35. Chapter 35
The piercing wail subsided as I doubled over onto the pebbled ground and finally released everything from my stomach’s hold. My body convulsed as sweat prickled against my skin from the sudden change of temperature.
“Oh, thank the giants!” I heard a woman yell as the sound of crunching rocks grew louder the closer it got.
I rolled onto my back, blinded by the bright sun above. My lungs refused to work as I fought for breath. Gasps clenched my throat the more I fought. I clutched my neck, feeling it tighten and squeeze. After all I had seen and been through, this was how I was going to die?
Bright green eyes filled my vision as a man with long white dreads looked at me with alarm.
“Get her up!” he ordered to someone nearby.
A pair of strong hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me to a sitting position like I was a mere bag of flour.
“This might not feel the best, but it has to be done,” Fyom said as he brought his hands to my chest and slowly emitted his Wielding into my skin.
Upon the impact of his magic, my lungs quickly expanded and immediately met the relief of fresh air. “Steady does it.” Fyom gently rubbed circles on my back, helping me find soothing breaths.
The smell of cedar and lemon tickled my nose as a voice behind me said, “You both gave us a good scare.” I turned to find Uriah wearing a look of excitement and concern. “I’ve heard there were theories of refracting, but never seen it done before.” He chuckled as he helped me to my feet.
My head swam and stars swirled around my eyes. “Refracting?” The term sounded both familiar and odd.
“People on the road tell stories about it, but the celestial power is so rare that no one has ever seen it.” Uriah’s tone was light and careful as his hands stayed close to make sure I didn’t fall.
“And having two Celestial Wielders to test the theory—now, that’s a one-in-a-million chance the giants have given us. ”
He continued talking as I made sure my feet were steady, but the words sounded garbled.
I blinked against the brightness of the day, so different than where we just were.
Had time moved at all? Words became clearer the more I breathed through the nausea.
Ora stumbled up to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. She looked as bad as I felt.
“What—the—hell—was that?“ Ora huffed every word. “And why did that hurt more the second time?”
The pressure in my lungs finally released and my head cleared at last. I took in Ora’s appearance, seeing the dark circles under her eyes. Her magic was taking a toll, too. “According to Uriah, it was…refracting?”
Ora’s eyes bulged wide. “That was refracting? We barely went over it at the High Seven because they said it was just a hypothesis and nothing had been proven around it. I thought it had something to do with force…not—“
“Jump distance?” I smirked. Immediately, a blur came up beside me and swept Ora off her feet, twirling her in a tight circle.
Sury gently ran his hand against the back of Ora’s hair. “What happened? Where did you go? Are you hurt? Injured?” He continued to throw questions, not allowing Ora to answer any before a new one formulated on his tongue.
Uriah and Fyom had moved and were bent over the ground in the distance, with Paige standing over them.
She spoke with urgency but I was too far away to make out what she was saying.
Ora and Sury were still locked in an embrace, but where was Peiro?
I scanned the garden and the patio where we had been sitting.
“He’s not breathing,” Uriah said frantically. “What the hell happened?”
I turned back to them and took better note of what they were crowding around. Peeking outside of Uriah and Fyom’s wide frames, I saw the toe of a boot lying still on the ground.
No!
A hand tugged at my elbow, trying to stop me from running.
“Phe, wait!” I heard Sury yell, but still I ran toward Fyom, who was sputtering some incantation as his hands hurriedly moved over the still body.
My knees crashed hard onto the pebbled ground, an impact that should have jolted every joint in my body, but I felt nothing as I took in the sight before me.
“What happened?” I asked as I cradled Peiro’s limp head in my lap. His skin felt like ice against my touch, his muscles rigid and lifeless, but my eyes didn’t leave the large open wound in the center of his chest. “WHAT HAPPENED?” I screamed, begging to understand.
Parts of his tunic were frayed and burnt around the skin that was blistered and cut. The image of lightning striking flesh came to mind.
“When you and Ora were fighting,” Fyom began, “Peiro tried stepping in to stop you two, but your blast of magic ricocheted into him right when you disappeared.”
Tears spilled as my fingers hovered over the scorched skin. Excruciating pain clawed at my chest, so similar to where Peiro’s wound was. Maybe it was my heart shattering.
“Peiro?” I choked as I continued to cradle his head. I felt the blood drain from my face as I watched Fyom instruct Uriah through blurry eyes. Paige raced over to a servant, giving them orders for something, but all I could hear was the muted instruction Fyom kept giving his son.
With soft fingers, I stroked Peiro’s hair and the growing stubble along his jaw. “Peiro, wake up please.” My voice felt so small.
Next to Paige, I saw Sury holding Ora, both with tears in their eyes as they watched what transpired before them.
Seeing Ora cry brought me a confirmation I didn’t dare acknowledge.
Fyom quickly fumbled through more incantations while ordering his son to make some sort of concoction from what the servants had brought them.
Images of Peiro’s featherlight kisses against my skin played through my mind.
The way he held me, the way he saw me. His voice coated my thoughts, each tender word and verbal embrace that had built me into believing I was more.
I leaned down and kissed his forehead, his skin so unnaturally cold to the touch.
“How do I make this right?” I whispered against his temple, begging for any of the giants to listen. Fyom shifted back to his knees, his head hanging low. “No!” I snapped as I watched Fyom’s face crumble. “You can’t stop trying! You have to find a way!”
Fyom only shook his head and slowly rose to his feet. “I’ve done all that I know to do.”
