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One into Paimon.
The other one into me.
I gasped again as the dragon’s magic exploded inside me and searing hot pain coursed through my body. Everything went black and I fell to the ground.
“Raika!”
I blinked and my sight came back, but my head felt fuzzy and slow. Through the blur, I saw Shane’s face as he knelt beside me. Behind him, Rotgar and Ivy grabbed a dizzy Paimon by the arm and dragged him back. The demons surged over us.
Shane cupped my face. “Are you okay? Talk to me!” I opened my mouth but no words came out. What was happening? Shane raised his hand. “Here!”
Grunts, shouts, and zaps sounded all around us.
The blur cleared a little more and I took a good look around. Paimon and Ivy were nowhere in sight, but Killian, Lavinia, and the others had finally arrived and were dealing with the demons.
Killian ran to us. “What happened?”
Shane pointed to his back. “Paimon went that way. He’s probably dizzy. It shouldn’t be hard to catch up to him.”
Killian nodded. He yelled for his vampire to follow him and all of them zoomed past us, after Paimon. I wanted to tell them to not hurt Ivy. Again, she had hesitated. She hadn’t hurt me. I didn’t want her hurt. But no words came out. It was like my brain and my mouth weren’t connected.
Shane stared at me again, his eyes rounded with concern. “Raika, talk to me. What happened? How are you feeling?”
I moved my mouth. “I …” It was hard to speak. I tried lifting my hand to touch it, but it didn’t move.
“You can’t speak? You can’t move?”
I took in a long breath, held it in for three seconds. When I released it, a little more of the blur was gone and I felt less exhausted. “I can speak.” My voice was frail, thin. I lifted my hand a few inches and wiggled my fingers, my movements awkward. “I can move.”
On his knees, Shane pulled me to him and embraced me tight. “By the moon, you scared me. I thought I had lost you again.” He pulled slightly and looked at me. “What happened exactly?”
“I don’t know.” I looked down at my hand. “I think … half of the dragon’s magic came into me.”
His brows curled down.
Movement on my left drew my attention. Aided by Dom, Kaz dragged his feet toward the dragon, one hand over his stomach, the other reaching out to touch the dragon.
“I’m sorry I failed you,” he whispered. He placed both hands on the dragon’s side and lowered his head.
“Help me up,” I asked Shane. He held my hands and pulled me up. I wobbled on my feet. Shane tightened his grip on me and steadied me. “I’m fine.” I wasn’t fine, but I knew I wasn’t dying. I turned to the dragon. “Is there a way to give it back?” I asked Kaz. He turned angry eyes at me. I almost flinched. “I don’t want her magic. I never asked for it. I want to give it back.”
“You can try, but that won’t do anything.” He smoothed his hand over the dragon’s scales. “She’s gone now.“
“I’m so sorry, Kaz,” I whispered.
A deafening silence fell in the valley. The demons were either dead or gone, most vampires were out trying to catch Paimon, an ancient dragon had been killed, and I had absorbed half of her magic.
And our enemy had the other half.
30
SHANE
I crossed my arms,leaned against the doorjamb, and watched as Raika colored with Minsi at the kitchen’s table. Tyren grabbed a Gatorade from the kitchen, waved at me, and left through the back door. He was going to meet with Hugh.
Raika, Dom, Lucille, and I had returned from New York last evening, and Raika had slept through most of the drive. When we arrived home, she ate something and went directly to bed. She slept like a rock for almost ten hours.
But now, she looked fine.
