hand into hers.

"I always dreamed of dying like that…" Nikola said with a sad smile. "Holding your hand…"

"Don't be silly, Nikola. You won't die." She lied, tears dropping from her eyes.

"Helen, I can recognize a fatal wound when I see it. I won't make it. But dying in your arms is the most pleasant way to do it."

"Don't you dare do this, Nikola! Don't you die on me! Did you hear me? You have to live, Nikola. You have to." She said, her hands dipped in the crimson liquid that was flowing from his wound. But he didn't listen. He never listened to her and this time was no exception. He closed his eyes, the image of Helen crying being the last he saw.

"Magnus, I am sorry, but he is…" said Will.

"Don't you say this, Dr. Zimmerman! He is not gone!" she yelled. "You can't be gone, Nikola. You can't be gone, because…" Her voice was nothing more than a whisper when she continued. "…because I love you." She could almost feel her heart shattering into one million pieces. How come she had been so stubborn, denying the obvious? Nikola was everything to her, she now realized it, but she knew that it was too late. He wasn't going to live to hear the one thing he had wanted to know for so much time. She loved him. Over the years, she had lost so many-her mother, Nigel, James, Ashley-but nothing could compare to the pain she felt losing Nikola. How could she be so cold to him? Stella had been right all along. She loved Nikola, but she had been too stubborn to admit it. She rested her head on his chest, tears dropping from her eyes. He was gone. Forever.

And then, suddenly, something happened. The table moved away, revealing a small niche in the ground. Shocked, Helen took the vial containing Osiris's blood from it and threw Stella a questioning look.

"The heart of everything, Helen…" Stella explained, "…is sacrifice. Sacrifice made out of love. Take the blood, Helen. You deserve it."

"What good is it now? Nikola is dead."

"Not yet. Use the blood, Helen. It is his only hope."

Completely ignoring the fact that it was probably the most dangerous thing she had ever done, she took a syringe and dipped it in the vial. After that, she injected the red liquid in Nikola's vein. As dangerous as it was, injecting blood from another species, it was a thing that could have saved him. And this was everything that mattered. But nothing happened.

"It's not working, Stella. We are too late."

"The blood needs to mix with Nikola's. It takes time. But he is not dead. I promise."

"What will you do now, Stella?" Kate asked. "I mean, there is no blood left for you to protect."

"I will die, of course."

"You don't need too." Helen said. "You can come to my Sanctuary."

"No, Helen. It's how it's supposed to be. I've been separated from my love for too long. And I am dying, Helen. That blood doesn't work forever. Of course, I could have injected it to myself again, but I don't want to live anymore. Fire and ice. Forever united. Either in death or in life. I have enough time left to make sure I don't have any unfinished business, and then…I'll go. Death is not the end, Helen. It is the beginning of a wonderful journey. Osiris awaits me. Just promise me you'll do what is right with Nikola, alright?"

"I promise." Helen whispered, her head still resting on Nikola's chest. Soon after, she felt his heartbeats and knew he was going to live. She had succeeded. But she didn't know what effect the blood will have on him.

"What will he become, Stella?" she asked in a small voice.

"If he survives…the future. But it's a pretty big if, Helen. He needs you to be beside him."

Helen nodded briefly, her eyes locked on Nikola's unconscious body. He had always been there for her, and now she had the chance of paying this debt. She was going to stay beside him for as long as it was necessary. Not because she wanted to pay a debt. Because she loved him.