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Slowly, painfully, I felt the surge of electricity formulate in the base of my gut, the bolts of warmth shooting out through my fingertips toward Zephy’s shattered body.
My mouth began to move silently, the old words spilling from my lips voicelessly as I summoned the old gods to my calling, willing them to my aid in saving her.
How could this have happened on my watch? Why didn’t I see the danger lurking here?
The distraction swayed me from my task, and I forced myself back on track, knowing that every second I wasted, Zephy fell further into the abyss of darkness from which I couldn’t retrieve her.
“You can’t leave me, Zephy,” I coaxed her, dropping my pulsating hands over her clammy flesh. “You’re stronger than this. You must fight against the darkness.”
I willed her awake, my strength surging into her body, my pleadings reaching a fever pitch inside me. Guilt and sorrow combined to combat my efforts, but I fought them off, knowing they would only be counterproductive to what I was trying to do.
My knees weakened with the thrust of my power against her, every bolt of energy emitting from my hands draining me more, but they seemed to have no effect on Zephy, who showed no signs of improvement from the moment I had laid her in the medical bay.
“Dammit!” I cursed, losing my focus again, sweat pouring down my face as I again mustered all my will to save her. “Zephyrine, open your eyes. Open your eyes, dammit. Look at me!”
From somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard a commotion breaking out in the palace, but I couldn’t mind that now. If I couldn’t wake Zephy up, nothing else would matter.
“I won’t fail you. I promised to protect you. Don’t make me a liar, Zephy,” I begged her. “Don’t you leave me.”
Inhaling sharply, I squeezed my lids closed and willed help from all the spirits I could locate, but the shroud of heaviness was palpable. Aradia had been right; there was a blanket of black magic all around us, creeping in to suffocate me now.
I wouldn’t let it take Zephy. It would have to take me first.
With the last of my momentum, I exuded the remainder of my healing into her body, hoping that it would be enough, but exhaustion overtook me then, stealing the last of my life force in the process. My body collapsed against Zephy’s, all of my energy depleted.
I opened my mouth to beg her awake again, but the feat required too much out of me. Even parting my eyelids proved too much, and I simply lay sprawled over Zephy’s unmoving form.
Fuck! I’ve failed,I thought miserably.I’ve failed us both. I’ve lost her. It’s over.
Dizziness overcame me, blackness enshrouding my fatigued mind, body, and soul. But as I fell into my own unconsciousness, devoid of all that made me, I thought I felt Zephy move beneath me.
“Zephy!” I tried to call out, but the word stuck in my throat.
It was too much, and I had no choice but to allow the blackness to fall over my mind, the exhaustion fully taking me. I had no way of knowing if I had imagined the motions beneath me or not. I was powerless now that I had transferred all in me to Zephy in hopes that I had made some small effect on her well-being.
Nothing mattered but her, my future queen.
Chapter20
Zephy
In my dream, I swam in an ocean of pure black. As a girl, my father had once taken me out on a trip to the Julian Sea, with waves that rushed higher than the tallest boats and waters that turned jade with the winds. I later realized that he had only taken me on that journey to control the weather and keep the waves from capsizing the vessel, but in this dream, I couldn’t stop the water from washing over my head no matter how hard I tried. Here, my powers were absolutely useless.
“Zephy, come back to me!” I heard Cade call me, but as I treaded through the overwhelming waves, I couldn’t see his face.
“Cade!” I called back.
Water filled my lungs, causing me to cough and sputter, my arms flailing wildly against the torrent. Something nudged my legs, grabbing at me to pull me down, but strong arms grabbed at my armpits, yanking me back up.
“Stay with me,” Cade pleaded, as I tipped my head back to look at him. Still, I couldn’t see him, although his voice was in my ear.
“Help me!” I pleaded. “I can’t get out!”
“Don’t you leave me,” he told me, his voice losing strength, his grip on me sliding away. “Zephy…”
His words faded away, and I was back in the ebony waters, struggling, until suddenly, abruptly, my eyes popped open.
A gasp shuddered my entire body, my head turning to take in the unfamiliar surroundings. A weight on my stomach confused me, but I couldn’t move at first, confusion and pain obstructing me.
