Somehow the kings managed to convince their mate's guard to remain behind. They needed a moment with her, just her and them. They needed to repair the damage that had been done. Hopefully, their theories were correct and time spent in her presence would strengthen the bonds. Once their bond had been repaired, they could work on the others. For now their focus was on Liliana's health.

As they reached their floor, they paused at seeing the two guards outside of Aro's room. "I thought I told you not to leave her alone," he snapped.

"And we didn't. We have been here the entire time," Demetri stated.

Marcus frowned. "I rather thought you would be reuniting with her. Surely, you've missed her."

Jane turned to face him. "She left us and chose him over us. Why should we care that she has returned?"

He inwardly cringed, letting nothing show on his face. Jane and Demetri had been among those closest to Lily. For them to respond so coldly to her was unsettling. The sooner they got this mess resolved the better.

They dismissed the guards and entered the room once they left. Frowns settled on all of their faces when they didn't immediately see their mate.

It was Caius who found her on the side of the room where the bed blocked their view from the door. She sat on the floor, leaning against the wall staring straight ahead. Tear tracks were visible on her face though she was no longer crying.

Caius knelt on the floor in front of her and pushed the hair away from her face. "Lily?" His voice was soft, almost a whisper but there was no response from his queen.

He took her hands in his and ran his thumbs across her knuckles. "Little one, cuore mio, please look at me."

Still there was not a twitch of movement from her. Those blank eyes stared straight ahead not focusing on anything. Caius glanced over his shoulder to his brothers. He didn't speak a word, the fear on his face saying everything that needed to be said.

"Put her on the bed," Marcus instructed.

The blond scooped her up and carefully laid her on the bed. She was completely unresponsive. It was like moving a dead body. He swallowed past the lump in his throat. Seeing her like this terrified him.

Marcus moved to her side and grasped her hand. He patted the back of it. "Come on, my love. Come back to us." When that elicited no response, he moved to her cheek. Still nothing. His shoulders slumped and he bowed his head. After a moment, he looked to Aro. "Call Carlisle and get the Hale boy in here."

***

Japer hadn't been able to get anymore of a response from Liliana than the kings. And the only thing Carlisle could offer on her condition was that she needed blood. He'd talked them through running a tube down her throat. They'd fed her blood until her color started to return. That had been hours ago and she still hadn't so much as flinched.

For the moment, Marcus was alone with their mate. His brothers had gone to settle some business so they could take all the time they needed to be with her. He leaned forward in his chair with his elbows resting on his knees and his hands clasped in front of his mouth. "Oh, my love. Why couldn't we just have our happiness?"

He sighed and leaned back as he raked a hand through his hair. His gaze moved from her to the small portrait Aro kept of his sister hanging on the wall. "There was a time when Didyme died that I thought I might follow along with her. She had become my whole world, you see. Everything I was, everything I did, revolved around her. And then the Romanians..." He trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence even after all this time.

"The severing of that bond was brutal. For me and for Aro. Even Caius suffered as they had been very close. Almost like siblings. But I was the one that didn't eat. Days faded into weeks until I was very much like you." He huffed a laugh. "Except I drank. A lot. Aro slipping blood into my alcohol stores was the only thing that kept me alive. Without it I would have faded away, I think."

He took her hand in his and played with her fingers. "And the real tragedy of that would be that I never would have met you, the true love of my life. Don't get me wrong, dolcezza, I loved Didyme deeply. But I love you with a depth I hadn't known existed. You were made for me, Liliana. For all of us. If I lose you, I will not survive this time. I'm certain of it."

"I'm not sure any of us would survive it, brother," Aro said from the doorway.

Marcus glanced to him in surprise not having heard him come in.

"I'm done with my tasks. If you would like to see to yours, I'll stay with her."

Marcus nodded and got to his feet. He laid a swift, sweet kiss on Lily's forehead. "Come back to us, my love."

He placed a hand on Aro's shoulder as he passed by on his way out the door.

Rather than taking his brother's seat, Aro sat beside Liliana on the bed and grasped her hand in his. He flinched at the thread of pain he picked up from her. He turned her palm up and traced the lines that ran across it with the tip of his finger. He supposed if his brother was making confessions, he should as well. Maybe it would help her return to them.

"I had never been in love before I met you," he said. "Not to say I didn't know what love was. Of course, I did. I'm a very old vampire after all. But even when I married Sulpicia, we were simply companions for one another. It was an arrangement that we both knew would come to an end one day."

He paused and searched for any sign that she heard his words. There was nothing, but he'd already begun so he might as well finish. "I gave up hope many years ago of ever finding a mate. Then this beautiful, amazing woman twirled her way into my life. I was taken with you the first moment I saw you. And then you showed us your enormous capacity for love and I was lost. Every day you astound me. You are so much more than I ever hoped for, so much more than any of us deserve."

Aro dropped his head forward as he silently pleaded with the universe to be kind. Just this once. The room was silent as tears ran down his face to drip onto their hands where they connected. "Please. Don't leave me here." His voice was barely a whisper in the air. "I need you."

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that until Caius entered the room. "Any change?"

The raven-haired vampire couldn't even bring himself to look at his brother, not wanting to disappoint him. He shook his head. "Nothing."

Aro got to his feet. He needed a moment away from her to collect himself. "I'll leave you," he stated and left the room without once meeting Caius' gaze.

Caius kept his eyes locked on Lily. The ache that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in his chest worsened and he rubbed at it with the heel of his hand. It wouldn't help. Nothing helped. He'd been trying to get rid of it from the moment they discovered that she'd left.

He picked her up gently from the bed and carried her over to the sofa. He sat and settled her so she sat sideways in his lap. Her head laid against his chest and he ran fingers through her hair to push it away from her face. She didn't respond to any of it.

He brought his head to rest against hers and rocked the two of them slowly. Words flowed from him in every language she knew. Terms of endearment and pleas for her to wake up. Pleas for her to come back to them. To him.

"I love you, little one. And I get that you needed time. That everything seemed against you, but it's time to return to me. We'll figure this out together, but we can't do that if you don't return to yourself."

That was the position Aro and Marcus found them in when they returned together half an hour later. They let him hold her awhile longer then took her and placed her back on the bed. The three of them sat in silence watching the still figure of their mate at a complete loss as to how to help her.

A day passed. Then another. And still they stayed, leaving only to freshen up and feed. They gave her more blood when her color started to fade, but she did nothing but stare.

"We should change her clothes. Put her in something more comfortable," Marcus suggested.

Aro nodded once. "We'll have to get something from her rooms. I couldn't bear to have any of her things here. It hurt too much to see them when we didn't know if she'd be returning. Everything's in her rooms."

Marcus huffed a laugh. "I did the same thing."

They both turned to Caius. "I destroyed them. She'll be cross over it, I'm sure."

The brothers shared their first smile in days. They were weak and fleeting, but they were smiles just the same.

"The Cullens will be making their way here. Carlisle is concerned that she hasn't woken yet. He confessed he thought the blood and time with us would repair the damage," Aro said.

The other two nodded not really having an opinion one way or the other. Marcus leaned back in his seat with his arms behind his head. He'd been using his gift almost constantly as a way to keep an eye on their queen. It was draining.

Suddenly, all of Liliana's bonds began to fade to gray. He jumped to his feet and grabbed her hand. "She is dying."