Chapter 6 #2
A wet cough tore from the female beside the fire, harsh enough to fold her over. One of Xandros' companions dropped beside her and braced an arm around her ribs while pressing a cloth to her mouth. He stared up helplessly at the prince.
The coughing shook through the female until she sagged against him, each breath afterward catching beneath a deep rattle.
I had never trained as a healer, but I knew enough to know that lungs shouldn’t sound like that.
Xandros watched until his companion eased her beneath the blanket, his jaw clenching before he turned toward us again.
The rattle in her lungs continued to linger even when the fit stopped. And she wasn’t the only one hurting. Bandages wrapped several forearms and brows, while two of the fae kept injured arms tucked into slings.
His people had crossed wounded and exhausted, yet the prince had still carried Torren home with them.
He had found one of our Thornwardens bleeding, infected, and unable to explain who he was, and he had brought him back anyway.
Xandros looked toward the Mother Tree rising above the Grove. “The other male from the tear. Did he survive?”
“His name is Rhian.”
I could feel the weight of Caelan’s glare, but I didn’t turn away from the prince.
His gaze met mine. “Is Rhian alive?”
I swallowed against the tightness in my throat. “For now.”
A jaw muscle fluttered. “Does he carry the same light as Torren?”
His gaze held mine. The gold at his throat brightened with the deeper breath he drew, then dimmed as he waited.
My pulse struck hard once before I nodded.
“A thin line appeared beneath his skin.” I stepped closer to the wall. His eyes narrowed slightly, following every word. “His wound is closing, but the indigo is spreading.”
He nodded once. “It often begins that way.”
My breath caught behind my ribs. “And where does it end?”
Xandros' gaze moved across his people. Several constellations had dimmed until only faint points remained beneath their skin.
“It weakens the power carried in the body first.” His attention lingered on the female beside the fire. “Then it spreads through whatever is already damaged. Wounds that should heal don’t. Flesh grows cold. Breathing becomes difficult. Eventually, the heart stops.”
My stomach twisted, and I took a small step forward. “How do we keep that from happening?”
The prince met my gaze, pity shining from the silver-blue depths. “I don’t know. My people haven’t yet found a way.”
The pressure beneath my breastbone sharpened. Bramble pressed his body along the back of my neck, but even his warmth couldn’t loosen it.
Griffin shifted beside Maren. “Then you have brought us nothing except proof that your sickness has crossed into our world.”
“Such accusations!” the male at Xandros' side exclaimed obstinately.
Xandros held up a hand, silencing his companion.
“We brought back your guardian.” His voice remained even. “And I came because the thread between her power and my Everlight survived the closing.”
His gaze settled on me. “And that is the closest stars-damned thing to hope Asterra has found in years.”
Heat flared inside my palm.
Maren had watched that hand since I returned to the Grove. Now her gaze settled on the light seeping through the bandages.
She struck her staff against the earth. “Show him.”
I caught the loose end of the bandage and unwound it. Dried blood pulled at the torn skin beneath the cloth. Eight points of gold shone through before the final layer fell away.
Xandros froze. Golden light flaring within the constellations lining his skin.
Caelan’s sword slid a finger’s width from its sheath. “What did you do to her?”
“Nothing.” Xandros' throat bobbed as his gaze dropped to my palm. He moved closer to the wall. “I didn’t mark her.”
Heat spread from the star into my wrist.
“Can you tell what it is?” I raised my hand toward the narrow opening between two roots to give him a better view.
Caelan’s arm crossed in front of me, and Xandros' companion glared at the gesture.
I turned to the First Thorn. “We need answers before Rhian grows any worse.”
His jaw tightened, but he lowered his arm.
I raised my palm again. Xandros lifted his hand on the other side. His fingers aligned with mine, close enough that only a breath of space and the thin vines woven through the wall kept our skin apart.
Heat gathered between us.
The gold light pulsed beneath my palm, and the constellations winding over his hand answered.
His gaze lifted to mine.
“This shouldn’t be possible. Whatever linked us should have ended when the tear closed.”
“It didn’t.”
“No.” His fingers shifted nearer, narrowing the space between us. “It didn’t.”
Each beat of my pulse sent the light flickering beneath my skin.
The wet rattling cough from the female beside the fire still clung to the back of my mind.
Rhian’s wound was healing while the indigo moved deeper beneath it. My stomach turned. How long until his breathing sounded the same?
“Have any of your people survived this?”
Xandros' attention flicked toward the female before returning to me. “We have slowed it down in some.”
“But not stopped it?”
“No.”
The answer pressed against my ribs, but I held his gaze. “Could you slow it down in Rhian?”
Silver eyes flicked to the light growing between our hands.
“I won’t know until I see him.”
I turned toward Maren and Caelan. “Then let him inside.”