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“Sephiran?”
“He took the blade from the guard, and I’m glad for it. He made it as quick and clean as possible.”
Kasper nodded. “No one should have to live like that.”
“No, they shouldn’t.”
“Allow me to think on this. There’s much planning to be done in the coming days. Now that Holcot has given us the outpost’s location, I’d like your help to plan the assault. We can find a solution for Theon as well. Mages control their power. There must be some way we can help Theon learn to control his.”
“What’s so special about this outpost?”
“Not the outpost itself, but what they have hidden there. Armor. Armor that deflects magic.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“It was forged centuries ago by shifters with the help of a sect of mages that opposed slavery.”
“Good mages.” The surprise and awe were obvious in my voice. Maybe Theon wasn’t such an anomaly after all. Good really did exist in mages. Or at least, it had long ago.
One side of Kasper’s mouth pulled up. “Good mages.”
Pulling in a deep breath, I thought of Theon with magic pouring out of him uncontrollably. How scared he’d been. How he’d hurt Nica. Something he would never do intentionally.
We had to figure out how to help him control this power.
We’d been ignoring it. Shoving it under the rug and consoling him as best we could. That wasn’t enough. He needed more from us. More from me. I had no idea where to start, but I had to try. Maybe Braz had read something in one of his books. The thought of asking him for help that way sat like stone in my stomach, but for Theon, I would.
Refocusing on Kasper, I said, “I’d be honored to help with the outpost plan, and if that’s all you need tonight, I’d like to get back to Nica.”
“Of course. Please let me know if there’s anything he needs.”
I stood, along with Kasper, and extended my arm. He gripped my forearm as I gripped his. “Thank you.”
As soon as the tent flap fell closed behind me, I took a huge lungful of night air. The lingering smell from the cooking fires filled my head and made my stomach growl. I hadn’t eaten since before the attack on the convoy. There hadn’t been time.
One moment, I was dispatching the convoy’s guards and freeing Holcot’s slaves, and the next, it seemed, I was picking up Nica’s damaged body off the ground and lifting him into the air. It’d taken all my strength to leave Theon behind, unconscious in Braz’s arms, but Nica had needed the healers as quickly as possible.
The rest of the day had been a blur of clinging to Nica’s hand and arguing with every Resistance lieutenant who felt the need to confront me about Theon. I was thankful when Kasper had put a stop to that.
Turning, I headed for the healer’s tent. Camp was quiet around me. Most would be asleep after such a long day, but some people sat around low fires. I didn’t meet their eyes as I passed. Slipping inside the healer’s tent, I let out a sigh and stretched my shoulders.
Nica was just as I’d left him—immobile and burned so badly it was difficult to recognize him. The steady rise and fall of his chest was the only movement coming from the table we’d laid him out on. Beneath him, the white sheet had blossomed with red stains around the perimeter of his body.
One of the healers approached from the other side of the table. “Look,” she said, pointing to Nica’s neck. It took a moment to see what she meant. Pink skin, new and whole, was appearing between some of the worst burns. “He’s already healing.”
A knot I hadn’t realized was there eased in my gut. I nodded at the healer and managed to get out a little, “Thank you,” as she walked away before I all but collapsed on the chair they’d brought over for me earlier in the day. Taking his hand in both of mine, I rested my forehead against our joined hands and let my fear drain away. I’d refused to acknowledge it since that moment, but when I’d first seen him, I’d been certain there was no way he could survive.
“How would I have made it without you?” I whispered into the bandages covering Nica’s fingers. “Just keep healing, my love. Theon will need to see you soon. He’s so sorry for hurting you. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to shield you.”
Exhaustion pulled at my bones, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave him so soon. Closing my eyes, I let myself drift, Nica’s steady heartbeat a comforting thrum in my ears. I couldn’t say when I fell asleep, but when a hand landed on my shoulder, I jerked upright.
“Sorry, Wey.” Cedric stood beside me, looking pale and hesitant. “But…”
“What is it, Ced?”
“It’s Theon. He’s gone.”
“What do you mean he’s gone?” I stood, placing Nica’s hand gently on the table beside him.
