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“Meera!” I yelled, reaching out for her. She kicked, and I flew backwards, my back smacking into the wooden paneling. Lights flashed before my eyes as I closed them.
“Lyr!” Rhyan called.
Blearily, I opened my eyes, seeing his grip loosen so he could come to me.
“No, don’t let go of her—I’m all right.”
Rhyan nodded, backing Meera away from me, trying to angle her body away from mine, to avoid my getting hurt again. But I was already crawling back to her on my knees before I stood and stepped forward on shaky legs. “Please, Meera. Please.”
Her aura exploded, the feeling of ice and glass cutting through me. Even Rhyan flinched from the impact, but I pushed through. I grabbed her arm, but she swatted at me until I stumbled back. She was too strong already. Too far gone.
“Lyr,” Rhyan said, eyes widening. “Tell me what to do—how to help you.”
I swung open every cabinet door, throwing every blanket and pillow in the carriage onto the ground.
“Lay her down,” I ordered. Wind screeched out the windows as we soared higher, our seraphim moving faster. A tear escaped my eyes, and my throat went dry.
When Meera screamed again, and I sprang into action. “Hold her legs down. I’ll take her arms. She needs to see my face and hear my voice. Now. Before we lose her.” I sucked in a breath. “She’s having a vision.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Meera.Meera,listentome. It’s Lyr. You’re safe. You’re—Stop fighting me.”
She writhed, thrashing to escape my grip. Her nails raked up my arm, cutting through the skin until it burned.
“Meera! You have to come back to me.”
“No!” Her voice was dark, menacing, with a foreign undertone full of hatred. Just as it had the last time I’d helped her, it sounded like multiple voices were coming through her mouth, male and female, all echoing and twining together. “You won’t have her blood! You no longer have a claim on her life. She’s ours. She belongs to us. You’ll know before the end.” She coughed, bleeding freely from her nose, the blood staining her lips. Her arm broke free again, and this time she ripped her fingernails down my back until I cried out.
Tears ran down my face. She was so much stronger than she’d been last time, so much more violent. Her voice was terrifying, sending chills down my spine. “Meera. I don’t know what to do,” I sobbed. “I can’t do this.”
The seraphim turned, and the entire carriage shook.
“Give up,” the voice from Meera said. “You don’t know what we are. You don’t even know who you are. You’re going to fail.”
“Don’t listen to that. You know what to do,” Rhyan said, his voice full of confidence and reassurance. “Do it.”
I’d almost forgotten he was there, right behind me, helping.
“You’re stronger than you think,” he said. “You’ve done this before, Lyr. Do it again. Now.”
I leaned forward, no longer trying to restrain her, and rubbed her temples. “Meera. Meera, it’s me. It’s Lyr. It’s your sister. I know you’re in there. Fight back. Whatever’s with you, whatever’s scaring you. Fight. Come back to me. Come back.”
She thrashed again, and I rubbed her temples, my fingers sliding over her skin. She reached for me, and then her arms fell like deadweights at her side.
The carriage lurched in its descent. Meera’s eyes widened with recognition. “Lyr?” Her eyes shifted back and forth, falling on Rhyan, who still restrained her. She jolted.
“Let her go!” I shouted.
Rhyan released her at once, moving aside. Meera sobbed in pain and curled her knees into her chest, shivering.
I pushed her hair out of her face and used my dress to wipe up her blood. It was already staining her cheeks and lips.
“It’s all right,” I said.
The carriage rocked gently as the seraphim settled on the ground. We remained in silence until the floor stilled.
“Where are we?” Meera asked. Her eyes sought mine in confusion. They sharpened as she again looked at Rhyan, and she buried her face in her hands. She shook, a tiny animal suddenly discovering it was prey.
