“I said leave.”
He shook his head. “I promised her I wouldn’t.”
“You wouldn’t what?”
“Leave her alone with you.” Lachlan held my stare for a breath. “She’s not—”
“Fuck you, Lachlan.” Anger, terror, was tightening around my neck like a sturdy rope.
He stopped, swiped his face. “She’s not herself. Her power… it isn’t normal now.” He glanced at Imogen, then back to me. “She’ll have to tell you the rest herself, but I cannot leave you alone with her. If she hurts you—” He shook his head like it was unfathomable. “And if she knows I broke my word—” He swiped his thumb across his throat. “The best I can do,” he finally said, “is turn my back.”
Dark red sand seeped between my fingers. I’d already started sending my power through her, but the blood still flowed. Perhaps Eftan’s blade had damaged the spell. I couldn’t close the kelp, and I couldn’t heal her with it still fused to her flesh. Panic skittered through my chest. “Shit.”
“What is it?” Lachlan glanced over his shoulder, alert.
“I have to remove the spell.”
Lachlan squeezed his eyes shut, and mumbled, “Bloody fuck.”
I’d had no Godsdamned right trying to use my power against a spell, but that line I’d read in Jesop’s book came screaming back to me.
A Mage’s magic and a God’s power are two edges of the same perfectly balanced sword.
We’d caught up to the heavy clouds that had haunted the northern horizon. They banked the afternoon light and sent a chill wind gusting through the windows and across Imogen’s clammy skin. She let out a deep moan.
“You’ll be all right,” I whispered. “I’ve got you.” I forced more power through my hands, more than I’d ever used. It was the first time I’d everneededto touch to heal, and somehow it was still not enough. Sweat beaded over my body, my breaths sawed. It was as if the spell dodged my efforts, feinting and burrowing, but I gave chase. I was shaking from my efforts, turning cold and ill, when the blackened line of flesh at the edge of her wound began to morph back into a smooth golden brown.
The kelp there began to curl away, and my heart began to steady.
I moved my hands to the next bit of skin in need of healing, when Imogen sucked in a scraping breath. Her eyes flew open, honey gold and rimmed in red. They locked with mine before they flicked down to where my hands pressed into her stomach.
Her face crumpled. “Theo.” She tried to roll away from me, but I stopped her. “No.No, no, no.”
I dug my fingers into her skin. “I’ve got you, I’ve got you.”
She struggled against my hold, talons extending. “No. Please.”
“I’m helping you. Imogen, let me help you.”
The next moment her whole body seized. Her chin tipped back, teeth bared, as a massive gush of sandy red sludge began to spew through the opening in the kelp. It bubbled up and rolled across her abdomen like a geyser, spilling toward the bedding.
“Lach, get the healer,” I shouted.
Lachlan spun. “I’m not leaving this cabin—”
More gritty blood poured forth, more than I imagined could ever fit inside her body. She convulsed and gasped, just as she hadafter she’d taken the severing draught. When I glanced up at her contorted face, a line of crimson dribbled from the corner of her mouth. “Lachlan, get the fucking healer,now.”
He stood there, staring, not heeding my command. Instead, he lifted his sword higher.
“Please,Lach. Get the healer.” More and more blood. I felt her slipping from me. “She can’t die.”
“Bloody fucking Gods, Theo.” Lachlan’s terror-wide eyes darted between me and Imogen, and then finally,finally, he was moving.
He threw open the door, sword still in his hand. I kept pouring forth my power, and while the ruined skin around the wound was returning to a healthy smooth state, the filth that filled the gash still pushed its way out. I heard Lachlan shouting for the healer just before Imogen arched and began screaming through her teeth.
She shook and thrashed. “No. Imogen,stop.” I moved further onto the mattress, throwing my leg over both of hers, pinning her still. I didn’t ease the onslaught of my power, forcing it deeper into her despite the way the wound leaked. Despite the way she fought and whimpered.
Tears poured from the corners of her eyes. Her hands clamped onto my wrists, and she squeezed tight, trying to pull them off.
