He spotted a half-collapsed barn tucked against the hillside, about a mile away.
Weather-beaten. Abandoned.
It’ll do.
He rode as fast as he dared without risking unseating her. He pulled the valmare inside, then slid off the saddle and reached for her. She didn’t move.
“Hey,” he whispered. “Kara. Wake up–”
She sagged against him, unconscious or damn close. Her dress was covered in blood. Too much.
No – fuck – I should have stopped sooner.
He carried her inside, stumbling. He dropped to his knees and laid her down gently on the hay-strewn floor. She was ice-cold. Her face tinged grey. She looked–
Don’t think it.
“Kara, open your eyes for me. Please.”
He ripped her dress at the torso to look at the wound. It was deep. She’d been bleeding out silently. She was breathing, but it was weak and shallow.
“Answer me, Kara.”
Not a sound.
He shook her. “Kara!”
Her eyes fluttered, a fraction. “S’bastian...?”
“I’m here,” he choked out, cradling her face. “You’re okay. Stay with me, Kara, please.”
Her eyes closed again and he shook her once. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare leave me.”
Her lips parted slightly. “Cold...”
“You need to heal,” he said quickly. “Use your magic.”
“Can’t,” she murmured. “I can’t feel it–”
“Take mine,” Sebastian said, without hesitation. He grabbed her hand and pressed both of their palms forcibly over her wound.
Please work. Gods, if you can hear me–
His magic flared, crimson and hot, and he searched for hers. The emerald reacted – he felt it – it wanted to answer him. But it was dormant. Blocked from days in nightshade.
“Come on,” he urged. “Wake up. I know you’re there.”
And slowly, like a match catching, it flickered. Just a pulse of her – green and pure. He pushed his own strength into it, and hers surged weakly to meet it.
“Come on,” he growled desperately. “Take my strength. Heal.”
A soft golden glow spread under his palm. Their magic wasn’t dancing... but fused. The golden light knitted itself around the wound as he watched – awestruck. The skin closed where it touched, but it left a fiery pink scar in its wake.
Her breathing eased immediately.
Pure relief filled him.
“Kara,” Sebastian whispered, brushing hair from her face. “You did it.”
