Although Thaddeus and I were physically separated, my power hadn’t retracted into me quickly enough, and he still commanded it.
“Estania.” Darkness hurtled toward us.
Faster than I could think, I threw myself over Tarrin covering his body, readying to take the full might of the blow.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered and saw devastation in his eyes. I tensed, readying for the pain—only, it never came.
A glistening dome of energy surrounded us, filled with tiny embers of muted white.
Tarrin gasped in what seemed like pain, not surprise. Unable to see past the magic that safely cocooned us, I reoriented myself.
I felt the spell that Thaddeus had recklessly thrown at Tarrin being absorbed by the dome. As the barrier drank in the raw energy, it soothed the magic back to its natural state and seeped back into me, slowly tucking itself in where it belonged.
A sob of relief left me, and blood splattered on Tarrin’s chest. I collapsed on top of his sturdy body and felt the slickness of the warm red liquid beneath my cheek, too exhausted to move.
A blinding flash of light filled the dome.
White splotches predominatedmy vision, and it took several moments to blink them away. Once cleared, I blinked in earnest, not trusting what I saw.
Before me lay the ethereal beauty of the familiar mountains that held a teal-blue lake.
Tarrin wrapped his arms around me and whispered, “We’re okay.”
Tears cascaded down my cheeks onto his bloodied chest, and I wept.
Chapter 48
A New Baseline
Tarrin trembled beneath me, but his grip didn’t falter as he held me tight. A coughing fit forced me to roll out of his comforting embrace onto the rocky beach, the purples and greens and blues of the pebbles now splattered with red as my lungs violently cleared themselves.
Tarrin peeled himself off the ground and knelt next to me, caressing my back as the bout of coughing settled. Looking up at him, I could tell he wanted to ask me if I was okay but thought better of it. We both knew neither of us were.
“Let’s get you cleaned up,” he said, standing.
In my mind, I followed suit, but quickly realized my body would not, could not, oblige. “I can’t stand, Tarrin.” The admission broke something in him, and devastated, he broke his mask.
He didn’t hesitate before scooping me into his arms, and for the first time since I’d known him, the effort seemed labored. Witnessing his strength waver unsettled me, and I wondered about the true extent of my own injuries if what’d happened to Tarrin had left him in a weakened state.
Completely at his mercy, my head bobbed slightly as he walked.The memory of Thaddeus carrying me to the weeping willow tugged at me, and I was too tired to will it away. Turning my head, I found that Tarrin was walking us toward the frigid lake.
He stopped a few paces away, hesitating.
I shifted my gaze to him. “What’s wrong?”
His face wrinkled, the look almost humorous.
“Tarrin?”
“Umm…” He chewed on the word. “Normally, I have no problem wading into this lake, but we’re shy on sunlight, without horses, and in no shape to go anywhere—meaning we’re going to have to camp here tonight.” His tone pulled amusement from me for some reason.
“And…?” I drawled.
“I… You…” He blushed.
“Out with it, Tarrin.”
“I don’t think we should go in fully clothed,” he finally mustered, the words hurried like he was ripping off a bandage.