Uriah leaned forward, taking my hand into his warm one. So different from Peiro’s lifeless form. “I’ll take the body and prepare it—“
“No!” I pulled back my hand to cradle Peiro once more. “Fyom, tell me what to do and I’ll do it!” I yelled frantically. I looked up to see everyone on their feet, looking down at us with pity and tears. They could fuck off with their tears, because this wasn’t the end. It couldn’t be.
“TELL ME!” I screamed in Fyom’s direction, praying for anyone to give me the answer to bringing life back into this man I so desperately loved, despite being too scared to admit it out loud.
Tears rapidly fell and gray crept into the corner of my vision as anger tried to take root once again. How could I have this power in my hands yet still feel so utterly weak?
“Phe…” I heard Ora call my name before I felt her presence right beside me. “Ophelia, listen to me.” Soft hands clasped the sides of my cheeks and steered my vision to meet her golden eyes. “Breathe. I need you to look!” Confusion took over my features as she pointed to the hole in Peiro’s chest.
I squinted through the tears and gasped.
A faint glow pulsed slowly within his chest. How had I missed it before?
Swirls of gray and silver ebbed and flowed so subtly, like his lifesource was…
breathing? But barely. I blinked again, watching it pulse like a faint, steady heartbeat—so different from what was before, simply there.
Ever so slowly, the pulse expanded little by little, like the thing inside of him was…
Realization crashed through me that Peiro’s lifesource seemed to be free.
My breathing quickened erratically as a smile crept up my face.
He’ll be okay, I repeated to myself over and over.
I licked my lips as I became transfixed on that tiny beat.
I stopped my fingers from reaching forward, denying myself the thrill of absorbing another lifesource beneath my flesh, of fueling my power.
Time slowed as I stared at the pulsing glow. I watched as it began to slow, going from bright to dim and becoming dimmer with each movement.
“No. No. No. No,” I cried. “I’m not even…
Why isn’t it coming back?” I cried again, looking to my sister for her strength.
For her confirmation that everything would be okay…
but she refused to look at me. “Aurora! Tell me he’ll be okay!
” A fresh wave of tears overpowered me as I watched the lifesource dim to the faintest of grays.
Without a word, Ora inhaled deeply, seemingly battling something within herself, and brought her Wielding to her fingertips.
The gold danced with a verdant green that rivaled the garden we sat in.
I watched as Ora closed her eyes and placed both of her hands on Peiro’s chest, avoiding the deep wound.
She suddenly flared with life.
I shielded my eyes with my hand, the brightness causing a sting, but I refused to close them for fear I would miss Peiro’s dying breath.
In awe, I watched a warm light emit from Ora’s hands and surround Peiro’s body, overpowering the grayish glow within.
Beneath his skin, he radiated like the most beautiful star I had ever witnessed.
Every new scrape and cut were stitched together.
His frayed hair turned refined and silky to the touch.
The deep, dark circles under his eyes gave way to vibrancy that promised new life.
I was sickeningly jealous of how beautiful he became in that moment, and promised myself that I would give him hell about it if he would just take a fresh breath into his lungs.
My eyes kept stinging as I refused to blink.
I needed to know that what I was witnessing was real.
The burnt skin around the wound turned pink as his skin knit together like nothing had caused him harm.
I finally blinked, another tear rolling down my cheek.
His chest was once again flesh with only the faintest of scars under the dusting of dark hair.
Fyom rushed over, Uriah and Paige hovering close, to check over Peiro’s body with his power of Healing. “His heart is beating strongly.” He choked on the words, more tears formed in his eyes.
“How in the hell… What is going on?” Uriah panted.
I gasped as Peiro’s chest rose, finally taking a deep inhale. “Ora! How did you—“
My question was cut off as I heard Sury call for her frantically and then catch her right before she collapsed to the ground. He cradled her close to his chest, stroking her hair in comfort. I froze as I watched a large strand of her beautiful golden locks turn a bright white.
“Ora?” I whispered. She turned to face me, new lines etched around her eyes and mouth. How did she look a few years older?
“I’m okay.” She nodded to us, making her way to her feet as Sury stood by her side, ever her protector.
“Are you sure?” Sury’s question was laced with the same confusion I felt.
Fyom rose from Peiro’s form and stomped forward, assessing Ora as a new patient—or perhaps like a mother hen—and looking deep into her eyes. “I will admit, I have never seen something quite like this… I’ll need to run some tests.”
I closed my eyes as I placed my hand on Peiro’s chest, feeling the slight rise and fall as he took a new, sweet breath.
Guilt once again took hold of my entire being at finding the newest obstacle.
A warm, soft hand immediately grasped mine and yanked me from my spiraling thoughts. My eyes found fierce gold ones.
Ora was on her knees, inches from mine as she gripped my hand with new strength. “I don’t know exactly how, but I do not regret what I have done. Never. You deserve happiness, too.“ She looked at Peiro before looking back at me. “We will find a way where we all win.”
Before I could say anything, Ora was swept to her feet by a distraught Sury and ushered into the house with his fretting words.
Paige accompanied Uriah behind them, who continued to ask, What in the giant’s hell was that?
How is Peiro alive? What did the queen do?
Paige did the best she could to appease his questions with what she knew.
I gently caressed Peiro’s hair away from his face, noting the strands of caramel and auburn that shone brightly in the sun.
“Let me help,” Fyom gently whispered, and he scooped Peiro easily off the ground like he had done many times before.
I gained a fresh wave of appreciation for the undying love he had for his family.
I followed closely behind as Fyom made his way to the room Peiro and I shared and gingerly laid him on the bed before taking his leave.