But he doesn’t, can’t. His pre-planned actions mustn’t have reached this far, and he’s left heaving and snarling but unable to attack.
“It worked,” Killian snaps again, ignoring the bleeding wounds on his arm.
“It worked,” I confirm, even though I’m not exactly sure how I know that. Then my whole world drops from under me. “Shade!”
We’re too far away!
I run up the stairs two at a time. Too far. Too far.
Killian is hot on my heels, but Thane’s inability to react puts him behind us. With my heart ripping through my chest, I rush back into the cabin.
She’s not on the lounge. We were thrown out the door, and the wall would have hit her hard. Thrown her to the ground, crashing into the single-seater, to knock it over, but not out of her way. I find her on her hands and knees groaning and struggling to breathe.
I drop to her side and lift her chin to meet my gaze, but before she can comprehend it’s me, she collapses.
Killian grabs the back of the lounge and rights it with enough force that the thing comes to a stop resting against the far wall. Thane’s breath brushes my shoulder; the oversized wolf could take my head off. One bite, easy. But I’m hoping that wasn’t part of his pre-planning either.
I extend a thread to her, confirming as much as I can that our original healing worked. But she’s still hurting. I can feel that pain, and I look to Killian for confirmation.
“She’s fine,” he growls, as if any part of her that’s not fine will respond to his aggression and get fine.
I don’t want to even think about what the result might have been if she was pressed into the wall or the glass window. The window would have broken – and her affinity with Silvari glass aside, I’m pretty sure normal glass would do damage.
I pull my power back, watching her lungs continue to expand, her breathing rough but steady.
None of us move, waiting for Thane to retreat first.
He sniffs at the girl, offers us one last growl, then shifts with a violent flash back into the man. “Will she keep breathing?”
What he’s really asking is if he can take her – or does she need my power to stay alive right now.
I nod. “If she starts whimpering, call out to me.”
He scoops her up and carries her up the stairs, having heard everything he needs to. I wait until they’re out of sight, then jump to my feet. Everything warring inside me, to hold her – be there for her, against the relief that Pax has her safe, and more. So much more.
“If she needs me, you come find me.” I point at Killian before running from the cottage.
Killian rushes out the door behind me. “Seth,” he roars, storming in the other direction. “If she needs Roarke, you find him.”
Both of us running away.
Terrified.
I slam through Eydis’ knowledge gate – then keep running. Until there’s nothing but me and trees, and I collapse to the ground, releasing my hold on my power and sighing in relief as every part of me settles into its proper place.
The pain eases to nothing. Air tastes as it should, delicate and full of potential desire, and the pulse of mother earth returns like a second heartbeat beneath me.
I fall back, looking up at the sky through the patchwork of autumn trees each one desiring something.
Normally, when I’m not blocking myself off from my power, all of this is background noise that I grew deaf to a very, very long time ago. Maybe it’s the forced break - I have never bottled my Allure this much or for this long. Or maybe it’s the new person in my life who expects nothing, takes nothing, but gives so much – that’s rare in Silva. Even more so among the people around me.
So rare I may have forgotten it exists in my daily battle to toe the line. To ensure I don’t use people, and they don’t use me – unless, of course, it serves a purpose bigger than what my Allure wants.
But, oh, how beautiful this world is.
Kitten is right. We will not let it burn.
I have to keep everyone alive – keep her alive.
Eight Paces
I stir awake with a cracking pain through my skull, a soft pillow under my head, and a heavy arm over my chest. The sun’s up, barely. The storm has definitely moved on, and a clear blue sky fills the view out of Eydis’ bedroom window.
My fingers trace along the bare arm that has me pinned in place, finding a bare shoulder, then a bare back. I stop myself from exploring lower. I know it’s Pax – not sure how I know, though. I’m lying on my back, and Pax is almost on his stomach, his head on the very edge of the pillow next to mine. Not sure how I got here or exactly why my head hurts. My arm still aches, so I’m pretty sure trying to heal was unsuccessful and not worth the price.
And the other stuff. The bits and pieces that I remember. Killian’s hand in my hair. Roarke pressed oh-so-hard against me. The roses being turned to ash, and my whole being feeling like I wanted to be ash with them.
Crap. Think of something else, Shade, before you turn your insides to mush.
Pax lets out a soft snore, which makes me giggle.
The guy sucks in a breath and cracks an eyelid open to look at me.
“Sleeping?” I ask, then close my eyes against the low thrum of pain through my head. Talking hurts.
“Napping,” he counters. “I’ll get Roarke.”
“No,” I whisper, giving my head a second to settle before opening my eyes again.
Being pain-free would be nice, but being alone with Pax
