Chapter 523

Natalia's POV

A warm cloth was pressed to my forehead, and a familiar voice was quietly humming above me. I felt Grace's hands gently moving, massaging my arms and legs.

When I opened my eyes, I saw her leaning over me with a serene smile on her face. I was in my bed back in Ashmoor, and the sun was shining through my window.

"Ah. You're awake." She didn't stop working.

“What... happened?" My voice came out hoarse.

"Damon brought you back here last night. You were barely conscious. We tried to figure out what was wrong with you, but..." She trailed off, biting her lip. "There were no external injuries besides the rope burns and a few small cuts. No signs of poison in your blood. But your entire body was paralyzed. We had to use a feeding tube just to get fluids into you."

A feeding tube. I'd been that bad?

"It wasn't poison," I said with some effort. "It was a ruby. Two rubies, actually. I think the smaller one was cut from the bigger one."

Grace's eyes widened, and she momentarily stopped kneading my muscles. "Rubies? You mean like the ones from the mountain?"

"What else would I be referring to?" I flexed my fingers. They moved, but slowly. Like my tendons were made of taffy. "I guess these ones were imbued with some kind of paralyzing power. I don't fucking know."

Grace stared at me. Suddenly, Damon entered the room, looking exhausted. His face fell when he saw me.

"You're awake." He quickly crossed the room and sat on the edge of my bed, ignoring Grace's efforts to get him to leave. "Natalia, I know you're exhausted, but we have to find out what happened."

I nodded, shooting Grace a reassuring look. She helped prop me up on some pillows so I could look at them more easily.

Then, I told them everything. I told them about my car going off the road, about Isaac showing up at just the right moment, at the rain forcing us to share his cabin. I told them about the ruby in the case and the claims he'd made and his strange mutterings about demons, just like the Winter King.

"Isaac." Grace's face darkened when I was finished. "I knew there was something off about him."

Damon stood. "We've already sent out search parties. Half the pack is combing the forests between here and Moonshadow."

"Anything yet?" I asked, although I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

"Not yet. But we're not giving up."

I bit my lip a bit too hard, still getting used to having full control of my muscles again.

I winced when I felt it draw blood. "I take it he left no trail."

"None. It's like he vanished into thin air."

I closed my eyes. Of course he didn't leave a trail. Whatever was controlling him knew how to cover its tracks.

"Isaac mentioned a ritual," I said,

opening my eyes again. "He needed to kill me and offer my blood to the demons. To prove he To prove he was worthy. looked at Damon. "What if Andrei's having the same psychosis? Something to do with the fumes in the mountain, maybe?"

Damon's jaw fightened. “It's

possible. I sent some scouts in the

direction of the Thornwood and the

not

mountain. I also sent a letter to Ellen she's stiliving out there Hopefully, she'll spor him the goes that way."

"There's no time to wait for letters. We need to find him. Now." I tried to swing my legs out of bed, but they still wouldn't obey, and I wound up barely getting one leg off the bea before I promptly slammed my achilles tendon against the

bedframe and winced.

"Dammit." I looked at Grace. "How long until this wears off?"

"Could be days. Maybe a week." Grace put her hand on my shoulder. "You need to rest, Natalia. Let us handle this."

"I can't just lie here while Andrei's out there doing Goddess knows what—"

"You can barely move." Damon's voice was firm. "You're no good to him like this.

We'll find him. I promise."