Kneeling, I laced my fingers and pressed the heel of my hand to her chest. I’d watched her long enough. I knew what to do.
The first time I threw my weight down my arms, against her chest, I grimaced. As senseless as it was, as far from pain as I knew her to be, I cringed at the thought of hurting her in any way. I had to do this. There was no other option.
Again and again, I pushed down on her chest, willing her heart to beat. Begging, praying to gods I had no respect for, wishing. But as with Hyacinth, there was no answering flicker of life.
I’d lost count. Not that I knew the details of how this magic worked. As I’d seen Aliza do, I lowered my lips to hers, pinched her nose, and blew my own breath into her lungs.
Live. Come back to me.
When I lifted my head, she was still dead.
I almost gave up then, almost let the familiar black wave drag me down to the crushing depths, but she needed me. I needed her.
Resuming my efforts, I racked my brain for every word she’d ever said, playing over her enthusiastic explanations, searching for a clue. A sign as to what came next.
A defibrillator sends an electric shock to the heart. It can restore the rhythm.
Electric shock. I could do that.
All around me, the bodies of the guards I’d slain littered the ground. My power had stopped their hearts, but humans… Aliza said it could help them live.
If only I’d asked more questions. If only I had the faintest idea of how this was supposed to work. I should have listened. I should have asked. Thanks to my own determination to keep her at arm’s length, I was blind. But I had to try. I couldn’t inflict any more harm than I already had.
Ceasing my crushing jabs, I spread my palm over her chest once more, as I’d done to transform her body. With a glow and a crackle, I sent a pulse of lightning from my flesh to hers. Not enough to injure. The same tiny flicker of power I’d used to revive her phone.
Nothing.
Fine. Not enough. I could do more.
The second bolt was stronger, but as unsuccessful as the first.
“Come on, Aliza.” The third bolt had her arching away from the ground, and my heart leapt, brimming with hope, but when the current died, she lay limp and lifeless once more.
Rain pattered the ground, the drops on her skin shining like tears.
A nearby clatter had me reaching for one of my swords, but it was only Saeth landing. He shook the rain from his mane and approached, his head held low. With all the tenderness of a mother, he nudged Aliza’s cheek. Her head lolled away.
The black wave inside me rose, filling me, obliterating everything but the pain. The all-consuming agony I had grown to know as well as I knew myself. The sky darkened too. Rain splattered my face as I stared at the clouds.
I had come too late. I had tried, raced against the clock, but come too late. A minute earlier, maybe two, and Aliza would still be alive. If I hadn’t fought against the compulsion to turn around, to go back to the human world… If I had known where they were keeping her… If I had leapt from Saeth’s back earlier…
Saeth’s back.
I scrambled to my feet, scooping Aliza into my arms, trying to ignore the way her limbs flopped. Without stopping to think, I threw her over Saeth’s withers and vaulted up behind her. I gathered her, holding her tight to my chest, and buried my free hand in Saeth’s mane. As though reading my thoughts, the horse’s wings spread, thrusting us into the sky without hesitation.
Rain streaked past, a freezing, blinding barrage, but I fixed my squinting eyes on the clouds. Up there, in the charged sky, my magic would be at full strength. Up there, I would try one last time.
My fist tightened on Saeth’s mane as he tilted, almost vertical. The soaking wings pounded relentlessly, with great booming beats. Up and up we surged, riding the wind, and I clutched Aliza to me as the ground fell away. I’d never teleported from the sky with a passenger before, but I would do it today. In the grand scheme of things, the sky and the ground weren’t that far apart.
The clouds loomed, closer and closer, and then all at once, we were plunged into swirling grey mist. It soaked through my clothes, freezing me to the core. I couldn’t see. My lungs filled with watery air.
All at once, we burst out of the clouds, into a breathtaking skyscape of sun gilded, fluffy clouds, and clear blue sky. Gone was the driving rain, the gloom. Aliza would have loved this.
My heart buckled in on itself, and as Saeth levelled out, his wings held wide, I gripped her tighter. Her freezing skin was slick beneath my hand. Her newly grown hair hung in wet tendrils, clinging to her pale face. I was running out of time.
“Same again, boy,” I muttered, easing my stiff limbs into position.
I wedged a foot on the wing joint and detangled my hand from the sodden mane. I could do this. I had to. I could not fail. With one last glimpse of the deceptively serene view, I threw myself into the air, taking Aliza with me.
Saeth wheeled away, and together, Aliza and I plummeted.
Before I could even take a breath, the clouds engulfed us. As we sped through the freezing dark, I eased my hand between our chests, crushed together by the strength of my single-armed grip. I settled my palm between her breasts.
Live.
Lightning bolted between us with a crackling boom. Aliza stiffened, jerking away from me. I tightened my grip, holding her as the magic dissipated and we plunged out of the clouds.
The ground sped towards us, faster than I could have imagined. I screwed my eyes shut, thinking of the cave I’d found her in when she’d stolen my horse. Secret. Warded. Safe.
Darkness swept in, claiming us both.
42Wait, What?
Aliza
Ihated the sound of rain first thing in the morning. There was nothing worse than leaving the warmth of my bed and having to brave the dismal, English weather. How long until my alarm went off? Hopefully, the rain would stop before then…
With a grumble, I tried to curl deeper into the comfort of my bed, only… my body refused to move, and my bed wasn’t comfy at all.
