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I try to stand, to help, but my legs give out from underneath me. I try again, falling once more.
“Ann, rest,” Phantom tells me, and I see it in his eyes: he knows what I want to do.
“I can help.”
“You already have.”
My eyes sting. “Not enough.”
A man screams when two people lift him from the ground. His scream carries above the others, and he struggles in their arms. His screaming turns to begging, and then they set him back down. There’s a flash of a sword.
Then silence.
I try to stand again. This time when I fall, I start to crawl. Phantom is there in an instant, scooping me up and placing me right back beside Dusk.
“Rest,” he says again, and there’s a warning in his voice.
If I was stronger, I could save them all. But I’m not. I never have been. At the academy, I was average at best. The most interesting thing about me was that someone as powerful as Rayne was my mate. Here, strange and unexpected powers are awakening that someone like me shouldn't have. But despite all logic, I do. And yet, they’re not enough. Even if my men could carry me to the injured, I can feel it inside of me. I only have so much left. There’s not enough for even a fraction of the damage I see around me.
But I can dosomething.
Turning my hands to Phantom, I reach out for him.
He catches my wrists. "How did you do that?"
What? The healing? They ray of light?Regardless, the answer is the same.
I shake my head, feeling the gazes of Rayne, Onyx, and Dusk on us. "I don't know."
"Well, it was amazing," Dusk whispers, and he sounds tired, but not in pain.
I can’t focus on any of this now. That little bit of power is still pulsing inside of me, looking for direction, looking for a release. It’s not much, but it is something. And before I collapse in exhaustion, I want to use it.
Phantom has a gash on his arm. Blood darker than a human’s but still pungent with heavy metals slides down his arm and chest. I pull free of his touch, then reach tentative fingers toward him.
“I’ll survive,” he tells me.
“Please,” I whisper, and he doesn’t stop me as I place my fingers on his wound.
He seethes a sharp breath in then out as I focus on his injury, on healing it. But I have to push the sound away. I have to forget that I’m even a person. All I am is a tool for the magic, for these brave men.
I let the energy flow between us. My hands feel warm. My body is exhausted. But strangely, as my hands glow and the light spreads down his arm, it all feels natural, like this is what I've always meant to do. It only takes seconds, the sides of his flesh pulling together as the gash fades away, and then I’m done.
My power is done.
The light fades from my hands, and I shiver, pulling away from Phantom. "Better?"
"Better," he says, then signs to Onyx.
The big man signs back something I don’t know, then a sign I did know, "okay."
"Do you need me to try healing you?" I ask, letting my gaze run over him, even though I don’t think I have anything left.
He shakes his head, then stands, poised to fight. As if he can feel all of our exhaustion, and he's not yet ready to believe we're safe. Like he alone can protect us all. And somehow, as I look up at him, I believe he really could keep us safe from anything and everything. He's just so beautiful, towering and hulking over us like a guard. His long blond hair tied at the back of his head in a warrior’s tail, his dark eyes scanning the trees with narrowed eyes. He’s like… a god. A prince. A man more legend than reality.
I want to touch him, but I curl my fingers into my palms and try to push aside the feeling. There will be time for that later. For now, we need to get our men to the cave and check to make sure I've healed them enough.
“Help me.” I glance at Phantom, who, for such a big guy, moves with the grace of a gazelle. He lifts Dusk to an upright position. But as we get him to his feet, Phantom staggers, then shakes his head. He tries to take a step forward, then falls to his knees.
