My eyes fly wide. A scream rises to my lips.
Then, in the next heartbeat, there’s a softclangand the rush of power stops.
The Vandawolf jolts. Color flushes across his chest, up his neck, and through his cheeks, as if his heart is finally pumping properly, although he doesn’t wake up.
Something hits my palm, but I don’t yet have time to check what it is because fresh blood rushes from his wound and now a cry of fear leaves my lips.
“Please!” My eyes meet Gliss’s, but she’s already moving, leaning across the Vandawolf and beating her sister to the spot.
Golden light floods from her hands once more and within seconds, the awful rush of blood has stopped and his skin has healed.
My fear doesn’t abate until she leans back and gives me a nod. “There was some damage, but I’ve fixed it. He’ll be okay.”
Even Elowynn exhales heavily, as if she’d been holding her breath.
I suppose if he’d died, she would have failed her Queen.
I rock back on my heels, my heart thumping hard in my chest.
He’s okay. He’s finally okay.
I fight the wave of exhaustion that assails me now that I’m not battling to save his life, and I push at the fact that I’ll have to face my own injuries soon.
My arm trembles as I first turn my attention to the object enclosed in my fist.
When I unfurl my fingers, my confusion grows.
What…?
Far from the misshapen lump of metal I was expecting, the object is small and rounded at the edges, no bigger than the end of my thumb. It’s made up of so many finely interconnected and interlocking parts and layers that I can’t possibly identify them all.
Within its circular shape is the design of two wolf heads—or rather, the top halves of two wolf heads. They’re on their side with their teeth interlinked between them.
Behind me, I sense my brother and Thaden, along with the Queen, craning forward to see what I’m holding, and opposite me, Elowynn and Gliss wear puzzled expressions as they peer at the object.
I don’t know what it is.
A flicker of fear passes through me, a horrible dread, along with a sudden, undeniable need to keep the object to myself.
Quickly, I close my fist around it and then I deposit it, along with the reformed medallion, into my toolbox and firmly close the lid, resting my hand on the box.
I’m not certain of much in this moment.
The rage in the mechanism echoes back at me, buzzing at the edges of my mind.
What Iamcertain of is that the mechanism is made of the same titanium as my hammer and medallions—titanium that belonged to Malak—and that makes it extremely dangerous.
Chapter18
Ipull my toolbox onto my lap, trying to ignore how hunched with fatigue I am.
Across from me, Elowynn clears her throat loudly and raises her voice. “The Vandawolf will sleep now,” she says, drawing attention away from me. “Possibly for several days. When he wakes up, he will be well.”
“What about his sight?” I ask, barely able to raise my head.
Damn it, if someone wanted to take my toolbox from me, I wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight.
“I’ve restored his sight,” she replies, sounding affronted that I would doubt that fact.
