Forged in Fire (Forgotten Series, #2)

Chapter Twenty-Five

I felt numb as I stood holding onto the bedside table Luka had shoved me into. My mouth felt dry and Gamgam cupped my face. She was speaking, I could see her mouth moving but I couldn't hear the words she was saying over the high-pitched whine in my ears.

"Lily?" I could barely hear my own voice. I had seen Luka beside her bed and he looked devastated and then he started yelling at me. I didn't know what was going on. Gamgam pried my hand off of the bedside table and pulled me from the room. The whine ended abruptly and I blinked rapidly as she pulled me towards the stairs.

"Don't listen to him, Shey. Don't you dare!" Her voice was vicious and was threaded with a rather menacing growl. "This was not your fault!"

"What's wrong with Lily?" I felt lost. Luka had basically told me to leave the territory and I didn't even know why. My heart twisted and clenched in my chest. I had started to trust him with the broken pieces and he had done like so many others had.

"She passed away, Shey." Gamgam said it softly but the impact of words slammed into me and I blinked rapidly.

"What?" She couldn't have been gone. She had been fine, she had said she had fun. She couldn't remember why but she said she had fun. I had let her have fun. She had been fine.

"She's gone. You need to phone some people for me, okay? I have to wait with Doc and May." She grasped my shoulders and I shook my head.

"She was fine, Gamgam." I looked at her, looking for answers as I floundered in confusion. "We came back and she was fine. She went to bed fine." My eyes darted back and forth as I tried to comprehend what had happened.

"I know. I know, puiu meu de lup, but these things happen. It was her time." She hugged me tightly for a moment before letting me go. "I need you to make those phone calls, Shey. You need to call Jace and Azrael. They need to be here. Luka needs all the people we can gather." I gave a slow nod. I felt a bit shell shocked from everything that was bombarding me. Gamgam gently pushed me towards the stairs.

"But Luka told me to l-leave." I choked on the word and Gamgam's face twisted with a dark rage.

"When that whelp gets back I am going to have another little chat with him and he will be lucky if he will be able to speak after I tear out his fucking throat!" She whirled around and slammed Lily's door. I stared at the door before slowly turning and climbing up the stairs. I wasn't sure what I was feeling but it was heavy and oppressive. The stairs felt almost like a mountain as I climbed them, the heaviness settling over my entire body as I reached the second floor and headed to the office.

The hallway was dark, just as the office was when I finally reached it. I slipped inside, Luka's scent slid over me, it was a permanent addition to the room. I shuddered under it, it clenched my heart in my chest. Broken shards rubbing together in my chest painfully. I moved over to the desk and picked up the phone, my hands shook as I looked at the handset. I reached out and grabbed the small phone book Luka kept on the desk.

I pressed the phone to my head, the dial tone ringing in my ear as I flipped through the book. Jace or Azrael were the names I were looking for. I found Azrael's name rather quickly and I dialled the number. It rang loudly in my ear. I stared at the desk, the shock still flooding my system. Lily was gone. I didn't want to think about it.

"This better be fucking good, Luka. It's four in the goddamn morning." The voice was cold and rumbling and thick with tiredness. I jolted at it. I hadn't been aware of how long the phone had been ringing for. I opened my mouth but my voice escaped me and tears pricked my eyes. "I swear to do I will drive the eight hours to kick your fucking ass if you don't spit it out!" There was an edge of menace to his voice and I swallowed against the lump in my throat.