Throwing her hands forward, shadows streaked out from her fingertips in a wave of ebony wrath. The closest reavers ruptured, bursting from the inside out. An explosion of blood showered down, splattering against the cobblestone street.
More wraith warped in front of her. Heart pummeling her chest, Serenna spooled the lake of rending, recalling her magic. Lashing out like cracking a whip, she snapped shadowy tendrils around the reavers’ throats. Yanking on the cords of power, heads flew off of necks in a spray of blood.
Ripping at Essence, Serenna spun a mantle of midnight over the next wave of wraith materializing, lacerating them in fountains of viscera and bone. Shadows raced across her hands. Channeling webs of darkness, Serenna shrieked, demanding more of her power.
Her vision started to haze as terror rooted. A handful of weeks tethered had reduced the capacity of her Well by an alarming amount.
She was going to be overwhelmed.
A burst of pressure rent the air beside her. A portal opened.
Lykor raged through like a storm, Essence combusting with the intensity of a sun. He’d answered her call. If Serenna wasn’t so numb with shock, she would’ve wept in relief.
With a flash of fury, Lykor bared his fangs at her, stalking forward. Serenna stumbled back at his sudden motion, holding her bloody palms out like she could stop him. Panic climbed back into her throat. She hadn’t anticipated that he’d be so vengeful for her reaching out through the bond.
Lykor’s attention flicked to Fenn on the ground, gurgling blood.
His rage toward her dissipated. Serenna didn’t need to tell him anything. Noticing the reavers, Lykor’s crimson gaze pinned on the horde, the fires of retribution flaring in his eyes.
Lykor’s focus shifted back to her. An unspoken understanding passed between them—one Serenna would’ve never expected. He gave her the most subtle dipping of his chin, the barest of nods.
He’d handle it.
Only seconds had ticked by since Lykor had appeared. Serenna’s stomach bottomed out as the next surge of wraith approached with golden bolts in their crossbows. She cried out as they aimed the weapons, tossing her hands to frantically reassemble scraps of wind. Lykor can’t stand against—
The twang of crossbows echoed along the streets. He was going to be impaled. Just like Fenn. In her desperation, she’d called Lykor to his death without even realizing it.
The cobblestone street exploded.
Losing her balance, Serenna staggered from the foundations quaking. Lykor whipped force in a hurricane of wrath. Crushing his gauntlet into a fist, he demolished the closest bridge, sending reavers falling to the lower depths. Ripping down a building, bricks flew through the air, forming a shield of solid stone.
Serenna coughed, hacking on the dust clogging the streets while Lykor continued hauling on the fortress. He prowled down the pathway straight for the rebellious wraith, his makeshift barrier moving and rippling around him. The reavers’ bolts ineffectively clanged into his impenetrable wall, deflected.
Shadows detonated, the movement of Lykor’s magic rapid and violent. The closest reavers erupted into geysers of gore. With a punch of force, the rocks of his shield blasted out, colliding with the horde. Robbed of time to warp, the wraith fell, having no defense against the barrage of bricks ripping holes through their bodies.
Lykor snarled down the bond into Serenna’s mind. Stop fucking staring and mend the lieutenant!
Serenna wrenched her gaze away from Lykor wreaking havoc. She all but slipped in the pool of Fenn’s blood, collapsing to his side.
“Hang on,” Serenna said, hands shaking while she corralled her power. Her own speck of pain was forgotten, infinitesimal compared to Fenn’s horrific wounds.
Gritting his fangs, blood trickled past the corners of Fenn’s mouth. Serenna grabbed a bolt, his torso spurting a black stream of blood when she yanked the shaft free. Too many had impaled him. More than she was willing to count.
Fighting back her welling fear, Serenna’s mind began replaying the memory of when Vesryn had been on death’s doorstep. But this was worse. So much worse. She was alone, with no hope of any menders coming to her aid.
Serenna frantically set healing lattices to work, cocooning Fenn with scarlet light. His injuries were too severe. He was hemorrhaging too much blood. Panic lacerated Serenna’s chest, threatening to cleave her apart. She couldn’t do this. She didn’t have enough skill or Essence.
Fenn convulsed. He clutched one of her hands hovering above his chest. “Take… Take your magics back.” Voice hoarse and labored with the effort, blood bubbled over his lips as he gasped for a breath. “Take…it.”
Serenna’s vision swam as she shook her head in denial, tears spilling free. Weaving healing light, she threaded mending over Fenn’s body, faster than she’d ever channeled Essence before. She wasn’t even stitching him completely closed. Desperate to stop his life force from draining out, she was merely patching his gaping wounds.
Serenna ripped out another bolt, drawing a pained hiss from behind Fenn’s fangs. “You’re going to need your power when we help Lykor finish off the reavers,” she told him with more confidence than she felt. Power rushed through her as she cast a tangle of healing into the wound.
“I won’t…” Fenn coughed and Serenna gripped his claw tighter. “I won’t need it…where I’m going.”
“Don’t say that,” Serenna hissed, her throat closing around her words. “You’re going to be fine.” She heard the lie. “I’m mending you.” She was trying. “These are hardly scratches for a big brute like you.”
“Do it for me, she-elf.” Fenn squeezed her fingers weakly, a frail farewell. “I have”—he drew in a labored gasp—“I have nothing else…to give you.” His eyes started to glaze, the red flames dimming. “You already have”—his chest shuddered as he strained for another wheezing breath—“a key to my heart.”
Serenna’s hand tensed against Fenn’s claw as he went limp. She snatched his face, bloody hands slipping over his skin.
“Fenn!” Serenna shrieked, her voice breaking with emotion as his eyelids fluttered. “Look at me! You’re going to live!”
Silver streamers of light sailed away from him, settling over her like a scattering of starry snow. Devastated by grief, Serenna sobbed. Fenn didn’t know what he was doing. He was fumbling, attempting to return her talent.
Serenna’s thoughts flashed back to Vesryn in his delirium. But now, she recognized the magic of the connection. A soul reaching out. The fibers of an intentional bond, straining to form.
Spasming, a breath rattled from Fenn’s chest. This wouldn’t be his end. It couldn’t be.
Before the faint silver lights winked out, Serenna lashed back with her Essence, the strength of her will. She twined her magic with Fenn’s, knotting her power to his. Completing the bond, a bridge solidified between their Wells.
I need you here with me, she pleaded, the words slipping down the bridge of their link. She clutched Fenn’s claws as if she could anchor her body to his. He was fading. She could sense it. Hardly able to perceive his awareness, Serenna latched onto his wavering aura.
Find me, she-elf. The echo of his thought brushed her mind, a gentle caress. When it’s your time to soar the skies. Find me, and our dust can dance between the stars.
A helpless observer to her own sorrow, Serenna couldn’t breathe. She choked on her tears, dragging her focus back to mending Fenn’s mangled body. Healing light cascaded from her palms, but it wouldn’t be enough. It wasn’t going to be enough.
Serenna screamed, shattering from the desolation of her heart. She tore out another bolt from the scattering across Fenn’s chest, blanketing him with a wave of crimson light, loosely stitching a single wound.
