Page 43 of Healing Elixirs & Wicked Crows

The man chuckled darkly, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air around me, his teeth flashing in the dim light."Not yours."

A chill slithered down my spine, but I didn't flinch.I dipped my chin, locking my gaze onto his with a seething fury that matched his own."She is mine."My voice was cold, flat, cutting through the tension between us.I lifted my sword, the tip aimed straight at his chest."And for touching what is mine, you will die."

Every time my blade met the gleaming edge of his axe, a shockwave rippled through my muscles, reverberating deep into my bones.Without my magic, I was barely more than a mortal warrior.

The bite of steel cut across my side, a searing line of pain that tore through my defenses.I barely twisted enough to avoid the worst of it, but his axe found its mark, the jagged edge slicing into me with brutal force.The wound tore a ragged gasp from my lips as I stumbled back, my legs wobbling beneath me.

A scream, raw and desperate, ripped from my throat, the frustration and helplessness crashing over me in a wave.I wanted him dead.I needed him dead.Hehadto bedead.

I sidestepped, forcing my movements to betray the exhaustion clawing at my limbs.Feigning right, I pivoted, swinging left with every ounce of strength I had left.The impact was quick, a flash of bronze across his broad shoulder.He roared in pain, and before he could recover, I twisted, using the momentum to disarm him.His axe flew from his grip, clattering to the ground as he staggered back, his expression a mix of disbelief and rage.

This was my moment.

A vicious grin curled at the corners of my lips, a predator's grin, and my eyes burned with the cold fury of someone who knew no mercy."Where.Is.She?"

His teeth ground together, the amber fire of his gaze burning into mine as the tip of my bronze blade pressed into the bare skin of his chest, a threat sharp and undeniable."An unseelie fighting for a seelie.How strange our world has become."His voice, low and strained, dripped with disdain."But no matter.She belongs to us now."

The blade inched upward, its edge gliding up the curve of his throat, the pressure building until I could feel the faintest tremor in his skin.My gaze never wavered from his, each word soaked in venom."If she's harmed, I'll make your death slow, agonizingly painful.Mark my words."My voice dropped to a harsh whisper."You'll beg for death, but I'll make sure it never comes quickly.You'll suffer in ways you can't even imagine."

His eyes, hard and defiant, never flinched from mine as he spat at my feet."Fucking unseelie trash.You never know when to quit, do you?"

But then, in a movement so quick, so deliberate, his gaze slid from mine, flickering over my shoulder, an almost imperceptible shift in his focus.My heart skipped a beat, a cold rush of fear washing over me as something hard slammed into the back of my skull.

Darkness spiraled in, swallowing everything whole, until all that was left was the deafening silence of my fading consciousness.

Light and Life

ROSEMARY

Groggily, I cracked my eyes open to find myself in a small stone room.A fire blazed along the far wall, casting flickering shadows and warmth.Smoke curled toward a slight hole in the ceiling, beyond which darkness loomed.The air was a mix of damp stone, smoke, and fur.A metallic tang clutched my heart with icy fingers.I was deep underground, a realization that felt like the world pressed in around me.

How many days until the full moon?The thought struck me like a physical blow.Four days?Five?Time had become a blur of darkness and unconsciousness, but I could feel it slipping away, each lost hour bringing Briar closer to permanent entrapment.

A heavy weight lay across my stomach, and my cheek rested on something soft.I shifted, my fingers curling around what I thought was a fur blanket.With a jolt, I sat up, gasping.The fur was not a blanket, and the softness beneath my face was the massive body of a wolf.As I jerked upright, the weight across my stomach dropped, and I collided with another wolf.Two wolves.I'd been sleeping with two massive wolves!

Both lifted their heads, watching me with narrowed yellow eyes.I froze, hugging my knees to my chest to make myself as small as possible.My heart raced, the fire crackling the only sound in the chamber.

Footsteps approached.I twisted to see the entrance.The same tall, muscular man with the wolf-paw tattoo from the cave appeared.He stared down at me, his warm brown eyes tinged with a yellow that matched the wolves'.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, dear seelie healer," he said, his voice soft as the fur I'd slept upon and warm like a hug on the coldest of nights."You've slept for nearly a day.Time is running short."

Staring up at the man, I realized I recognized him… and the wolves.I pressed the heel of my palm against my temple and rubbed against the dull throb there as I tried to recall what had happened.They’d needed my help, and I had agreed.I’d been following them for a time but then…

Nothing.

"What happened?"I asked.My words came out in a cracked hush, as if my throat had been lined with the roughest bark.I didn't dare move, not with the wolves watching me so intently.

"You’re in our den in the heart of wolf territory," Malcolm replied."For your own safety, and ours, it is imperative that you not know exactly where our den is located.At least, not until you have proven useful, and trustworthy."

The healer within me helped calm the fear of not knowing where I was, or where Elias was.It quieted the anxiety rippling across my skin at the proximity of the wolves.There wasn’t time to waste."Your son?"

"Cursed by the same dark magic that holds your sister," Malcolm said, his expression grave."The sleeping curse has been spreading through these lands like wildfire, claiming the children of every magical family.Our healers are powerless against it."

The russet-colored wolf, her face thinner and more delicate than the one at my back, nuzzled my arm with the soft fur along her brow.There was worry held behind her yellow eyes as she looked up at me.

Malcolm's expression softened as he watched the interaction."That is Freya, my mate and the boy's mother.She has left his side only once since he fell into the cursed sleep three days ago, and that was to retrieve you, her last hope for our son."

Three days.My stomach dropped."How much time do I have left?Until the full moon?"