3
Istand on the cliff with all my emotions raging through me and they scare me like hell. Finally, I can heal Baelen and I’m suddenly afraid of so many things. Right now, he’s a shell of storm power. His heart still sleeps. He looks and acts like my Baelen, but what will happen when he wakes up? Will he remember any of this? Will the Storm’s power return to me or stay with him? There’s also a lot he doesn’t know because he was trapped in the Royal Residence all this time. How will I tell him everything that happened in the mines while he slept?
Mostly I’m afraid because we might finally have the chance to be together and I’m terrified something will rip it away. What if he’s wrong and his heart is gone?
“Marbella, I’m here.”
With those simple words, all my fears disappear. “Then I don’t want to wait another moment.” I lead him forward, forcing myself not to touch him as he strides beside me.
The entrance to the deep springs beckons, a wide, tall ingress into the mountainside. Delicate web lights the way inside, leading down a pathway that descends into the mountain. At the end of it, we reach a cavern sparkling with glistening web made of all colors, not the usual cerulean blue. A set of stone steps leads us down to a deep pool of water set within the floor.
A rhythmic drip echoes around the cavern and it surprises me to see single droplets of water falling from the same spot on the ceiling far above us, especially because they appear to form out of the stone itself instead of flowing from somewhere else.
I try to remember what Elyria told me about the springs—that it is the only water source flowing directly from Earth’s surface. I’m not really sure how that works: it’s certainly not dripping from the sky.Very strange.But it’s a mystery that will have to wait.
Baelen follows me to the pool’s edge where we find more steps that will take us deep into the water. I notice for the first time that since we entered the cave, his feet don’t burn the ground anymore and his steps are slower. His eyes are dark coals, the fire in them almost gone out.
“Baelen?”
He exhales. “I’m okay, but I’m glad we’re here. I don’t think I can maintain this shell much longer.”
A wash of panic spreads through me. I will dive into this pool right now if I have to. I splash down the steps, urging him to come with me. The water is cool and very still. So is the air around us—perfectly still but not stale. I step further in until I’m waist deep. The stones rise as I move deeper into the water, positioning themselves above and beside me where I can see them from the corner of my eye.
Baelen’s feet disappear under the surface, followed by his legs and waist. The water rises as he displaces it, lifting to my armpits. I wade further into the pond until it’s level with my shoulders, while Baelen follows me. He’s so tall he’ll need as much water as there is.
I bite my lip as he immerses to his neck. We’re both wearing our armor and it feels ironic that we’re dressed exactly like the last time we saw each other, when we took the form of gargoyles and fought each other by mistake.
He closes his eyes, shutting off from me. It’s not just his eyes, but his whole body. Every part of him shuts down, suddenly empty. It’s like watching a lamp go out. He’s gone. Completely gone. It’s even worse than after he first paused himself. I can’t even hear his heartbeat this time. As soon as he immersed himself in the water everything stopped.
His armor reflects light from beneath the surface, a reminder that he’s not okay. There’s no sudden sign or explosion of power, nothing to indicate any change in the water… or in Baelen.
“Please heal.” I wait as he remains still and immersed, watching the cut of his jaw and high cheekbones, the scar running the length of his face, and his eyes that I’m desperate to see, to have him look back at me with his whole self. “Please.”
I wait for the longest time.
He doesn’t move. There’s no indication he’s breathing.
I wait for so long that I can’t keep watching for a sign. I close my eyes, burning with tears I haven’t shed yet: tears for Cassian and the miners who didn’t make it, tears for Elyria because she’s so broken, tears for Elise and my Storm Command because they’re imprisoned, and tears because… if Baelen doesn’t come back to me… if I’ve lost him…
“Marbella.”
My eyes shoot open. Hot teardrops leak from them. “Baelen?”
He contemplates me quietly as water swills around his shoulders. His jade green eyes follow the shape of my face from my braided hair to my pale eyes, my nose, my chin, and back up to my crimson lips. He takes in every detail, every change, his lips parting slightly and a tiny crease appearing between his eyebrows.
“You’re awake. You’re… finally awake.” I can’t say anything else. My voice catches and sobs rise out of me. I can’t hold them in anymore.Damn, it must be this water. It’s drawing every emotion out of me, so strong that I can’t move except to ugly cry every bit of sadness, tears pouring down my cheeks and dripping into the pond.
He’s here. Finally, he’s here.
Without taking his eyes off me, he undoes the straps keeping his armor on his chest and pulls it over his head, pushing it away across the surface of the pond. The deadly cuts in it make me cry harder. But he isn’t bleeding. He isn’t hurt anymore. He’s healed and he’s here, lifting his arms out to me.
“Marbella, come here.” He doesn’t wait for me to answer, pushing through the water until he’s directly in front of me, rising up out of the water a little as he reaches the shallow side where I’ve stayed, churning the pool around us.
“Come here, baby. I’m not letting you cry alone.”
I want nothing more than to launch myself into his arms. “What if…” I sob and hiccup between words. “I hurt you? I can’t… take that… risk…”
His lips part. His image blurs through my tears, but the curve of his mouth makes my heart do backflips. “Something tells me you can’t hurt me. Not ever.”
