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How badly hurt was she? She had seconds—minutes at most—to do…something.
If she didn’t die from her wound and stayed here much longer, the smoke would eventually kill her. She limped toward the portal that still hovered in the air.
It pulsed like a festering wound right in the middle of this forest. The scent of ammonia wafted from it in waves, growing stronger the closer she got to it.
Was this what the shadow world smelled like?
She shot a look at Aristaeus. He was still fighting a demon, unable to come and help her close the portal. But Ari always told her to trust herself—that her instincts were there to guide her to uncover her potential. And it was true. Whenever she’d done so, destiny had always surprised her.
Still, there was always that small voice of doubt that clutched her tight and refused to let go.
Nearly doubled over with pain and ignoring the black dots that danced across her vision, Nava raised her arms toward the magical gate.
Weeks ago, she had closed another portal, together with Ari and Arkimedes. She hadn’t spoken the language Ari chanted then, but had known what to say regardless. The spell had tapped into a piece of her soul that made her who she was. A Beekeeper.
Opening her fingers like Ari had done that afternoon, she closed her eyes and tuned out the screams of the forests and the growls of the remaining demons. Everything fell away.
Then the words came to her… first, quiet like a whisper, and then loud enough that she could chant them. They tasted strange on her tongue, but she chanted them, and the portal shrank right before her eyes. Yellow magic strings poured from her fingertips, beginning to seal the door to the shadow world shut.
Something landed at her side, but she didn’t even blink, for she knew who it was.
Her heart soared as Arkimedes placed his hand on her shoulder, and his energy bled through her, intensifying the spell. The portal became smaller, condensing into a dot of ink—and popped.
“That was—” Pain cut her off. She doubled over, clutching her side with both hands, putting as much pressure as she could on the wound. But her body had turned cold, and she was trembling even though flames still burned all around them.
Arkimedes’s arms wrapped under her legs and behind her back, and the air shifted as he took flight with Nava in his embrace, carrying her away from the inferno and, hopefully, somewhere safe.
They landed in a meadow. His limbs were shaking. He was probably exhausted. She was, too.
“Don’t go to sleep, Bee,” Ark pleaded as he set her down. The ground was so soft and pillowy. Covered in moss.
It was still drizzling icy water. She was so cold.
“Tired.” She hissed when he lifted her arm to inspect the area the Zorren had dug its nails into. “Don’t do that. Hurts.”
“You’re bleeding a lot.” He shrugged off his coat and untied the green handkerchief he wore around his neck, folded it a few times, and pressed it against her stomach. “Hold it tight.”
Then he pulled his shirt from his pants and tugged at the edges. The scent of spice filled the air, followed by the sound of fabric ripping.
The world spun around her, the treetops swirling above her. She tried to speak, but no words came to her lips, only senseless whimpers.
How bad was her wound? Did she even want to know? Ark looked paler than she’d ever seen him before. He wouldn’t even meet her eyes.
“Sit still,” he said in a clipped tone, and she obeyed. Who cared anyway? All she wanted was to go to sleep.
Arkimedes wrapped his shirt around her ribs tightly enough that it resembled a corset. When the white fabric turned pink and then red in a matter of minutes, he paled further.
“I need to get you to the city.”
“Can’t transfer anywhere.” Nava’s voice broke, her throat raw from inhaling so much smoke. She cleared it, wincing as she sank against the tree behind her. “And you’re exhausted.”
“I will take you to a healer even if it kills me.”
She exhaled a shaky breath. No energy left to put up a fight…but she didn’t want to move an inch either. “You’ll kill us both. When you drop me.”
“For the last time,” Arkimedes growled, “I will not drop you.”
A steady creaking sound alerted them to Aristaeus joining them in the meadow. His gentle voice was a whisper inside her mind. “There are no demons around us now. I killed the last one, and you closed the portal. Well done, dearest.” His brows dipped slowly as he shifted, tilting his stiff neck forward to inspect her bloody shirt. “Your body will heal faster if you remain here, close to nature. With your soulmate and me at your side.”
