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So I do the only thing I can; I run into the heart of the battlefield, frantic, because this is where my men are.Where I need to be.I don’t know when I started thinking of them asmy men, but it’s a truth I can’t deny. I hear a gasp from Phantom as I sprint in front of him, and then I channel every drop of anger, every drop of frustration, and the deep desire to protect the people I love into my hands, into my heart, like I do when I'm healing. Only this time, I need my powers to do something different.
If they can.
Please,I beg.
To my shock, light blossoms in my palms, growing brighter and brighter. My gaze locks with that of the shadow king, and there's amusement in his face. But as the light in my hands continues to grow, I see his amusement fade away. I also know it's too late for him to stop this. Ifeelit.Knowit. This power is ready.
Ready to save us all.
I concentrate on launching the light out, forward, toward the danger, toward the dragon and the shadow king himself. It explodes from me in a wave of bright yellow light that blinds me for a moment. I’m sure it blindseveryonefor a moment.
My eyes squeeze into slits, but I don’t stop. I just keep pouring this strange light out and toward our enemies.
It feels natural, this magic. Like it isn’t a part of me, or like it’s from some deep part of my soul that I never knew existed, and yet, somehow, also like it was always there, just waiting for me. Like the first time Rayne taught me to use the dark fae’s abilities. He said that our abilities were limitless, we only needed to learn.
My eyes adjust and I see that the light hit the dragon first, over the shadow king's head. The creature makes a strange sound, almost a wailing. Cracks of light form over the dragon like lava awakening in the earth, and then the creature shatters, sending ash everywhere.
There's shouting. Panic. But I ignore it and turn my light onto the king. Before my eyes, the glowing cracks form in him too, and pieces of him begin to turn into ash and fall. The scent of burned flesh fills the air, nauseatingly powerful, mixing with the coppery undertones of the blood that’s splattered everywhere. But then, the shadow king makes a sound, one I don't understand, and suddenly waves of the dark shadow wolves with red eyes leap in front of him. My light hits them as the king runs for the Void, and a dozen or so of the beasts die before my eyes, crumbling to ash, while the others chase after their leader.
I try to turn the light onto the king, but the glow from my hands fades, not strong enough to reach him any longer. And then the king is inside the Void. He’s half a man, half a crumbling pile of lava and ash. But still, he’s alive. His remaining beasts follow him into the Void as my light completely vanishes, and then it's silent all around me.
The battle is over.
I’m shaking.How the hell did I do that? What the hell was that?
Rayne is behind me. I didn't realize it until he spins me around by the shoulder. I blink at him, feeling strangely confused, my head light, my legs shaking, but I will myself to remain standing. To focus. "Ann, we need to run!" He sounds desperate, but I feel far away.
I pull free of him and look toward my shadow beasts. Phantom, standing, injured, but okay. His bright green eyes looking at me with awe. Onyx, sitting on the ground holding Dusk, his gaze sliding from me to Dusk, his expression frantic.
And then, Dusk. Fallen. Bleeding, but breathing. Yet he’s dying in front of my eyes. That feeling deep inside of me, the one that I didn’t know was there until I first healed these men, roars to life within me, screaming that he needs help. That with each second that passes, he moves closer to death.
My body wants to collapse. I know it. But my heart firmly tells my body to toughen the hell up.
It feels like someone else who walks toward him, even though I can sense the eyes of all the men on me. Phantom casts me an uncertain look, then hurries to his brother's side, with me right behind him. Crouching down, I brush the long hair back from Dusk's face. Even in the dark I know the pallor of his skin is too pale. And his gaze seems far away, like he's not aware that I'm even in front of him.
Men come with torches. They stand just close enough to bathe my men in light, but not so close as to make me feel crowded. The harsh light makes a strange pounding form in the back of my head. Nausea rolls through me, but I take deep breaths, willing my body to obey me when it feels like it wants to fail me.
Looking down at Dusk, I freeze. My hands reach out, then pull back. So much fucking blood. I pray that it isn't all his, but as I push aside the shredded remains of his shirt, my heart is in my throat. Some bastard tried to cut him in half. Slashed from one shoulder down to his hip on the opposite side of his body. And the wound is more than flesh deep; it's struck organs. Vital organs. There can't be much blood left in him.
He’s hurt. Gravely injured, even. If I can't heal him, I don't know how he'll live.
He won’t, a soft voice whispers in my mind. It’s the same strange but soothing voice I’d heard in my mind when I’d fought the shadow king.
"I'm so sorry," Phantom whispers to his brother, bowing his head over Dusk, and his voice is filled with hopelessness. Almost like instead of saying sorry, he means to say goodbye.
Onyx signs something, his hands covered in blood, but I only pick up the words, "not yet."
“No, not yet,” I whisper back.
Not if I can help.
“I-it’s okay,” Dusk murmurs, his eyes filled with pain.
“It’s not,” I say, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “I can fix this.”
He starts to shake his head, winces, and his eyes close like even the movement was too much for him. “You can’t.”
Yes, I can. I will!
