Page 54 of Taken By Shadows

My eyes widened at that, but no words came.

“Magic is why we aren’t truly immortal. And as we use it, we let go of a piece of us. And Celeste has given so much of herself to others. To me …” His voice trailed off.

A sob worked its way to my throat. “And she healed me. With her magic.” She didn’t even know me.

“Yes.”

“Why?” I stammered.

Kaed looked through me. His eyes were like depthless oceans, deep wells of darkness and swirling waters.

“She did it because I needed her to.” His words were heavy as they settled into the cold marble.

Of course. His investment.

Before I could say more, he left.

I bathed and washed until every drop of blood was gone. My fingers traced the smooth skin of my wounds. Celeste had left no mark on me. She’d taken every part of my injuries and made them so they were never there. Save for my scar. I traced the shape of it on my wrist and scrubbed the cool skin down as though it might one day just vanish if I tried hard enough.

But the knowledge of what Celeste had given me lingered worse than any bloodstain or scar. What she’d given up. What Kaed had asked of her. For me. It all felt like a knife in my gut.

My actions had cost Celeste. And I had to live with that.

Chapter seventeen

Arhythmic rumble vibrated on my legs as I woke. The room was dark with only thin shafts of light streaming through the shutters. Sometimes, lying in the dark was peaceful. Sometimes, it was like being gripped by panic incarnate. Not the dark, but what it represented. Nothing. A place no one would remember you in.

I hadn’t died. But I’d felt the terror of those cool fingers reaching for me.

I hadn’t died.

I tamped down the panic threatening as I gripped the shell around my neck. The thrumming of my heart steadied, and I forced myself to breathe.

I kicked off the cool bedsheets only to stumble as the rumble I found had been coming from a grey cat that scattered itself somewhere into the dark.

“Crazy cat,” I mumbled as I crashed a knee into the bed frame, trying to dodge as the creature scarpered. My tired fingers fumbled for the latch on the wooden shutters, and bright, midday sunlight poured into the room, making my eyes hurt as they struggled to adjust.

A bell pealed somewhere in the distance. The city was alive. Unaware of anything other than its own duties. The bay glinted as the sun sprinkled itself across her waters. No hint of the dissonance of earlier.

Celeste had given me a part of her. And I didn’t know how to speak to someone after that.

“Hellooo?” Audrie’s voice came into the room. “You’re awake! I thought I heard something. Where’s Turnip?”

Maybe I hadn’t fully recovered from my injuries. “Turnip?”

“The lazy lump of cat that wouldn’t leave your bed.”

As if on cue, the grey ball of fat and fur barrelled past and out the door.

“Turnip?”

Audrie shrugged. “I found him in a basket with a turnip and some raspberries. Didn’t think he could carry the pomp of a fruit so … Turnip was crowned!”

Despite the morning I’d just had, I laughed. Audrie had a way about her that just refused to be smothered by the confines of her society. She was chaotic, quiet and loud all at once.

And good for my soul.

She placed a silver tray on the end of the bed, and I took up a cross-legged position opposite her on the mattress.