His heart beat painfully in his chest, and he was sure at any moment it would simply stop from the amount of power flowing through him. Then, like all the air being sucked from a room, the magic whooshed out of him. It went through his hands and into the females on either side of him. He heard Jen curse, and Jacque joined her a second later.
Lucian started to ask them if they were okay, but then his mouth slammed shut as his mate’s presence filled his mind.“Lucian.”Her voice caressed his soul, tentative and gentle.
“I’m here, beloved,”he told her.
“You have to go.”She sounded as if she was in pain, and he had to fight the need to rip his hands from Jen and Jacque and throw himself at the veil.
“No. Never again,”he argued.“I will never leave you again.”
“I have nothing left to give.”
“I will take you as you are, no matter what that means. If you are a wraith left to wander the earth, then I will wander with you. If you are a shell, empty from the pain, then my love will fill you. If you are broken beyond repair, then I will hold your pieces until we pass from this life into the next. All I need is you, Peri. Nothing more.”
He felt her fear, torment, and anger. But beneath that, he also felt a small sliver of hope.“That’s not fair,”she said.
“Life isn’t fair, beloved. And to expect it to be fair is setting ourselves up for constant disappointment. Instead, we do the best with what we have, and we find joy in every circumstance. I find joy in you. You do not have to doubt me. You can feel the truth through our bond and see my thoughts. You are the other half of my soul, Perizada. No matter what happens, that will never change. I will forever need and want you. You are mine. I’m sorry I didn’t handle my anger in a better way.”Lucian reached further down the bond, pictured her face in his mind, and ran his fingers across her cheek. He heard her quick, indrawn breath and knew she’d felt him. A moment later, the heat of her palm on his own cheek warmed his skin. Lucian let himself soak up her touch. Though it was only through the bond, he grasped on to the feeling like a drowning man clinging to the only floating object in a vast ocean. He sensed her slipping away from him, though her magic was still there, inside of him, a part of him.
“I’m not going anywhere, Perizada. I sat in the Dark Forest for centuries. I can just as easily sit in this one.”
There was a final caress as her voice whispered in his mind,“You will be wasting your time, my love.”
“All I’ve got is time.”
Jacque held tightlyto Lucian’s hand on her left side and Jewel’s on her right. She wasn’t completely sure what happened when Lucian collapsed to the ground, nearly taking her and Jen with him, but she could feel something more than just his power coming through the pack bond. She could feel a cold magic intermingled with his power. When she closed her eyes and searched for it, she found the thread that connected Lucian to the pack. Then she saw that there was a blue flame wrapped around his cord. Cold fire, she realized. Then, as more of the power flowed into her, she recognized Peri’s magic. Perhaps because she’d become a part of their pack by being mated to Lucian, or by proxy simply because they’d claimed her as pack, Peri’s magic seemed as familiar to Jacque as any of her other pack members.
As the coldness filtered into her, Jacque wondered how on earth Lucian could withstand it. She was receiving it secondhand, and still the sensation was so strong she thought it might knock her unconscious.
“I’ve got you, Luna.”Fane’s voice filled her mind.“I’ve always got you.”
Jacque did not know how much time passed as they stood in the circle, hands joined, power flowing from one person to the next, but she grew tired, and her legs ached. Her eyes roamed over the group, and she saw others struggling to stay on their feet as well.
“Thadrick,” she called out to the djinn. “We need a break.”
The djinn lowered the hand held out in front of him. His shoulders rose and fell with his breaths, and he slowly turned around. He looked straight at her. His eyes swirled with a rainbow of different colors, but then gradually faded and returned to normal.
“You can let go,” he told the group.
The current that had flowed through Jacque abruptly stopped, and she stumbled. She slowly released Lucian’s hand and looked down at him. He was on his knees, his shoulders hunched forward and his head hung low. When she and Jen let go, he rolled forward onto his hands and knees and phased. The huge, white wolf shook as if his fur was coated in water. Then he threw his head back and let out a soul-shattering howl. The sound died off and then he bolted away, disappearing into the trees.
“Is he gonna be okay?” Stella asked, her voice wobbly, and her hands on her knees. “Because he did not look like a man who was in control of himself, or his wolf for that matter.”
“He’ll be back,” Jacque said, instead of answering the healer’s question.
“So, I guess this will be nothing like last time.” Jacque heard Elle’s voice before the fae stepped from the forest.
“I thought you were with the hunting party,” Jacque said, her breathing labored.
“Fane asked me to pop in and see how things are going.” She ran her eyes over the group. “And I have to say, it’s not looking too good. No judgment.” She held up her hands. “But this is not at all how it went down with the pixie veil.”
Jacque looked toward the veil and saw Myanin pressing her hand against the invisible wall, which was as solid as if it were made of bricks.
“Not even the slightest give,” the djinn said.
“It will take time,” Thadrick said. “The draheim magic is powerful.”
“Are you saying we’re going to be here awhile?” Stella asked. “Because this is starting to feel way too familiar.”
“At least Jewel isn’t talking about resorting to drinking our own urine yet,” Heather said as Kale helped her sit on the ground.
