Something in the back of her mind told her that this was bad, that it wasn’t over yet, that she needed to pull herself together. She made her way to Sebastian and crouched in the sand beside him.
“Did she stab you?” Isla whispered. She hadn’t seen Celesine injure him, but her attention had been more focused on Arden.
He grunted and removed the arm covering his side. “After she…you were on the ground, and I tried to get to her. Nothing I can’t handle,” he grimaced. His eyes were dim and kept flitting back and forth between bright blue and black, like a bird fluttering its wings. “I deserve this and so much more, Isla. This is all my fault. Your brother...”
She choked back a sob. The feral part of her wanted to blame him, to blame the elementals, to blame herself. But she knew who was truly at fault. “That wasn’t you, Sebastian, I know that. It’s been her this whole time.”
He met her eyes, his blue to her green. “Not everything was her.”
Isla swallowed. Foggy memories of a stolen kiss in a dark room came to mind, but it was like she was watching a different life. “We’ve got to get you help. This looks bad.” Her gaze fell to his side and the blood coating his hand.
He gripped her fingers as she reached for some fabric to use as a bandage. “Do you have the dagger?” he asked urgently.
“Y—yes, it’s right here,” she said, pulling it from her waistband. “Why?”
“Use it. Take my blood.Sheis who controls me, and her spirit powers run through my veins. Taking it from me might weaken her.”
Isla blinked and her lips parted, something blooming in her chest. It wasn’t hope, for she was too shattered for anything akin to hope to take root. More like a steady resolve. If he was right, the dagger would capture the magic within him and rid him of Celesine’s influences. And possibly even diminish Celesine’s own power, wherever she was.
Isla nodded and brought the tip of the dagger to his open wound. The second his blood touched the blade, several things happened at once.
The dagger glowed gold and lavender, shaking in her grip at its newest offering. Sebastian’s body shuddered beneath her and his eyes suddenly lost focus and flickered shut. She sucked in a breath, quickly putting an arm behind his neck as his head fell.
He began to stir within moments, just as the elementals had. Anticipation flowed through her as his eyelids fluttered and slowly, slowly opened.
Clear, bright, brilliant blue eyes stared back at her, all traces of the shadows that had lurked inside of them banished. His eyebrows flew up in shock as his lips twitched into the beginning of a smile. He reached out a trembling hand and ran it through her copper hair. A tear splashed from her cheek onto his, a very small part of her mind lightening with cool relief.
“Don’t cry for me, love,” he said, lifting a finger to catch the wetness in the corner of her eye. “I’m not worth a single one of your tears.”
She let out a breath. “Is it—are you really—”
He smiled wider, and the broken lump in her chest squeezed. “Sebastian Avax, at your service,” he said, a hint of his cocky charm sneaking back. “Isla, I—”
His eyes snapped to something behind her.
“Move!” he shouted, lunging to shove her body as Isla caught a glimpse of purple smoke out of the corner of her eye.
But she wasn’t fast enough.
Celesine moved like a wraith, the left side of her face blackened and charred where the fire had caught her. In her hand was Sebastian’s sword.
With an enraged shout, Celesine plunged the long blade into Isla’s chest.
For an eternally long moment, all Isla felt was pain. The world slowed.
In one blink, she saw the screaming faces of Jade, Kai, and Rynn lunging toward her.
Blink.
Sebastian’s figure flooded her line of sight, terror crowding his features as his mouth moved frantically, a dull buzz taking over her hearing. His hands reached for her body, but she was numb to his touch.
Blink.
Waylan. Her mother. Arden.
Blink.
Isla opened her eyes, shakily raising the Dagger of Volnus to her lips. She pressed Sebastian’s blood to her tongue and swallowed.
