"He's not breathing!" Leah screamed, tears already rolling down her pale cheeks. She sounded distant to my numb ears, because when I pulled myself off the floor, I wasn't listening to her.

I was watching Michael. He had the necklace that Josh had dropped in his hand, and his eyes were glazing over as he stared at it intently. It took me a minute to realise that they were no longer the colour of freshly cut grass, but rather the colour of a dark abyss that matched his jet black hair. They absorbed the small ray of light in front of him like a black hole that consumed everything around it.

"Michael," I whispered, gaining the attention of Leah and Luke. "Put the necklace down."

Leah stood up, her chest heaving up and down.

"Why?" Michael questioned, tilting his head to the side though his eyes were still fixed on the black stone.

"Michael, look at me," Leah said gently, trying to pull him away from the necklace. She tried to force his gaze towards her, but he shoved her backwards violently. Luke caught her with wide eyes.

I wanted to pull the necklace away from him, but I could no longer feel the tingling sensation of the power surging through my veins. I had used too much energy on Josh, and now I could barely lift a finger to stop the boy in front of me.

Michael's eyebrows were raised at the thought of me being a threat anyway, noticing my attempt at lifting my arms, and before I could stop him, a flash of blue lit up the room. Electricity shot through every fibre of my body as I flew backwards, screaming in pain.

When it eased off, I forced my eyes open. I could barely see at first. Everything was too bright and distorted, and white spots burned the inside of my lids when I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Lilah?"

I recognised Grace's voice as she pulled me into a sitting position carefully. I blinked a few more times until I could see her concerned face clearly. There was a metallic taste in my mouth, and I wondered whether it was from Michael's power or biting my tongue so hard that I had drawn blood.

"Michael, please," Leah was crying, her only support coming from Luke's strong grip around her waist.

"Michael, give me that necklace," another voice croaked. I searched for its voice and found that it was coming from Calum. I had forgotten that he had been lay unconscious since the coven had stumbled their way into the basement. His face wasn't menacing or confident anymore; it was the way I remembered it when I had thought that we were friends. It was soft, relaxed, but it was evident that he was forcing the expression. He took a step towards Michael, who seemed a lot taller than I had ever known him to be.

Michael chuckled, the sound seeming foreign as it rumbled in his chest. "Why? So you can have it?"

"No." Calum shook his head, frowning. "So we can get rid of it before you do something that you really don't want to do."

"Oh, believe me; I've wanted to do this for a long time." Michael shoved the necklace into his jeans pocket in one swift motion before extending his arms out in front of him, his muscles shaking with tension.

Calum didn't tear through the wall the way I expected him to. He didn't scream, or even whimper. He simply fell to the ground in a heap. Just by looking at him I could tell that he wasn't just unconscious.

When I looked back to Michael, he was gone; the Converse logo on the back of his shoes being the last thing that I saw as he disappeared up the stairs and into the shadows of the forest.

I watched as Leah fell to the ground in shock. I wondered if I would look just like her in a matter of minutes, with empty eyes and trembling knees, when I pushed my way through the group and found Ashton covered in blood.

I didn't wait to find out.

I pulled myself out of Grace's arms, ignoring the jolt of pain that shot through my bones.

"Lilah," my mother said hoarsely as I knelt beside her and finally took in Ashton's state. "It's not looking good."

He was colourless, his skin transparent and tight over his pained expression. The forest in his eyes was gone, replaced by grey skies and lingering morning fog.

"Heal him," I whispered monotonously, refusing to look at the red liquid that was slowly pooling beside his motionless body. "You're a healer, mum. Heal him."

"I'm trying my best," she replied, putting both of her hands over his wound and squeezing her eyes shut. "I got him to breathe again, but I can't heal his wound, and he's losing too much blood. Josh must have put some sort of spell on him to prevent me from healing him."

"Try harder," I ordered through gritted teeth. I was helpless. The only thing that I could do was lace my fingers through his and brush his damp hair away from his face gently.

I thought I heard him murmur my name, but I assumed that it was my own wishful thinking. He was still conscious, but his eyes fluttered shut every few seconds. I wanted to shout at him. He promised me that he would never hurt me again, yet here he was, tearing my heart apart with every painful, despairing heartbeat that he took.

After a few more seconds, his eyes stopped opening all together. He looked peaceful, like he did the time that we spent the night together beside the lake, with his eyelashes casting crescent moons on his cheekbones, and his lips pursed into a thin line, only this time, his eyes weren't going to open in the morning, and his lips were slowly turning blue.

"Mum, do something!" I screamed, but her grey eyes told me that she had already been defeated.

"Lilah, I can't." She shook her head, her bloody hand trying to reach for me. "Darling, he's gone."

"No." I let out a strangled sob and squeezed my eyes shut, laying my hands where my mother's had just been. "No. I can bring him back."

"No, Lilah."

They were trying to pull me away from him, but I clutched onto his limp body desperately.

"You've used too much power."

"It's too late."

"He's not coming back."

I blocked them out, trying my best to find any power I could. I knew that there was still some there; there had to be! I had drawn it from an entire forest. It couldn't all be gone.

And then all of a sudden, I could feel my veins prickling. It was nothing, just an annoying itch, but it was more than I had hoped for. It was there, in the tips of my trembling fingers, right where I needed it to be.

I forced it out of me as much as I could, my breath coming out in ragged gasps as I used it all up. As soon as I released it, I knew that that was my last shred of magic.

It was enough.

Ashton panted as he sat up hastily, his arms immediately finding me and pulling me into him.

"Oh my god," I cried, his beating heart echoing in my ears. "You're alive."

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

I couldn't help but laugh as he tilted my chin upwards so that I was forced to meet his gaze, thankful when I found my familiar forest. "You just died, you idiot," I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

"Right." His eyes roamed the basement, shocked to find everyone looking at us with relieved expressions. "Sorry about that."

"Please don't leave me again." I buried myself further into Ashton's chest, ignoring the coppery scent of blood as I did so and focusing on the trace of cinnamon that was disguised under it. "You scared me to death."

The feel of his muscles relaxing under me was the only reassurance I needed. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

I allowed myself to block out everything that had just happened and focus on the way his chest rose and fell, the way his cheeks flushed pink under everyone's scrutiny, the way he smelled of cinnamon and pine. I focused on the way his skin burned against mine, the way I felt a little less insignificant in an infinite universe when I was with him.

I focused on the way that he was alive, and so was I, and that was all I needed to feel like I was floating rather than drowning in the waves that had tried to engulf me so many times. I could exist without him, but I didn't want to.

I didn't want to survive against the tide anymore; I wanted to dive into the deepest depths of the ocean.

AN: WUT

GUYS THIS IS THE PENULTIMATE CHAPTER SO I HOPE IT WASN'T TOO SHABBY

I JST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO ANYONE WHO HAS EVER READ THIS BOOK I CAN'T EXPRESS HOW GRATEFUL I AM TO HAVE READERS WHO VOTE AND COMMENT ON MY WORK YOU'RE GR8

I LOWVE YOU ALL OKAY BYE