“Stab wounds. Heavy bleeding.” Ekko poured the phial over Anna’s wounds, though it didn’t seem to change much.
“Djiante,” said the newcomer with a quick dip of her head. “I am called Estel. Please stand aside.”
David moved to the corner, hating the lack of control. He could do nothing to fix this, nothing to save her. His heartbeat bloomed in his temples and clogged his throat. “Just save her,” he said, not bothering to hide the uneven edges in his voice.
Estel set her hands on Anna’s stomach, her face grim. She closed her eyes, concentrating, while the other focused on Anna’s chest. Her heart.
Fuck the Light!Had the bastard nicked her heart?
Beneath the fear and shock, anger coalesced. If he ever caught the creature who did this, he’d carve them into slivers so small, people would think it was confetti.
Minutes passed—or maybe hours—but she didn’t wake. Neither did Sean appear with Isobel to save the day. David searched their connection, but he couldn’t find the end. He was too distracted, his thoughts too scattered.
His feet brought him closer to the bed. Neither spae stopped him, not even when he dipped onto the mattress beside her to hold her hand.
Her cold hand. Herlifelesshand.
He swallowed against a rising lump in his throat.
“Djiante,” one spae said, but he was unsure which it was, “our magic will not always penetrate fatal wounds. Not if the intervention has arrived too late.”
Fatal?Did she just say fatal?
The words robbed him of breath, and suddenly there was no air anywhere.
“We have stopped the bleeding, but the tissue is beyond repair,” said the other spae. “Our ministrations will not last long. There is only one who could save her now. Lady Isobel may yet arrive before it is too late.”
David could only stare.
They withdrew their hands from Anna’s limp body.
“No, wait,” he said, wide-eyed. “Where are you going?”
“There is nothing more we can do,” Estel said. “The Mother will protect her while we search?—”
Fuck that.“No!”
“We understand this is difficult, David. Let us help find the heir of Erdéa before her heart stops. That will serve this girl best. Stay with her. Talk to her. We will return.”
Before David could formulate a reply, they slunk from the room, shutting the door behind them. He drew in a serrated breath and turned to the girl on the bed. Anna’s skin was deadly pale, but the wounds on her stomach had stopped bleeding.
He scooted closer, holding her icy hand in his.
Could he compel her to live? Did his magic extend so far?
David bent near her ear. “Anna,” he whispered, injecting sugar straight into her brainstem. “Wake up.”
Blue eyes flickered open, and her agonized gaze landed on him. Her emotional core spun out of control. She moaned. “It hurts.”
He touched her cheek. “It doesn’t hurt. Breathe, Anna.”
The torment eased from her expression, and she sucked in a rattling lungful of air.
“You’re going to be fine,” he said.
Her brows scrunched.
“No pain,” he crooned. “Keep your heart beating, okay? Isobel is coming.”
