24. Fluttered and Expanded – Rosemary
Fluttered and Expanded
ROSEMARY
As I breached the tree line and entered the clearing where the rune-marked stone beckoned like a beacon, my boots skidded to a halt.
Before me stood a creature unlike anything I had ever seen, looming over the makeshift bushes I’d arranged to conceal Elias's prone form.
Whenever I tried to focus on the creature, it blurred from view, though it seemed motionless.
Much like the echo from earlier had. Its body was a swirling mass of shadows, concealing its form in a violently churning void.
I didn’t know what to do. My body refused to move even an inch.
My lungs struggled to pull in breath. A limb lifted; its razor thin claws glinted beneath the golden glow of the sun.
The bushes split apart, revealing Elias fully.
His body so still, curled in on itself. The thing, this nightmare, reached its deadly claws toward Elias, and it was as if the world fell away.
“NO!” My voice tore through the stillness of the late afternoon as my body jolted into action. I lunged forward with my hands outstretched as if I could somehow stop the inevitable, but it was already too late.
The creature clutched Elias, lifting him effortlessly by the head.
Time seemed to slow. Its gaping mouth hovered near Elias's brow as it inhaled deeply, drawing a mist from Elias into its maw.
It drained him, extracting the remnants of his life.
His skin turned as pale as moonlight before the monster released him.
Elias's lifeless body crumpled to the ground, motionless.
With Elias forgotten at its feet, the thing made of shadows twisted until its soulless gaze bored into me.
I was next. Terror coursed through my veins, rooting me to the spot, my arms still outstretched as if I could save Elias.
Slowly, this monster crept toward me, its steps ominous and deliberate.
It had followed us this far. There was nowhere to hide, no hope of escape.
I knew what it was now as it shifted closer and closer, shadows twisting and coiling.
The echo. The one that had almost claimed me in that clearing that looked so much like home.
Where Briar had been waiting with open arms and laughter.
It had pursued us, biding its time until we were vulnerable.
In seconds, it would consume me just as it had Elias, leaving behind nothing but a husk.
Summoning all my magic, I drew my dagger and widened my stance.
I had one chance, and though doubt crept in, seeing Elias’s broken form nearby steeled my resolve.
I had to try. I pleaded with the gods for strength as I gripped my dagger tightly.
Gritting my teeth, I infused the blade with every ounce of my seelie light, knowing it likely wouldn’t work while watching the echo's approach.
A warmth seeped between my fingertips, featherlight and soothing, but I didn’t dare tear my gaze from the echo as it shifted and slithered toward me.
I could only hope it meant my magic had heeded my call.
I waited until it was within reach, then, as its clawed arms stretched toward me, I lunged forward, the air whistling past my ears as I used every ounce of my fae-given speed.
At the last second, the echo twitched, almost as if it meant to dodge right, but I shifted too, following its dodge to the left and driving my blade deep into its chest, straight into its heart.
The moment my magic pierced the echo's form, something shifted.
The walls in my mind, walls I hadn't even known existed, began to crack.
Images flashed: a young boy with eyes as turbulent as a stormy sea, laughter by a fountain, promises whispered under starlight.
Then the pain hit, white-hot and blinding, and I screamed.
A deafening screech ripped through the night, and I dropped hold of my dagger as I fell to my knees, my hands pressing against my bloodied ears as I cried out from the pain.
An explosion knocked me backward as the echo ignited into roiling dark smoke that surrounded me.
That screech intensified and I screamed again. Then…
Silence.
I pulled my hands from my ears, blinking down at the crimson pooled within my palms. The black smoke faded, seeping into the ground beneath me. I looked over my body, the silence so loud that my ears rang dully.
“Am… am I alive?” I whispered, the sound of my voice barely audible over the throbbing within my ears. The words tasted… odd. No, that wasn’t right. There was magic in the air.
“Princess…”
I whipped around, my gaze peering through the darkness to find Elias, his voice raspy with pain as he pulled himself up until he sat with his back pressed against the tall stone.
His fingers pressed against the bandage at his side while he gritted his teeth through the pain.
His hand went limp, his head lulled to his chest, and his shoulders drooped.
With a startled cry, I rushed to his side, dropping to my knees as my hands pressed against his frozen, muddied flesh. “Elias!”
Without thinking twice, I dug my hands into my pack, pulling out what I needed to save him. The echo had tricked me. It hadn’t claimed Elias like I’d seen. Not really. It probably would have if I hadn’t made it back in time.
The silence of the late afternoon died as the forest came alive. Hawks screeched, insects chirped, leaves rustled. It was as if nature herself was eager to help. Dampening a square of cloth, I pressed it to his forehead as I laid him back down.
“Hold on, Elias,” I murmured, my thumb brushing away a lock of his dark hair. “I’m here.”
I mixed the herbs and flowers together, creating an elixir that would counteract the poison’s effect while also promoting healing. I no longer had the moonbells, so I made do with other ingredients held within my pack.
