“No need,” Zayn interjected.
“What?” I asked.
“He still has my blood in his system. I can just lock onto my own magical properties. Two-second job now we’re clear of the crowds.”
And it really was a swift undertaking, his eyes flaming with his fuchsia power just for a couple of moments, before he then swung his head to our right, in the direction of the gateway into the Dracoryn Realm in the distance.
Just as he went to envelope us in his teleportation, something caught my eye.
A flare of amber magic.
“Stop,” I said, grasping his wrist.
I zeroed in.
And then I saw it.
A half mile in the distance, Winter was staggering through the snow, my view partially obstructed by the environment.
I grabbed them both and burst us over there.
We arrived just as Winter collapsed to his knees, and fought unsuccessfully to get back to his feet.
The three of us skidded to our knees beside him.
I went to reach out to him, but he was hurt. If I touched him, especially when I was in an anxious state, I could hurt him with my strength. Or even without, depending on the nature of the hurt.
“Win! What’s happened?” Zayn cried.
“Winter?” Vaxan spoke, frantically sweeping a wave of his citrine magic over him, performing a magical wellness scan.
Winter was shuddering, definitely feeling the cold.
Given that he couldn’t normally because of his death cold nature, it could only be one thing.
He caught my eye and rasped, “Yes. It’s started happening again. That awful chill from the withdrawal of that fucker’s… living warmth. Messing with my system. Just this morning it… came back. Was gonna tell you… after the… celebration. Promise… promise.”
“That isn’t what’s causing this collapse, though,” Vaxan rightly pointed out. “Where are you hurt? How so?”
Winter let out a cry and slammed his fist into the snow. “It’s not… it’s a painful pull… ripping at my… my system.” His eyes flared with his amber power. “One… second. Almost got it.” He looked out at us. “Get… back.”
“Win, what—”
“Now!”
The three of us moved back several feet.
In the next second, a roar tore from his throat, then a mini-shockwave of amber radiated out, then snapped back toward him almost instantly. It rushed all over him, until it shone from his skin, his clothes, covering him entirely.
“Son of a…there.Done,” he murmured to himself as he sprung back to his feet.
“What the fuck is going on, Win?” Zayn demanded, barging up to him.
After a couple of steadying breaths, Winter told us, “The chill situation… I had a glamor up. That’s why you didn’t notice. I was honestly going to drop it once we were out of here, and then I was gonna tell you about it coming back. But me collapsing and in pain is because I tagged that motherfucker’s magic.”
Vaxan frowned. “That—Ruxnoth? You didwhat?”
“Oh, when you pushed your death stuff into him?” Zayn asked.
