"Why do you think it didn't work on you?" Garrett asked Jasper as they helped secure the cabin so they could leave.

Lily lifted her gaze to the two men as they talked. That was a question she wanted an answer to as well, but it wasn't one she thought Sebastian would have been able to answer. He hadn't even known his power could weaken bonds.

Jasper shook his head and darted a glance in her direction. "I don't know. The kings will probably have a better idea."

The mention of her mates had her heart twinging again. She wanted to talk to them even to just hear their voices, but she was scared at the same time. Once they were together again, the damage should start repairing itself but until then... For all she knew they hated her. She couldn't think like this. Couldn't focus on this. "Jasper," she called, catching his attention.

"Yes, princess?"

She licked her lips as her nerves built. "Can you take me on ahead? I need to talk to them. And I can call to have the plane meet us in Nashville."

"Of course," he answered with no hesitation. He was by her side in an instant and turned so she could climb on his back.

When her hands trembled and her grip wasn't nearly as tight as it should be, he didn't mention it. And when he traveled through the trees at a much slower pace than he was capable of to make sure she didn't get sick, she didn't say a word.

The moment they could receive a signal on his phone, Jasper lowered her to the ground. He turned on his phone and handed it over. She called the pilot first and instructed him to bring the plane from Chicago to Nashville. She hesitated before making the next call.

"You're going to have to talk to them at some point, darlin'."

"It's not that. Well, it's not entirely that. I'm trying to decide which one to call. Caius will be too emotional. Marcus would be my usual choice but I'm afraid this whole situation will have brought memories of Didyme to the surface."

Jasper said nothing but gave her a look that said he thought she was stalling. She sighed and dialed Aro's number.

He answered after one ring. "Mr. Hale, thank you for returning my call. I'm wondering if you have seen our mate. We intend to honor her wishes whatever they may be. We simply desire to make certain that she is safe and taken care of." His voice was tired, weary.

Tears immediately flowed from her eyes at the sound of his voice and his words. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Aro."

She heard as he sucked in a breath. "Liliana?"

"It's me. Where are the others?"

"They are elsewhere at the moment." There was a pause. "It is perhaps best if I am your contact for the time being. Caius wishes to drag you home and Marcus...well, Marcus has withdrawn into himself again."

More tears ran down her face. "I didn't write that letter, Aro. Whatever it says, it wasn't from me."

"What are you playing at?" His tone was sharp and angry. "I would recognize your handwriting anywhere, Liliana. If you regret your actions, come home and we can discuss it. There is no need to lie."

She was full on sobbing now. "No. Please listen to me, Aro. All of this, none of it is real. It's not us. You don't understand."

Suddenly, she cried out and leaned forward, clutching her chest as she let the phone fall in the dirt. Jasper's arms wrapped around her and led her to a rock where she could sit. He brushed her hair back from her face as she tried to calm herself. He retrieved his phone and pressed the button to put it on speaker.

"Liliana? Please answer me. Are you alright?" Aro shouted. The other two kings could be heard in the background as they tried to figure out what was happening.

She gestured with her hand for Jasper to answer. "She's fine. For now," Jasper said, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him. That hadn't been quite what she'd intended.

"What do you mean for now?" That was Caius. Apparently Aro had placed his phone on speaker as well.

"Calm down. I'm not threatening her. I'm telling you she's sick." Jasper turned his gaze from her as he spoke.

"What's happened?" Marcus. Her sweet Marcus. Hearing their voices helped ease the ache on her bonds somewhat but it also made her sadder.

"This is much better discussed in person. We're heading to Volterra shortly. Alice, Peter, Charlotte and Garrett are traveling with us for her protection."

"Where is Sebastian?"

Lily couldn't help but smile at the annoyance in Marcus' voice. "Dead," she answered. "Torn into little pieces and burned at my order." When her mates remained silent, she continued. "He is responsible for this. All of it from the beginning."

"And you didn't think to return him to us for punishment?" Aro asked.

"I thought about it. Then he pissed me off," she answered. Her stomach churned and the brothers took the opportunity of her silence to shoot questions at her. She didn't process any of them. Heat flared through her and she stumbled away from her seat to puke in the nearby grass.

Her mates fell quiet until Marcus spoke up. "Is that her?"

"Just a moment," Jasper said.

Liliana stayed bent over with her hands on her knees and breathed. When she straightened, she found her brother's worried eyes looking her over. She gave a little nod to let him know that she was okay.

"Yes, that was her," he told her mates. "Can weakened bonds cause physical symptoms?"

"Absolutely," Marcus answered. "What are her symptoms?"

"Vomiting, weakness, dizziness, fatigue. And she can't keep blood down. Animal or human. She hasn't had a meal that remained where it should since before she left Volterra."