The scent of lavender and mint filled the meadow as I crushed them between my fingers before grinding them with my mortar and pestle. I drizzled a drop of honey into the fine powder to sweeten the bitter taste. Then, carefully, I pulled forth the daemonacus flower, the final ingredient.
This one ingredient had cost me so much time.
It had been the reason for this entire journey, and as I held it within my hands, the cloth wrapping falling open until it lay like an offering within my palms, I knew I wouldn’t have enough to truly do what I needed.
Not if I used it now, on Elias. I would need at least half to heal him of the cursed bite.
Would that leave enough to break a curse that had lasted more than a century?
I closed my eyes, breathing in deeply as I let myself still.
I asked that inner part of myself what I should do like I’d done countless times before when confronted with difficult healing situations.
It always knew when to risk it and when it wouldn’t be enough.
I looked to Elias, to the dark hair that always seemed to fall into his gray eyes.
To the pale lips that would lift into his cocky grin whenever he teased me.
To how he always wanted to make sure I remained safe even at the cost of himself.
Something warm bloomed deep within my chest. It fluttered and expanded until my skin vibrated with it. I knew time was running out, that I needed to react, to heal, but as I pondered my options, that warmth blossomed until I realized what it was.
Love.
In the short time that I’d known Elias, I had fallen for him, for his charm.
This feeling igniting within my chest was new, and it was far too soon to act upon it, or to even truly acknowledge it, but gods…
it was there. A warm pressure that flourished within my heart.
I couldn’t deny it. My heart raced with the realization, and I made my decision.
I had to save him.
Swiftly, I donned gloves and meticulously harvested half the petals, half the stem, and half the roots from the flower.
It was crucial to maintain the delicate balance between life and death; too little wouldn't suffice, but too much could be disastrous for Briar. Grinding everything into a fine powder, I mixed it with the prepared elixir, my lips a thin line as I hummed a soft healing melody, infusing the potion with power. With the elixir ready, I discarded my gloves and eased Elias’s head upward, pouring the mixture down his throat.
I implored my limited magic to succeed; I couldn't bear to lose Elias, not after realizing what had blossomed between us.
With the potion consumed, I lowered his head back to the cushioned grassy pillow, turning my attention to the wound that had set us on this terrifying path.
As I worked, something nagged at me, the ease with which the healing had come, the way my magic had responded with more power than I'd ever wielded before.
The wolf child's recovery wasn't just quick; it was miraculous.
Magic that strong should have left me drained, but instead, I felt energized.
As if healing him had somehow fed something hungry inside me.
It should have been reassuring. Instead, it terrified me. Healers were meant to give of themselves, to sacrifice their own energy for their patients' wellbeing. But this felt different. This felt like taking.
I pushed the thought aside, focusing on Elias's wound. But as my magic flowed into him, cleaning the poison from his blood, I felt it again, that strange sense of drawing energy rather than expending it. As if the act of healing was somehow making me stronger rather than weaker.
What did it mean? And why did the sensation feel so familiar, like remembering a dream from long ago?
The triad had made it seem as if I held the power to have whatever I wished, and right now, the only thing I cared about was healing Elias.
My fingers prodded at the bandage along his muddied chest, and I pulled them away so I could focus on the wound.
It looked as angry as ever, those dark veins spidering further than I remembered against the red heated flesh.
Instinctively, I pressed my palms against the skin around the bite, focusing intently on the bloodied indents.
Past the oozing black blood, I sent my magic deeper, letting it travel through the blackened veins to the healthy end, then pulled it back, dragging out the darkness, poison, and death.
The acrid taste of poison coated my tongue, and I exhaled it out.
As my magic worked, I sensed something else at the edges of my awareness.
The elixir flowed through Elias’s body, striving to cleanse and heal.
A faint glow seeped from my hands into the wound.
I'd used my magic to heal before, but never to extract poison.
Sweat dotted my brow, and exhaustion weighed on me as I poured my essence into him, entwining my magic with his veins and blood until no poison remained.
As the minutes passed, the wound began to mend.
The angry red hue faded to the pale flesh I was used to, and the dark trails from each bite mark vanished.
It was working. I kept my palms on his chest until the last of his torn flesh healed, then collapsed back, breathing heavily and wiping sweat from my brow.
Wake up, I pleaded silently, my gaze trained onto the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He lived, but would he wake?
Would he end up trapped within an endless slumber just like Briar?
Tears slipped down my cheeks while I watched him.
My body rocked while my arms curled around my raised knees, my fingers gripping at my sides as I let my sorrow consume me.
What if I’d been too late? How could I lose him now, when I’d only just realized what he meant to me—what I had long suspected?
His chest lifted and fell in a steady rhythm as I curled into his uninjured side, but his face remained slack with sleep.
His skin no longer held the pallor of death, but it lay so still, so cool beneath my skin.
One thought consumed my mind as I let my tears silently fall onto his shoulder, not caring that the mud would likely mar my cheek.
Please wake up.
Please wake up.
Please wake up.