When he was free of the armor, Victoria raised the hem of his shirt. Her horrified gaze lifted to him. “Oh, Aden. I’m so sorry.”

“What is it?” He looked down, not knowing what to expect—and that’s when he saw them. Three gashes on his right side. Deep, red and raw.

Eyes wide, she covered her mouth with her hands. “Dmitri must have had the liquid on his nails when he slashed you.”

“What does that mean for me, a human?”

She gulped. “Aden, you’re going to scar.”

That was all? He grinned. “That doesn’t upset me, I swear. I have plenty of…scars.” The last emerged as a whisper. Understanding had dawned. Three scars on his right side. Just like in the vision Elijah had given him of his own death.

“Oh, Aden!” She threw her arms around him and held tight. He couldn’t see her face, it was buried in his neck, but he knew she was crying, the warm droplets landing on his shoulder.

His death was that much closer.

“How much time do we have left?” he asked.

I wish I knew, Elijah said.

A year, perhaps? Maybe months. It would be soon, though. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

“It’ll be okay,” he told Victoria, and he wished he believed it. For the moment, though, he would do whatever was necessary to make it true. “We have plenty to do before I die. We have a fairy to kick out of the ranch. Maybe Shannon can help with that. We have a witches meeting to attend—” because there was no way he would allow his friends to die for missing it “—a town to save from flesh-hungry creatures, and souls to free.”

His vampire princess smiled slowly. “You’re right. This will be okay. I wouldn’t have believed it before today, but now I see that anything is possible.”

They stood as Mary Ann and Riley joined them, Tucker propped up by one of Riley’s muscular arms.

“Thank you, thank you, hurt so much, thank you,” Tucker babbled. “Hurt, hurt, thank you.”

“Just make sure you take advantage of this second chance at life,” Mary Ann said as Riley wrapped his free arm around her waist. “It’s time to clean up your act. You’re going to be a father.”

Only time would tell if he would take the advice or not, Aden mused. Only time would reveal what happened to all of them. And only time would tell how Aden’s life would change now that he was supposedly in charge of the entire vampire society. Not that he had any plans to rule.

His gaze roved over his friends and he nodded in sudden satisfaction. In awe.

He had begun this journey in a cemetery, alone except for the voices in his head, and now he was beginning the next with friends at his side. A guy couldn’t ask for more than that.