I rose slowly. Every muscle ached from the magic and grief I’d tried to contain. My throat burned raw.
“She fooled them all,” I said, my voice a rasp. “She got the Abbot to tell her how the harnessing worked. Convinced the Fraction she was on their side. They thought they were taking my power…”
I swallowed hard. The next words wouldn’t come.
“She gave them the wrong chants,” I finally managed. “She—”
My voice broke.
I reached for her hand one last time. Still, cold, stained red, and then I screamed.
It tore out of me, primal and endless, echoing off the courtyard walls and up through the mountains. I screamed until my throat gave out.
Until I couldn’t breathe. Until I didn’t care who heard me.
I didn’t know when Lythandra came.
But I remembered the blanket and being guided to the Pathways, arriving at the Lodge.
Someone placed a bowl of soup in my hands. I stared at it until it went cold.
Breathing was all I could manage, and even that felt optional.
At some point, nausea overtook me.
I stumbled to the nearest plant pot and vomited, my whole body shaking.
The sound must’ve drawn them in—Caelan, Lydia, Lythandra.
I felt arms around me.
Lydia handed me water.
“I need to tell her mother,” I rasped.
“Mae had sent someone from the temple to bring her mother here to the Lodge, where she would be better protected. Someone told her before we even got here. She is in shock and sleeping right now. You should do the same.”
I shook my head.
“I don’t want to sleep. I can’t sleep. I don’t know what to do, Lydia. How do I fix this? How do I bring her back? I can’t be without her.” My words were jumbled, tears streaming down my face and I could feel her power responding to my emotions. “I can’t be without her.”
“Shh,” she whispered, pulling me closer. “I know. But you need rest. You were held for days. No food. No magic. You’re in shock. Sleep first. Then we’ll talk.”
I nodded. Numb.
Lythandra handed me another bowl.
I drank this one.
My body gave in before my mind could fight it.
Sleep took me.
But when I woke, I would find a way.
Somehow, some way, I would bring her back.
And when I did, I’d tell her.
