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Zack croaked something I couldn’t make out.
I crouched by his side. “Say again?”
“Ra . . . kkuhr.” The word came out in a raspy whisper.
“Oh shit.” We’d pulled him straight into a swirling fog of demahnk hell. “Hold on.” I didn’t have the resources left for anything flashy, but more than enough to nudge the rakkuhr out of the way. Seconds later, Zack lay on rakkuhr-free ground. He looked just as faded, but he breathed easier, and the agony left his face.
Sonny groaned, rolled to his side, and puked. But at least his color was close to normal. Jill shifted to cradle Zack’s head in her lap. “You’re going to be okay,” she whispered.
Zack offered her a weak smile. “Better now.” He groped for my hand and wrapped fingers with barely enough substance to be palpable around mine. “Szerain. What has he done?”
“He broke the ptarl bond with Xharbek then collapsed,” I told him. “He’s safe with Turek now.”
“Not safe,” he said, voice so thin a puff of breeze could have stolen the words. “Dying. Essence ruptured.”
My smile vanished as the horrific realization hit me. “And left to bleed out,” I said. It’s what Xharbek would have done to me if he’d managed to rip Elinor’s essence away. Szerain was dying. Zack was dying. It was bullshit to get this far only to lose them.
No way in hell would I let that happen without a fight. I leaned down close to Zack’s ear. “Both of you are essence-wounded from having broken ptarl bonds. You volunteered to be Szerain’s guard and guardian here on Earth. You kept him sane. Neither of you were free to bond then, but what’s stopping you now?”
“An oath.”
“Fuck the oath,” I retorted. “How can it mean shit when it’s used to perpetuate slavery and anathema?”
His fingers spasmed against mine. “You’re right. It’s meaningless in this new world. Better to have wholeness from two shattered halves.”
“Exactly. It makes perfect sense,” I said, though I knew a bond took place on a level that had little to do with logic. “A ptarl bond will strengthen you both and give y’all the resources to heal.”
Eons of tension seemed to drain from him. “If he is amenable.”
If he wasn’t, I’d kick his ass until he was. “Turek! Bring Szerain, please.”
Jill and I shifted Zack into a sitting position. Jill tucked in behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest, supporting. “Our daughter is so perfect,” she told him, voice rough. Her eyes went to where Ashava worked to finish sealing the rift. “She saved us all. From now on, we’ll be right by her side, watching over her. Everything’s going to be okay now.”
I hoped she was right.
Szerain’s head lolled as Turek carried him over and settled beside Zack. Szerain rested against Turek’s belly scales as if in a living demon-chair.
“Must touch him,” Zack said. “Must ask.”
I lifted his hand and placed it on Szerain’s forearm, covered it with my own hand to keep it from slipping off.
Szerain’s eyes flew open. “Zakaar.”
Zack’s hand tingled under mine, and I sensed communication happening at the speed of thought.
Szerain sat taller and placed his hand over Zack’s heart. “So be it.”
From beside the rift, Ashava began to sing a haunting melody that transcended language. It wound through me, familiar but not, and so mournful and joyous at the same time it hurt to experience it. She and Rhyzkahl wove the final segment of the seal, and ignited its protection.
Bryce’s legs buckled as Seretis’s presence left him. Idris threw an arm around Bryce and helped him sit without falling, then plopped down a couple of feet away. Bryce’s eyes went to where Jill held Zack. The smallest of sighs escaped him, but then he gave an equally minute nod and looked away. Scanning for threats. Guarding.
My throat tightened. I knew exactly what had just gone through Bryce’s mind, as clearly as if I had the mind-reading abilities of a lord. He loved Jill, and that little nod was him resolving to be the best friend he could be for her, to push everything else away—because to do otherwise would hurt her. He was a good, decent guy—one who’d been forced to be a bad one for far too long.
Rhyzkahl pulled a cell phone from a dimensional pocket. His demeanor revealed nothing of his feelings on seeing Zack—his parent and ex-ptarl—in this state.
Zack’s face relaxed into an expression of wonder and b
liss, as if an eternity of pain had suddenly lifted. He nuzzled Jill’s cheek. “All is well now, precious one,” he breathed.
