He nodded.

“So you know how much it hurts. If your daddy fell and scraped his knee you would be able to understand how he was feeling and let him know that though it hurt right then, it would get better because yours got better.”

“So my mommy is going to help other people fight darkness because she will fight it and be okay?”

The angel nodded. “Yes, little one, she will fight it and she will be okay. But like a scraped knee is painful for a time, it will be painful for your daddy and you while she is gone. But I want you to hear me now. I am always here. All you have to do is say my name, and I will hear you. You will not endure this alone, Titus. You are loved. You are precious.”

“What if I’m scared?” Titus was trying to be brave.

“It’s okay to be scared. You can tell your daddy, or you can tell me. And there are others you will get to know who will become very special people to you and you can even tell them.” The angel pulled him closer in a tight hug. “I am so very glad to know you, Titus and I love you so very much.”

Titus could feel her love. It was like drinking hot chocolate, it warmed him up everywhere inside of him. “Sleep well, little one,” the angel told him and then the garden slipped away and he fell into a deep sleep.

"Will she have any memories of her old life?" Skender asked the man who was standing over Sally's sleeping form.

"No. I'm giving her a completely new life. There will be nothing left that could trigger any past memories."

"So she's just going to think she's someone else?"

"Her name will remain the same because the name is attached to the soul. Changing it would alert her on a subconscious level that something was wrong. But everything else—all of her childhood memories, who her parents were, how they died— will be fabricated. I am literally giving her a new life, one in which she is unaware of the supernatural world. Nor will she have any idea what she herself is."

"How long do we wait until introducing her back into it? Skender asked.

"A month or two. Let her live in her new life for a little while. Let it settle into her. Then we can begin to woo the healer to our cause, slowly, of course."

"And if her mate somehow finds her? What then?"

"He won’t. But if he does, we will deal with him." The man stood and stepped away. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Skender. "That's her address. Take her to her home. Put her in her bed. And when she wakes up, Sally's new life begins."

Lilly's hands shook as she picked up the phone and dialed Cypher’s cell. The dream, the vision, whatever it had been, was fading fast and she needed to tell her mate what she'd seen.

"Lilly," his voice came through the phone.

"Is she alive?" she asked without preamble.

"Peri and Rachel are doing their best," he said quietly.

Lilly took deep breaths through her nose, trying to keep herself under control. "I had a vision. I don’t know what it means."

"Tell me."

"I saw each race of supernaturals. I saw fire burning everything. I saw Sally lying with her eyes open, blood, and across her chest was a claw mark."

"Did you recognize anyone else?" he asked her, his voice was tight with anger.

"No. Do you know what it means?"

"I'm not entirely sure but I have an idea. I'll need to discuss it with Peri and Vasile. If I'm right, things are going to get complicated."

"And if you're wrong?"

"Pray that I am, Little One. I'll see if one of the fae can come get you so you can be here with Jacque. And I imagine you want to meet your grandson."

A tear trailed down Lilly's cheek. She'd seen her grandson in a vision. She'd seen other things in that same vision, but she would not think of those things. Just because she'd seen it, didn't mean it would necessarily happen.

"Yes, I would very much like to be near my daughter and meet my grandson."

Peri stood with her feet in the water where Jacque and Fane lay. Rachel had been infusing the water with healing herbs. She also thought that if they needed it, the water would be a good conduit to help the flow of their magic. As soon as Peri had flashed them into the garden, the five fae stones had appeared at her feet. She didn’t question it; she simply took the stones and spread them out in the water, and began pulling on their power to enhance her own.

Peri had a hand on each of her patient’s chests and she was pulsing electric shocks of power into them to keep their hearts moving. The power that she was drawing on was more than just her fae powers; it was her own immortality, the well of endless life that she’d been blessed with. It was not something she’d ever done before, and didn’t know exactly how she was doing it. She’d just simply decided that these two weren’t going to die and she was going to do whatever it took to keep them here with their new child. If it sucked her dry and left her with nothing, she would gladly make that sacrifice.

Rachel had explained that Jacque needed blood. She’d lost too much and her body couldn’t make red blood cells fast enough to replenish what she’d lost, despite being half werewolf. So the race was on to find some blood, and a method in which to get it into her body. They still had some of Cynthia’s medical things and Peri had requested Gavril make himself useful and search Cynthia’s old lab. Rachel had used her cell phone, which she only owned because three American girls had said it was high time for Rachel to step into the 21st century. Those were their words. Rachel had used the cell phone to find pictures of the things Gavril should be looking for.

Then they’d recruited Wadim to get the blood. First order of business, Rachel had said, was to see if anyone in the pack had type O blood. Type O, apparently, could be given to anybody. Peri had immediately decided that the reason they called it type O was because if they needed that type of blood it must be because they were in an “O-shit” emergency, which of course they were.

So there she was, holding on to two people who she cared for deeply and who would be missed beyond measure if she and Rachel were unable to save them. No pressure.

Peri felt a sudden rush of power and then reassuring love flow through the mate bond. Her wolf, ever mindful of her and her needs.