Page 268 of Blackwood

Bella looks at her, dazed. Alive.

Sabine nods once, like she sees the flicker behind those eyes and it’s enough.“You still got a long way to go, Bella,” she says, voice low, thick with soul. “But you just took the first step.”

She brushes a thumb over Bella’s knuckles. “That rage you feel burnin’ inside? Don’t run from it. Don’t bury it. Hold it. Let it be your fire.”

She glances toward Knox, then back to Bella. “’Cause he’s not done yet. That boy’s still got work to do.”

Sabine rises slowly, never letting go of Bella’s hand until she has to. “Come now, baby girl,” she whispers, guiding her toward the couch like she’s walking her through the aftershock. “Let’s sit you down. One storm at a time.”

She eases Bella into her spot, tucks her hair behind her ear like a mother might, and steps back without another word.

Chapter 72

LEX

Our Apartment - frozen in fucking place

2 Days Since the Masquerade

She’s breathing. Fucking breathing. And I still can’t move. Not because Rez, Khoza, or even Nate are holding me back—they let go the second she headbutted Laing in the face. No. I’m frozen because I’m scared if I take one step, I’ll shatter whatever the hell this is.

She’s on the couch now, chest rising like she just clawed her way back from the grave. Sabine tucks her hair behind her ear, calm as if she didn’t just watch Bella drag herself out of the dark with blood on her knuckles.

Knox steps in front of her slowly. Drops to a crouch, level with where she’s curled on the couch. “Welcome back, B,” he says gently. “You know what we have to do.”

In an instant, the fire in her eyes dies out. Fear rushes in, sharp enough to cut and real enough to gut me. Her lips part, head tilting like she wants to say something, but the words get trapped somewhere between her chest and throat.

Her gaze finds his. Then mine. Shakes her head once… twice… slow, trembling. A single tear carves down her cheek, and it feels like it burns right through me.

“I don’t want to,” she whispers. Her voice is so small it makes me want to tear the world apart. “Please… don’t make me.”

Knox doesn’t back down. “Bella, it’s time.”

She shakes harder. Her knees start to draw in.

Knox’s voice stays low, but firm. “We have to face it. You know the drill. It’s the only way forward. Just like last time.”

She’s folding into herself. Sabine moves first, quiet and calm. She crosses the room with a soft gray blanket I didn’t even see her grab. She kneels beside Bella like she’s approaching a wounded animal and drapes it over her shoulders. She pulls the ends tighter and rests a hand against Bella’s cheek.

“Even the fiercest spirits gotta be held sometimes, bébé,” she murmurs, voice low and hushed but heavy with that bayou rhythm. “Let it break. Then rise up meaner.”

Bella curls tighter into herself, knees to chest beneath the blanket, hands gripping the fabric like armor. “I can’t,” she chokes out. “Please, Knox. I can’t. I can’t do this.”

“It’s the only way.”

I twitch. My jaw flexes. My breath sharpens. Say the word. Just fucking say the word and I’ll carry her out of here myself.

Knox must sense it because he looks up at me and shakes his head once. Not yet.

He turns back to her. “You have to face it, Bella. We all do.”

She’s slipping. And all I can do is watch.

“Bella,” he says softly, “what happened? Tell me what happened.”

She shakes her head fast. “I can’t. I can’t—” Her voice cracks as the tears finally come.

“Just breathe, Bella.”