“She is stabilizing,” Ilijas said calmly.“If you can’t or don’t want to, you don’t have to.It’s up to you.”
Of their own accord, Hellion’s eyes moved over to Risha and pleaded for help.He nodded slowly and then moved to kneel behind him.Hellion found himself leaning back onto him, like he had done so, so many times before.
It had been him and Irishen against the world before it all went to shit.Before they got torn apart.Before they tore themselves apart.Before Tracthesian Academy, before Diana, before Elena, before all of it, it had been the two of them, and having Irishen’s arms around him and his head leaning against his chest felt so familiar.
“It sucks,” Risha whispered.“It sucks so, so hard to know you could have done something and didn’t because you were scared.”
“Rish—”
“You felt the pull.From the moment you laid your eyes on her, you felt it.Don’t fight it.”
“But I—”
Risha kept talking softly, while he just held him.“You don’t know what she is.Who she is.I get it.”
“Yeah.I don’t want her to be hurting though.”
“Don’t you?Just a little bit?There isn’t that tiny voice that wants to punish her for holding things from you?”Hellion jerked, but Risha didn’t let go.He whispered, “Did you tell her everything, Lion?Did you share your deepest, darkest secrets with her?”
“Of course, I didn’t,” Hellion tried to scoff, but it didn’t come out right.Risha turned his head just enough that his lips touched his ear as he spoke next.
“So, why are you punishing her for something you are doing yourself?”
Hellion blinked, his whirling mind slowed, and then stopped.He melted against Risha and was about to say something when the power slammed into him.
It was a deep, roiling storm.It crashed into his palms and up his arms.It filled him from heartbeat to heartbeat.Hellion gasped and funneled the power into his well.And kept pulling more and more out of her.
Or maybe it would be fairer to say, she kept pushing more at him.Like she was desperate to be free of it.Her power felt wild, untamed.It had the scent of morning rain and midnight mist with a tang of salt mixed in, like a crashing wave.He had never tasted anything like it.
“That’s it.”
Hellion blinked and realized Sim was pulling Wayla out of his lap.He… could touch her now.Hellion didn’t think he had pulled her empty, but she looked better now.Relaxed, breathing easily.
“Well done,” Risha said, still whispering into his ear.“How much did you get?”
“Maybe… maybe a third.”Risha gasped.Hellion let his eyes close and leaned more into him, allowing the excess power to settle.“Rish, I didn’t get nearly all of it.”
Chapter 46 – Irishen
IrishenSleethillwassilentlypraying to any god or goddess or spirit, power or deity of any kind, willing to listen, not to let him fuck this up.
His biggest regret in life leaned against his chest.Hellion, son of hell, the mighty, had pleaded for his help.If that wasn’t a sign, he didn’t know what was.
Worry and elation warred inside of him.The woman who had made any and all of this possible lay unconscious and battered on the floor.
Ilijas was carefully healing her, but Risha knew from experience that healing suppression only went so far.She would have to heal herself eventually, all Ilijas could do was kickstart the process.
“What is she?”Marc gasped.He seemed to be getting his power under control and was staring at Wayla like everyone else.
Sinister spoke first, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s part succubus or some sub-species thereof.”He looked at her like a puzzle he needed to crack.
“That wasn’t some hell related power,” Hellion immediately retorted.Silently, Risha agreed, not that he was an expert on the subject.
“But there’s something about her…” Sinister trailed off.
“What do we actually know about her?”Marc asked.“For certain, I mean?”
“That she would rather risk herself than kill a bunch of innocents,” Irishen blurted out without meaning to.Every eye turned to him, and he had the urge to hide behind a sneer, but Jarred’s nod gave him enough support to hold that reaction back.
