The Poisonous Rose

Chapter Fifteen

Forsythia threw her cloak over herself and went outside. That was where the sound had come from. She looked around until she saw out of the corner of her eye, something white in an ocean of black roses. It was Lyra. She was stuck in the bush, her eyes looking alarmed. Even though she'd attacked Forsythia the day before, Forsythia wouldn't let Lyra die because of the poison Lucas had warned her so many times about.

She leaned over the bush and tentatively stuck her hands in. Just as she grabbed ahold of the bird, she felt a thorn prick her. The pain she felt was indescribable. The pain was so terrible that she could hardly feel anything. She looked down at her finger, which was stained red with blood. She could see the black poison on her finger.

There was a cackle from behind. Forsythia knew it well enough to know that it was the Dark Witch. She was too numb to turn around.

"We shall see how much Lucas truly does care for you," she said, laughing. "My dove did a wonderful job tricking you."

The last thing Forsythia saw was a drop of her blood hitting the snow. She fell down as if she were the drop of blood staining the ground. She didn't feel anything. There was no pain. There was no anything. There was just stillness.

~~~

Lucas rushed to Forsythia's side and felt for a pulse. He let out a breath of relief. She still had a faint pulse. He lifted her into his arms and ran into his room, setting her on the bed. He grabbed his cloak and threw it over his shoulders, running out of the castle and into the woods.

He would find Orla. He would demand that she fix Forsythia. He would find a way to cure her if it was the last thing he did. He thought of her lying in the snow. Her black hair which she had been wearing down had been spread out around her. Her left arm was thrown across her stomach, her right arm opened wide on the snow.

He clenched his fists as he ran. He didn't even know where he was going. He just knew he had to find Orla. He would do it. He would cure Forsythia no matter what.

"Dark Witch!" He shouted, standing in the middle of a clearing. "Show yourself!" There was no answer. He knew Orla could hear him. She always seemed to be watching. He had never tried summoning her before. He didn't know what he had to do.

He kept shouting for her. There was nothing else he could do. Finally he began to despair as the sun started to set. He fell to his knees and felt tears come to his eyes. Tears. Actual tears. He hadn't cried, not since the alpha's death. He'd promised himself that he never would. Only, there was a perfect reason for him to cry. He cared for Forsythia deeply. He knew that now. But it was too late. If he couldn't find the Dark Witch, Forsythia would be gone forever. If only he'd been with her, he could have warned her against touching the rose. He'd been so cruel to her for so long. He hoped if there was no way to save her that she'd died not hating him. He knew he deserved it, but he couldn't bear the thought that she had.

He thought of the way she'd smiled at him the day before. It made a tear escape his eye. He hadn't smiled back at her. He'd never smiled at her. He'd never truly told her how he felt. He'd never told her his whole story. There were so many things he hadn't done with her. He wanted to do them so badly. If only he could go back and redo it all. He would do things so much differently.

Finally he gave up. He didn't know where to find Orla. He didn't know if he ever would find her. So he went back to the castle and sat next to his bed, holding Forsythia's cold, soft hand in his. Her pulse seemed to have slowed down. He despaired.

She wasn't dead yet, and he wanted a chance to tell her everything. He took a deep breath. "I know that it's too late," he said in a hoarse voice. "I know I should have told you this when you could still listen. But I need to tell you now, before I never can. I'm going to tell you my whole story. I don't want you to have to hear a grim story when you're so close to death, so I'm going to make it sound like a fairy tale."