With a sigh, I tugged on Herald’s reins and clucked gently, passing the redhead who watched me with suspicion.
“Not today, you rogue,” I muttered. “Another day.”
The redhead stared at me as though I’d grown two heads.
“You can’t mean to go in there!”
“For the sake of a friend—for the sake of…”
The one I love.I wasn’t about to admit it to a stranger, but it was true. I could only hope that whatever Alan had attempted would not take him away from me. I wanted to get another chance to tell him the truth, to tell him that I treasured him. That I loved him.
Shaking my head, I urged Herald down the meandering path. Behind me, the redhead shrugged on his hood and, like a fleeting shadow, slunk into the shelter of the forest. My eyes now fastened on the great doors at the back of the hill. Tying Herald by the mare that Alan had brought and stabled in the small pen erected by the back entrance, I pushed open the double doors.
Inside, the entire room was chill and silent. The white strands of magic filled the room, but there was no movement beyond the faint flicker of candles and a small fire in a ritual brazier. My gaze shifted down. My heart leaped into my throat. Alan lay curled up on the ground.
“Alaaan! Gods! Alan!”
Alan… That brave soul, that child of mine, what would you give?
I could almost hear it—a faint voice eerily echoing. A sense of a presence or two. The barrier between the seen and unseen was thin, and I felt as though I was listening through a wall of gauze.And the voices… What are they saying?
What would you give?
Give? What are they talking about?
“Give?” I asked bewildered. “Gods! I would give anything. Alan! Come back! You can’t leave me without giving me a chance. Gods, Alan…”
I gently raised him, pulling him into my warm embrace. His slender frame felt chill with unnatural cold as though he were dead. I swept off my cloak and wrapped him up tightly. I brushed the pale strands of his hair away from his face and removed his now slightly frosted glasses. Gods. He was so cold.
“Alan?”
I placed a warm kiss on his brow and barely stifled the rising sob that rose.
“I wanted to tell you. I was such a numbskull… but I love you, and I should have told you before.”
My broad tan hands caressed the line of his sharp cheekbone down to his lips and jaw. I placed another kiss… and imagined the power of my very being passing to him. If there was anyone in the world I wished to give life to, it was Alan.
As if answering my call, or heeding the words of my heart, something within me seemed to awaken. The cold deep within melted away… and in tandem, I felt Alan’s body seize. His lips opened with a gasp as he inhaled. For a few seconds, it took everything for Alan to simply breathe. I held him close and glanced around for sight of his robes and cloak. Alan needed more warmth, more blankets.
“Just breathe with me,” I whispered softly. “I’m here, Alan… and I’m not about to let you go.”
“Mhmmm…” After a few minutes, Alan groaned again and whispered huskily: “Numb…skull… is right…”
His white lashes slowly fluttered. It took a while for his violet eyes to focus on my face, meeting my gaze. Alan stared at me.
“What are you… doing here, Hugh?”
“That’s my question!” I said hotly. “Coming out here, to where no one could possibly get you in time. Surrounded by bandits and rogues… to do what? Some godsforbidden spell?!”
“For you,” Alan said softly. His eyes fluttered closed and a faint smile flitted across his face. “It’s gone, Hugh.”
“I know. I can—I feel different,” I said. “Better. But that does not justify what you did to my poor heart along the way!”
“It was worth it.”
“Hm.”
“I just… want to hear it again.” Alan’s voice faded a little, and his eyes closed as he shivered and gave a sigh of exhaustion. “One more time.”
