Zane knelt next to Iyana and placed a gentle hand on her arm.“What do you need me to do, Iyana?”
He was so calm and sure; it helped to quiet the buzzing in her mind.Iyana took a deep breath.
“He’s losing too much blood.We need to make a potion that will stimulate his body to produce more, faster.”
“Walk me through it,” said Zane.
“Muddle together the powdered pyrite and gooseberry, then stir in the kelp water.Pour until I tell you to stop.”She eyed the emperor.He did as she asked with a steady hand.“Stop.Now add the ground almonds.”
“That’s it?”Talon asked.
It did seem deceptively simple for such an important medication.
“I have to activate it.”Iyana took the flask from Zane, and with the last vestiges of her magic, she was able to combine the ingredients in a way only a healer was capable of.She was breathing hard when she finished, an emptiness inside her she hadn’t felt since Altair had drained her.
Iyana propped Emmeric’s head on her lap.His eyelids fluttered open when she pressed the flask to his lips.
“Drink, Em,” she said softly.
“Iyana, I–”
“Drink it,” Iyana said more sternly, pouring the concoction into his mouth.Emmeric’s throat bobbed as he swallowed, and Iyana watched with bated breath.This had to work.
“Mouse, listen to me.”Emmeric clutched her wrist in his hand with a strength she didn’t think him capable of.Her hope soared that the magic was working.“I’m so proud of you,” he continued.“I wish we’d had more time, but I’ll be waiting for you in the Everlands.Promise me you’ll find happiness, Mouse.”
Iyana shook her head as hot tears fell down her face.“Emmeric Sullane, don’t you dare leave me.”
Ignoring her, he turned to Talon, who was still holding his hand.“Tal…”
“It’s okay, brother,” Talon said.“We’ll look after her.”
Emmeric mouthed the wordsthank you, his strength waning.An ominous rattle began in his chest, and his breathing slowed.His bright blue eyes found hers once more, and though their bond was practically non-existent, she still heard him say,I love you.
Then his lashes fluttered closed, and his breathing stopped.The last strands of their bond broke apart.
A keening wail pierced the silent battleground, and it took Iyana several moments to realize it was her.Zane and Kaz were both trying to hug her, to take her away from Emmeric.But didn’t they realize she couldn’t exist without him?
Iyana broke free of their grip, crawling over his body, not caring that she was covering herself in his blood.The gods had done this.Those wretched gods had given her this man for such a short time, then snatched him away.They didn’t have the right to do that to them.
“What else are you going to take from me?”Iyana shouted.“You’ve already taken my parents.My grandmother.You stole my freedom and my fate from me!I will not allow you to take him!”
Plucking a blade from a sheath on Emmeric’s unmoving body, Iyana slashed a line across her palm.Before, mingling their blood together was always more potent and helped them heal.
She pushed her bleeding hand over his wound and dug within herself to find some trace of magic.
Iyana cried out to the skies when she couldn’t find anything within her.No remnants, not even a spark.
Making sure to keep her bleeding hand on him, Iyana leaned over his body and began compressing his chest.If her magic wouldn’t restart his heart, then she’d have to do it with her hands.
“You.Don’t.Get.To.Leave.Me.”She grunted the words around her movements.
A familiar heat rushed through her veins, making Iyana gasp.She never slowed her compressions, but she closed her eyes one more time and looked deep within herself.
There, within the void where her magic usually resided, was a flame.She called to it, coaxing it to her the way Altair had taught her what seemed like a lifetime ago.It grew and grew, coming closer, and Iyana almost wept when the flame took the shape of a woman.Iyana thought she had been lost forever when Altair stole her magic.
Iyana reached a hand out to her, pleading for aid.
Please.Please help me,she thought.
