Helplessness gnawed at Draevyn as he watched her turn in on herself.
But then, Esmyra’s face lit up like a spark catching flame, her posture straightening as she shot a wide-eyed look at Draevyn.
He blinked, his head cocking to the side. “What?”
Everyone else turned to her, confused as they watched a subtle warmth bloom across her features for the first time since they rescued her.
“Not directly,” she said slowly, pushing herself to her feet. “But… we may have a workaround.”
“For what?” Jak asked.
“The blood of a god,” Esmyra answered, her eyes still locked on Draevyn.
Draevyn’s eyes flared. “Because my power?—”
“Came directly from Irah,” she finished for him, nodding.
Jak stared between the two of them. “Wait, wait, wait. Are you sayinghisblood?”
“It isn’t purely godblood,” Esmyra admitted.
“But it might be close enough,” Jenli cut in. “It’s risky, but it’s all we have. If what you’re saying is true.”
Draevyn felt Esmyra’s eyes on him. That flicker of sudden hope in them had stolen the air from his lungs.
He glanced down at his hands, flexing them slowly. His power came directly from Irah himself. The power of the God of Rage and War ran through his veins since he was an infant, and it was the cursed gift he never asked for or wanted. He’d spent his life resenting it, this divine brand that set him apart from the rest of the world. It had cost him more than it had ever given.
Until her.
Because without it, Draevyn and Esmyra never would’ve crossed paths. Without it, he never would’ve known the way she laughed, orthe way her gaze cut through him like moonlight on open water. Without it, he never would’ve fallen in love.
And now it might be the only thing that could save her.
“You don’t have to,” Esmyra rushed out. “We can look for another way.”
Draevyn couldn’t even believe she was suggesting that.
“No.” He stepped closer. “You know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. And this is no exception.”
Draevyn would’ve taken her place in an instant if fate allowed it, but if he couldn’t do that, then he’d do the next best thing.
He would bleed for her.
CHAPTER 51
Esmyra
Jenli turned to Esmyra, her tone softening only slightly. “Now that this seems to be settled, I need you on that table.”
Esmyra nodded once, jaw clenched.
Draevyn caught her wrist as she moved to obey. “You die on me now, and I’ll follow you straight into the abyss to drag your ass back.”
Her stare met his, and there was something fragile flickering within his fire. “I know,” she whispered.
Esmyra slowly stepped toward the table as Jenli grabbed a quilt and pillow from her bed and threw it over the hard wood. She heard Jak murmur something about keeping watch by the door, his boots scuffing as he turned away to give her privacy.
She dropped her shirt to the floor, leaning into Draevyn’s warmth as he helped guide her gently onto the makeshift bed, wincing as the corrupted magic burned within her.
