Page 265 of The Edge of Darkness

I still wasn’t sure what, exactly, had happened here. How had the queen and Weston known where I was? Was the queen actually supposed to meet me here in the first place? Or had that been another one of Killian’s lies? In any case, Skadi now had her amulet, and that did not bode well for anyone.

Niall wouldn’t be happy. Gods, he would lose his mind if I didn’t show back up at camp soon. He was probably already pacing the grounds.

The unfamiliar Dionach stepped closer, offering me his elbow. I clutched it with one hand, gripping Weston’s shirt with the other. Porting myself and three others, while wounded, and barely at a point where I was no longer bleeding out . . . This would be interesting, if not potentially the thing that pushed me closer to death.

But I didn’t have time to think about that. I plunged into my well of power, as far down as it would let me go. Pain surged across my stomach as I pictured the wraith’s cave, and disappeared.

I let out a cry as I hurtled us through space. But by the god’s good graces, I managed to do it, while practically holding in my own entrails.

Both Dionachs used their wings to steady us into a semi-graceful landing, and thank the gods for them, because the moment we landed at the edge of the wraith’s sacred spring, the little bit of strength and power I had managed to regain was completely spent.

“Take us into the water,” I said, pointing a shaky hand through the darkness.

Weston hauled me into the pool, the other Dionach close on his heels, carrying Breck. I sucked in a breath as the cold water washed over the wounds on my abdomen.

“Wraith!” I called out. “Wraith!”

The cavern was bathed in the same faint glow as before, stippling the ceiling with the water’s strange reflection. A small fire was steadily roaring at the opposite end, providing enough ambient light for us to vaguely see our surroundings.

A moment passed, then a figure scurried from the depths of the cave and peered around a massive stalagmite. She gasped. “You!” In an instant, she appeared before us in the water.

Both Dionachs jolted back.

“It’s all right,” I said. “She’s a friend.”

“You are hurt,” the wraith said. She dipped below the water’s surface to look at the damage. When she emerged, she blinked her wide eyes and stared at me in shock. “You should be dead.”

Weston’s hands tightened around me.

“How did this happen?” the wraith asked, looking between all of us.

“I’ll explain later.” I peered down at myself, but the cavern was too dark, the water to black to see if the wounds were healing. “How long will it take to heal?”

She watched me, her face full of genuine concern. “Minutes. Hours. I do not know.” She turned to assess Breck next, cupping her hands around his jaw and lifting his face. His head tipped backward, splashing into the water.

“Is he . . .” I couldn’t finish the question. I didn’t want to say the word.

She placed a hand across the width of his neck. “He has a very faint pulse. It falters . . .” She looked up at the Dionach. “Submerge him—fully.”

“What?” My voice cracked. “No! He’ll drown⁠—”

“He needs the water inside him as well. It will not drown him. It can only heal.”

“How do you know?” Weston asked.

“There is no time to explain,” she said, pressing Breck further into the water.

The Dionach looked back at us for permission.

“Do it,” I said.

He obeyed.

As Breck’s body sank beneath the surface, my own began to tingle. I rested my head against Weston’s chest and slid further into the water until it was lapping at my ears and my extremities were floating. I hoped that whatever magic this pool contained was enough to fix what had been done.

I thought of Niall, wishing it were his arms I was lying in and his face that stared back at me. But it was Weston who held me, worry and anxiety etched into his familiar features. At least I was with someone I knew—someone I trusted.

I inhaled deeply but felt like I couldn’t get a full breath in. My wounds began to crackle beneath the water, like my skin was fissuring all over again. The pain seeped back in, becoming unbearable within an instant. I met Weston’s unwavering stare as my vision began tunneling. “Weston—I don’t feel right . . .”