There was a crash and Lily could only assume Caius broke something.

"She shouldn't be that ill, Jasper. If one of us had severed the bond, perhaps, but we haven't," her scholar explained.

She hummed in agreement. "Every bond I have has been tampered with, Marcus, not just one. Three true mate bonds, sibling bonds, friendships, family."

"Merda," Marcus spat. "She needs to come home now." (Shit – Italian)

"Already on our way." Jasper hung up without waiting for a response as the others joined them.

"Let's go home," Lily said and stepped forward. The world spun around her and her knees gave way as she collapsed to the ground.

Some version of her name or title came from all of the vampires surrounding her as they rushed to her side. Garrett and Jasper helped her stand. "I'm okay." When they didn't release her she jerked her arms away from them. "I'm fine."

Garrett snorted. "Yeah, you're perfect, Queenie. What do you say we get you home and see if your mates can fix you?"

"That is the general idea, soldier boy." When she swayed on her feet again, Jasper swept her up in his arms and started to run.

***

The plane didn't fly fast enough for any of them and when they landed outside of Volterra, Garrett was the one to pick her up. Thanking the powers that be that it was nighttime, he raced her to the castle. She stopped him short of carrying her into the throne room. "Put me down, Garrett."

"That's not a good idea, Lily Bit. You aren't exactly stable on your feet. And I know you haven't seen yourself lately but you aren't looking too good," he responded.

Irritation flared through her. "Be that as it may, I am the queen and I will enter my domain on my own two feet."

He shook his head and lowered her gently to the ground. "It's your fault if you fall. Remember that if one of your kings tries to take my head."

"I'll try and save your delicate neck, my friend."

He hovered behind her as they approached the doors and the two guards that had been watching the whole exchange with wide eyes. They bowed their heads briefly. "Your majesty."

"I'm here to see my mates, if you don't mind." By the time she finished the sentence, the others had caught up with them and stood in a fan behind her.

The guards, whose names she didn't remember, exchanged a look. "We're sorry, Mistress, but you must be announced."

She arched a brow and stared at the men in front of her. "I can announce myself. I don't need permission to enter my own throne room. Now, open the fucking doors or move aside so they can do it." She gestured to the vampires behind her as she said the last.

After a quick scan of her traveling party, the guards wisely decided to open the doors and give her access. Her legs trembled as she stepped forward, but she'd be damned if she appeared weak in front of her mates. Not now. All of her concentration went toward making sure she stayed upright and didn't vomit. Gods, this was humbling.

The kings stood in front of the thrones deep in conversation with each other. They fell into silence as her presence became known. "Hello," she said, her voice breathy with fatigue. Tears flooded her eyes. She'd missed them so much. Even when she was hurt and angry, she still missed them.

In a flash, Aro was in front of her sweeping her into his arms. He laid his head against hers and just held her. "Cara mia, I have missed you."

"I missed you so much, Aro." Tears ran down her cheeks and soaked his shirt. If he noticed, he didn't comment.

"Liliana?" Marcus' soft voice interrupted the reunion.

Aro released her and stepped aside so she could see her quiet mate. Marcus' hands gripped her upper arms and held her as he looked her over. Worry swam in his eyes. "I can feel nothing from you. Not the illness, your emotions, not even the mating pull."

Lily suddenly felt exhausted. She dropped her head forward to rest on his chest. "I had to block it. All of it. It hurt so bad, Marcus. You don't understand."

He pulled her tightly against his chest and embraced her. "I think I'm beginning to. I believe this will all go faster if Aro reads you. Are you alright with that, dolcezza?"

"Of course." She turned slightly in Marcus' arms and held out her hand.

Aro bypassed it and laid a hand along the side of her face. She removed the block on her memories and let him see everything. Every little hurt she'd hid. The times her heart broke and she cried on her own. And everything she had learned about Sebastian's deception.

When he finished, Aro pulled her into another hug. "Oh, my love. I am so, so sorry. So sorry."

Lily held onto him with the little strength she possessed and wept. Her shoulders shook with her sobs and Marcus came over to stand behind her so she was sandwiched between two of her mates. At the reminder that she had yet to see the third, she mumbled into Aro's chest. "Where's Caius?"

He moved her so she could see her warrior king scowling at them from his throne. When he noticed her gaze on him, he turned away from her.

"Caius?" she called.

He only angled his body more away from her. Gods, that hurt. But she couldn't blame him. She wouldn't want to see her either. She huffed a sigh. "I'm very tired."

"Of course," Aro said and took a step back so there was slightly more space between them. "Jane. Demetri. Take Liliana to my bedroom. Do not leave her."

The two guards appearedat once and Demitri lifted her into his arms. Before she could protest, he wasout the door and racing toward the private floor