All I could do was sigh in response. There was no talking this stubborn queen out of anything she wanted to do, especially if she thought it would help me. I wouldn’t let this darkness flare inside of me and lash out at her. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”
“Good luck, sucker!” Jax called out from the sidelines. “You know, I was just starting to like you too. Such a shame.”
Lana glared at him. “Careful, Jax, I might just call in a strox or two for a panther snack if you don’t zip it.”
Jax’s eyes widened for a moment in feigned shock before playfully growling and swiping a panther paw in the air in a mock attack.
Lana rolled her eyes. “Moving on. Shall we?” She reached her hand out to mine. “Ian, just in case this doesn’t work, I need you to know it changes nothing. You are my best friend. You have been my best friend since we were children, and no amount of darkness running through your veins will ever change that. I love you.” She squeezed my hand and smiled at me reassuringly. “But I’m confident itwillwork.”
“I love you too, Lan.” I wrapped her in a hug and held her for a moment longer than usual. Anticipation collided with fear at whatever would happen next. I closed my eyes, inhaling slowly before squeezing her once and letting go. “Do your worst, Your Majesty.”
Kade moved to stand behind me, his shadows pooled at his feet, ready to act if needed. With our differences set aside, we already made a pact that it would be up to him to protect Lana no matter what in case this experiment went horribly wrong.
I took off my shirt and turned to my side as the unhealed scars of my torture were exposed to the woman closest to me. Lana swallowed uncomfortably, and I swore I heard a low whistle from Jax. Rolling my shoulders, I tried to ignore their reactions. I couldn’t look Lan in the eye right now though, or the wall I erected during my time in Brookmere’s dungeons might break.
“I know we talked about my arm or leg or something.” I cleared my throat and shrugged. “But I don’t know, something about where he infected me seems like it might work better.”
Lana warily took a step closer and placed her hand on my chest. “I will kill him for what he did to you.” She gently touched the scars, saving the biggest for last.
I swallowed a lump in my throat at Lana’s inspection. “It’s no more than what he did to you,” I said softly.
She looked up at me, shaking her head. She sniffed, eyes misting.
“I’m okay,” I reassured her. Part of me didn’t know if that was true. The time in the dungeons haunted my dreams still. I’d had my own nightmares from our time as kids with Andras, but now, they were accompanied by my most recent torture. Though I’d never admit that to Lan. She had weathered so much torture as a child herself.
“We’ve got this,” she said. “Here we go.”
I nodded, picking up on Kade breathing heavily behind me. I wondered if he was as worried as I was about all of this, or if his concern was merely for Lana.
“Three, two,” Lana counted, and before she got to one, she made the tiniest cut on my side, not even big enough to draw a drop of blood.
I held my breath as we waited.
Nothing happened. No release of a magical dark mist, no cry in agony, nothing. Kade just stared at me blankly. My heart dropped.
“So much for what ghost lady said,” Jax quipped.
Lana whipped her head around so fast and stormed over to him.
“Wait.” Jax held up his hands in front of her. “I’ll give you one hit. Just not to my gorgeous face.”
She smacked him on the side of his head as he laughed.
Returning my attention to Lana, who had huffed her way back in front of me, I looked her straight in the eye. “You are going to have to cut me more than that, it seems, if this is going to work.”
She hesitated for a moment. “I just don’t want to hurt you any more than you already have been.”
Her pain shone in her eyes. I knew I would have a hard time doing the same to her, if the roles were reversed.
“Lana, you could never hurt me. Nothing you could do would ever hurt me. I want you to do this—no, I need you to do this. This is not torture. You are not Andras.” I cupped her cheeks, tilting her head so she had to look at me. “This is saving my life.”
Kade chimed in from behind, “Lana, you can do this. It’s just a cut. Even if it doesn’t get rid of the darkness, he will heal before we’ve even made it back to the inn.”
Lana straightened her body and gripped the dagger tighter in her hand. She closed her eyes and whispered something inaudible before opening them again, determination etched into her brows.
This time when she placed Apollo against my skin, I looked down and a soft glow of light emitted from her fingertips. The blade seemed to hum as she sliced into my scar, deeper this time, until blood flowed freely down my side.
I inhaled, surprised as a dark mist left my body in coiled strands. I felt a weight dragging uncomfortably through my body from my extremities as it cascaded through me and out of the cut on my side.
