“Stop it,” she wept, holding his palm gently against her cheek. “You will not die. I will not let you. Because I love you. Even when I hated you, I still loved you.”
He smiled. “I know.”
Her tear landed on his face, and his vision waned with the soft press of her lips on his forehead. Blinding light lit the cavern as the heat of her magic flared through him. She continued trying to heal him. But without both wings he couldn’t heal. It was too late for him.
Lev sheli…
“No, you must hold on,” she cried. “Hold on to me, Cassiel. Please don’t give in.”
Cassiel tried. He really tried. But white light was streaming from him like a bright star. He didn’t have the strength to keep his eyes open anymore. He could no longer speak, so he let his thoughts float to her through the bond.
Maybe in another world, in another lifetime, there is a version of us that survived. I see us together on a hill evergreen, watching the sunrise…
The light carried him away on a veil of peace. The world ebbed, and the cry of Dyna’s voice faded with it.
CHAPTER 86
Dynalya
Dyna sobbed over Cassiel, pressing her face to his cheek stained with blood. She sank all of her power into his body. Her Essence wove into his bones, into his flesh, into the cells that made his blood. He was so broken. So many holes and tears, so many shattered bones. And he was dying.
All of Essence Channels opened as she poured her raw life-force into him.
“Don’t take him,” she beggedElyon. “Please don’t take him.”
The light of the Heavens slowly faded from his body as she fought to keep his heart pumping. But it was taking all her magic to keep him here with her. She couldn’t keep him alive this way for long.
Dyna stifled her anguished cries as she grew weaker. “No, please.”
In his last moments, Cassiel had looked at her like he knew he would never see her again. Because they both knew her abilities couldn’t reverse the damage done to his body. The power that created him was beyond her skill to heal. Even if she gave him all of her Essence, it wouldn’t be enough.
It would require powerful magic to heal powerful magic.
Dyna gasped when she realized what she needed to do.
She flooded Cassiel’s wounds with enough Essence to halt the bleeding, if only for a few minutes, and quickly gathered stones into a circle and tossed the key pieces inside.
“Leoake!” Dyna cried out into the cavern, choking on a sob. “I need your help!”
“No need to shout, clever mortal.”
Gasping, she looked up at the opening above them. The Druid sat on the rim, arm resting on his propped knee. She didn’t bother wasting time to ask how or when he got there.
He tutted his tongue at Cassiel. “Oh, dear. He stands at Death’s Gate. Healing him yourself would take more than all your Essence, and you would surely die.”
“I know that. I need to use your Door to take Cassiel to Melodyam Falls. It’s the only way I can save his life. Please, he is succumbing to his wounds, and I can’t stop it.”
“Hmm.” The Druid curled his fingers and examined his gold rings with a pout. “It may have escaped your attention, Dyna, but our deal ends here. You know I do not work for free. Unless …” His gold eyes glowed as they fixed on her, a mischievous smile curving his lips. “You intend to make another deal with me.”
Of course. She shouldn’t have expected anything less.
Dyna clenched her jaw, shaking with anger and desperation. “What do you want?”
Leoake chuckled and tapped his chin as if in pensive thought, but she knew he had already decided. It only infuriated her more as precious seconds passed. “Your greatest wish, perhaps? A precious treasure.”
“What treasure? I don’t have any treasure.”
He smiled at her slyly. “You will.”
