Page 143 of Wraithwound

“No. She has to get up!”

Lena’s heart ached so fiercely. For all she had lost and for all she had almost gained. She wished more than anything she’d lived her life differently. Lena always thought she’d die of grief, but she’d never been more certain of it than in this moment. The pain she felt was agonizing, but nothing hurt worse than her heart.

It was there that she felt a warm sensation begin to build, and the pain eased a little. Lena did her best to hold onto consciousness as the pressure grew, wondering if these were her final moments. But then her hand was lifting. To Lena’s surprise, it came to rest on Taya’s face. Taya looked bewildered, but to her credit, she didn’t balk. Lena could only assume she wore a similar expression.

But then, two faces materialized in front of her. They were familiar, full of love and warmth, and she found she was sitting inside a cottage. Ada smiled at her, and Lena’s mouth fell open.

“Sweet girl, we made our choice long before you ever thought to come our way,” Ada said, helping her sit up and reaching to wipe Lena’s tears. Lena let out a choked sob.

And then Ada was reaching to her left, and Lena turned to see Taya there, wide-eyed, looking between her parents.

“One last gift for you, our little bloom. We love you more than the suns,” Eduard said.

Ada and Eduard pulled their daughter in for an embrace. From their embrace, a golden orb began to shine, and it expanded until she too was inside of it, watching as the three of them held onto each other. The orb pulsed around them, once, twice, before exploding in a wave of golden light.

Chapter

Eighty

Lena blinked. She felt different, like something inside her was missing but she couldn’t—Lena gasped. There, hovering just above the ground before them was a cloud of glittering black, one she’d seen many times before. But this time there was also a separate ribbon of shadow that slithered around within it. Lena scrambled to her feet, distantly recognizing the absence of pain in her body. Taryk pulled Laney behind him and drew his sword.

But Lena recognized the swirling mass; she knew it intrinsically. Lena slowly reached out a hand and a glittering black tendril extended to greet her. But this time, it felt . . . solid. Lena closed her grip around it and pulled.

The creature that stepped out was one she’d seen before. Runa’s thin, elegant face seemed paler than before. Standing outside in the grey light, Lena could see her better. She wore her long black hair half up; the top half twisted into a braid. Her full lips were painted a deep purple that was almost black, and she wore a solemn expression on her face. Dressed in intricate leather armor with a golden chest plate and matching vambraces, she reached into the cloud and pulled out a ruggedly handsome male. Taller than Runa, he towered over them. Long black hair framed his rugged features and stubbled jaw. He too was pale, his face drawn. He had a broad chest and muscled arms evident through his worn leather armor. The metal headpiece he wore was different than Runa’s. While hers came to a point between her brows with two long thin spikes jutting out like horns above her head, his had delicate spikes interspersed evenly throughout. Lena understood then that they were crowns. The realization made her breath catch.

“Hello, Lena,” Runa said, giving her a wicked smile that drew a gasp from Laney behind them. “This is Draven.”

Draven gave her a curt nod from where he stood behind Runa, his body almost touching hers. Lena couldn’t help but stare at the male. She felt drawn to him although she didn’t know why. Looking at them standing there together, she realized they’d done their best to appear as close to human as they could, but she knew their wholly white eyes were likely still unsettling to the others.

“The woman, where is she?” Draven asked, stepping from behind Runa.

“Don’t touch her!” Taya said when she realized he was headed toward Riley.

Draven cocked his head to the side and a muscle feathered in his jaw. Pure predator. “It is my magic that made her sick. If you want her to live, it must be extracted.”

Taya looked at Runa, eyeing her warily, and then shifted her gaze to Lena. Lena nodded, and a moment later, Taya stepped aside. Riley sat against the stone wall. She was covered in a sheen of sweat, her face drained of color. Draven knelt in front of her and looked up at Taya, who had followed him over.

“May I?” he said, motioning to the cloak that had been placed over the barely conscious spy.

Taya knelt on Riley’s other side and removed the cloak to reveal a gruesome wound. Black veins spiderwebbed from a wound that was identical to Lena’s.

“The human, Kol, liked to use the same strike when he killed.” Draven extended his pale hand over the wound but then halted, turning to face Taya once more.

“This will be painful, but you cannot touch her, nor I. If you do, it will not be this form you’ll have to contend with. If you cause me to shift, I will have no control over my beast. Neither of you would survive it. Do you understand?” he said.

Taya’s breath caught in her throat as she seemed to realize what Draven had implied.

Laney walked over and gently pulled Taya back to where Lena stood with Runa and Taryk. Lena couldn’t tear her gaze away from Draven as he closed his eyes and held his hand over Riley’s wound. When his claws extended, Taya flinched, and Laney’s grip tightened on the General’s arm.

One arm braced on the wall above Riley, Draven inhaled through his nose and then slowly flipped his hand over, closing it into a fist above Riley’s shoulder. Riley groaned as she regained consciousness, but then the muscles of her jaw flexed, her body stiffened, and she began to scream. Taya whimpered and then began to sob as Riley screamed and writhed in pain beneath Draven’s suspended fist. A hand slipped into Lena’s, and she was shocked to see that it was Taya’s. Lena squeezed her hand gently and stepped closer to the general. They watched in suspense as the black veins began to retreat. As they did, black tendrils poured from her wound and into Draven’s closed fist. Gradually, the tendrils became lighter and eventually disappeared. Riley’s screams lessened and then stopped. The color slowly returned to her face, her breathing eased, and her eyes fluttered open.

Draven stood, still using the wall to brace himself. Runa walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. He straightened, seeming to react to her touch. Lena could sense that pulling his magic back had affected him. She was still struggling to keep her eyes off him when Runa turned to look at her. Draven waved Taya over as he and Runa stepped away, leading Lena away from the group.

“Come,” Runa said, walking a short distance away from the others. “We leave for Oscurra.”

“But what about the Goddess’s threat?” Lena asked.

Runa and Draven looked at each other before speaking, as if agreeing on what to say. “There will be nothing left to save on our planet if we don’t go back, now,” she said.