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I collapsed, sobs ripping through me. “Araki!”
***
Araki seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but I knew the truth. He was dying. The wounds in his stomach had been healed. All the healers had used their spells and strengths to stitch his flesh together, but something else was inside him. Not something as simple as the poison Opaline had used on me, either. It was something else. Something even more destructive. The door to Araki’s chambers opened. Klaus came in, his whole body sagging as he came to stand beside me. “I settled Nala in a room of her own. It’s locked and guarded,” he said. Then, catching my expression, he added, “We don’t know what she’s been told or if Opaline has plans for her.”
I ran a hand over my face. “And Araki?”
“I believe it’s an old poisoning enchantment. It’s eating Araki’s body from the inside out and being so arcane… we don’t know the counter spell.” Klaus folded his hands. “We’ll keep looking. But there’s something else. I’m receiving reportsof graveyards being raided. Opaline will be coming for us soon enough.”
I released a shaky breath. “Before or after he dies?”
Klaus flinched. “We can’t be sure. Which is why… I have a plan.”
I heard the reluctance in his voice. I stood, turning to him. “What is it?”
Klaus’s gaze was so pained it took my breath away. He laid a hand on Araki’s bed, his shoulders sagging. “We need his magic if we’re going to fight her, Reilyn.”
I understood instantly. “No.”
“We need that magic. I’m sorry. But if you took it—”
“Klaus!” Nadine’s voice came from behind us. We turned as she dashed inside, wearing nothing but a shift. She waved a book in the air, “I found it! I know how to save him. His life force is being drained. But this is a bonding spell. Far more powerful than any I’ve seen before. It’ll help you share his life force, giving him enough to survive.”
Klaus snatched the book, studying the page intently. “There’s no counter spell. But if it can save him—”
My heart, which had been pounding, suddenly became calm. “It has to be me.”
Klaus and Nadine both looked up.
“It has to be me,” I repeated. I wasn’t going to let them argue about this. “If it doesn’t work, whoever performs the spell will die with them. Klaus must be here to command the armyif” I didn’t finish the words. I looked at Nadine, “Tell me how to perform it.”
Klaus searched my face. Then he nodded and turned the book, so I could see it. “It has to be done perfectly. There’s no room for error.”
I took the book and studied the diagram. “I won’t make a mistake. You can count on it.”
The Beginning of the End
Araki
The cold that clung to me slowly dispersed. Rays of white that wrapped around my spine released me. The ache of being ripped in two faded, and I felt my body again, rather than being distantly aware of it, as though I was tethered to a hunk of flesh. I opened my eyes to find myself lying in my bed. When had I gotten here? The last thing I remembered was we were in the warehouse. We entered, and saw a body surrounded by fire… everything else was blank.
“Araki?” Klaus’s voice came from my side.
I looked over to find him sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed. Reilyn lay beside me, dressed in a white nightshift, downy blankets pulled up over her body. I reached out, tangling my fingers in her red curls.
But if Reilyn was sleeping next to me, why was Klaus here? I blinked and frowned at him. “What happened?”
Klaus circled the bed. He sat beside me, smiling despite the dark circles under his eyes. “Reilyn hasn’t left your side. I think she should be the one who tells you everything.”
Reilyn stirred and whimpered in her sleep. I shifted around, putting an arm around her. Her eyes blinked open, and then she gasped and bolted upright. I couldn’t help but laugh. Joy flooded through me so powerfully that it took my breath away.
“I’ll give the two of you some privacy,” Klaus murmured.
As soon as he was gone, Reilyn launched herself at me. I knew what she would do before she did it. Our magic mingled. One kiss turned into another, and soon we were ripping each other’s clothes off, panting and moaning with the need to be with each other. The bond between us was stronger than ever. Making love was more intense than anything I had experienced before. I could almost hear her thoughts. When we were done, we lay in a tangle of blankets, sweat slicking our bodies. Reilyn lazily traced kisses over my chest before stopping at my throat. She sighed as she pressed her hand to my heart.
“I thought I lost you,” she whispered.
I stroked her red curls. “What do you mean?”
