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The magic dimmed and pulsed again and again. The void kept pulling, and Cara kept giving.
“It’s working,” Brett said. “Look at his neck.”
Nick could see her getting paler and weaker. He didn’t know how far she could push herself, and he struggled to focus enough to tell her to stop. His head was spinning from exhaustion and euphoria, and the void roared inside him, fueled by her magic.
“Cara?” Brett said. “You good?”
Cara nodded, eyes closed as she focused on the spell. She looked exhausted, but she kept going.
Moments stretched longer and longer, and Nick finally felt himself getting stronger. His mind was clear, he could breathe properly, and he was able to sit up straight.
“It worked,” Brett gasped.
Cara managed a weak smile.
“Let go, Nick,” Brett said.
The void screamed in his head.
“Nick, let go,” Brett said.
Cara’s eyes fluttered, and Brett grabbed their hands.
Nick gasped and ripped his hands away. He pushed himself against the wall, staring at her. “Cara?”
“I’m alright,” she said, but her voice was soft, and she sounded weak.
“Cara, I’m sorry.”
“I have more,” she said. “Take more.”
“Brett, check if she’s okay. I can’t touch her.”
His brother was checking his neck, examining it, but he nodded and went to Cara, touching her gently while he spoke to her.
“I’m fine,” she said. “I’m fine, Brett.”
Nick’s fingers twitched, desperate to reach towards her, but he clenched his fists. He forced the void to retreat, but it took all his strength. The darkness was roiling, hungry and angry, and it wanted her.
“It’s over,” Nick said, talking to himself as much as them. He touched his neck and winced. It was painful and sensitive to touch, but he could feel how much it improved. “You saved me.”
“You did that by yourself,” she said.
The glowing euphoria finally faded, and ice-cold reality flooded his senses.
“Oh god,” he groaned. Pain was everywhere, and his chest and his ribs and his neck throbbed.
“You look like shit,” Brett said.
Nick laughed and then groaned, holding his ribs.
“Sorry,” Brett said, but he was still smiling.
Cara wavered beside him, and Brett quickly steadied her. “I’ve got you.”
She put her head against Brett’s shoulder, and Nick resisted the urge to take his place. He couldn’t risk the void hurting her again.
A minute passed, and Nick noticed the expression on his brother’s face. Brett was trying very hard not to look at Cara, and then Nick saw the scratch on her cheek, and the thin red line of fresh blood.
