Her breathing turned shallow. She couldn’t get enough oxygen into her lungs. “If—If—” she broke off, unable to finish, unable to even speak. Her chest constricted, and her throat closed up. She shut her eyes, her head spinning. “If it doesn’t work…” She choked on the words, then hunched over, sucking in rattling breaths that did nothing to fill her lungs.
In an instant, Evander was kneeling at her feet, his hands on her knees. “Mona.”
His tender voice soothed her, along with that woodsy scent she knew so well.Her Evander.He was hers. He was here.
Her eyes opened, locking with his silver ones. She nodded at him, her gaze still pinned on his. Those silvery orbs pulled her in, beckoning her closer. They were beacons guiding her home. She would be lost without them.
“You can do this,” Evander murmured. “And if, for some reason, you can’t… we will weather that storm together. You are not alone, my love. I am here with you no matter what.”
Warmth filled Mona’s chest, and her eyes burned. She blinked rapidly to keep herself from crying again.
Evander pressed her hand firmly to his chest. “This heart… is yours. For all eternity.”
Her vision blurred with tears, and she sniffed. “And mine is yours,” she whispered.
A small smile lit his face, and he sat back on the floor to give her room. He stayed close, as if he knew that withdrawing too far would make her panic again.
Gaia silently approached, removing each item from her sack and placing them onto the cot next to Mona. The last items were a mortar and pestle to mash the ingredients together.
“Do you recall the conditions of the healing spell?” Gaia asked softly.
Mona could almost slip back into the routine of answering her mother’s questions. Teacher and student. A witch apprentice learning from the Mother of the witch coven.
“Essence of saffron root. A sprig of lavender. An open heart and mind. An eye of newt. Three droplets of mugwater.”
“I have everything here.” Gaia gestured to the ingredients spread on the cot. “But the open heart and mind must come from you.” Her blue eyes flared with intensity, challenging Mona.
Mona sat up straighter. She took three deep breaths, feeling her chest expand with each inhale. She cleared her mind of all frustrations and worries, all thoughts and concerns.
Open heart. Open mind.
It was just her and the spell. Nothing more.
Silently, she nodded. Gaia watched her expectantly, unmoving. Mona reached for the mortar and pestle, then grabbed the jar of saffron root. Her hands shook at first, but after a moment, she settled into the familiarrhythm of spellcasting.Grind the root. Add the lavender. Mix together. Crush the newt eye. Add the mug water. Mix again.
Her hands moved of their own accord, her thoughts emptying. She knew nothing but the task at hand. The mixture became an olive green paste that smelled of witch magic and lush forests.
It smelled like Krenia.
“Good,” Gaia said once the paste was finished. “Now, the next step?”
Mona said nothing as she dipped two fingers into the mixture, then smeared it under her tunic over her own chest. It felt cool to the touch, making her shudder. Her eyes closed, and she froze for a moment, suddenly remembering the reality before her.
Her lost powers.
Her wounded body.
The healing spell that might work… but it also might not.
No,she thought, gritting her teeth.Empty your thoughts. Open heart. Open mind.
She took three more deep breaths, then continued smearing the salve onto her chest. The coolness seeped into her bones, bringing a tingling awareness throughout her entire body.
“Now, the incantation,” Gaia prodded.
Mona inhaled a slow breath, then whispered, “Sano.” She pressed her palm flat against her chest, right where her heart was beating. Her fingers were sticky from the paste. “Hoc vulnus sana.”
Nagging thoughts crept into her mind, but she pushed them away. The worries and fears within her urged her tofret over the possibility of failure, to overanalyze how long this was taking to produce results.
