Chapter 19
Norrell
The purple smudges under Ada’s dulled eyes would worry me more if this were a different day.
They will brighten once we have cured her of this fae spell.
Esmeralda is going to keep her company and help her around the house until the relics are ready.
The arrangement takes away some worry since I will be busy the entire day leading up to this.
Her coven members arrive in shifts to not overcrowd the house.
Several healers from the clinic, including Thea, are on standby, making sure that the witches are healthy after donating their magick to the Forged Ruby.
Elgar and I work side by side the entire time, helping to control the amount of magick drawn from each witch.
Nearly all of them have the same reaction as Esmeralda.
It makes them a little woozy and unsteady on their feet.
But they recover quickly after having some tea or juice and a bite to eat.
Each draw of magick is quick, taking no more than a minute.
Within a few hours, we work through the entire stream of volunteers.
Like the healers, Elgar and I have not expended much of our own abilities yet to ensure we are ready to fully harness them later.
The gem, the Forged Ruby, is now pulsing heavily on its own, the amount of the witches’ magickal energy inside it staggering.
It is much greater than what I would draw from dozens of fae, so I am confident this will be enough to overpower and expel the fae spell.
Walt appears calmer today when he and Acton arrive in the afternoon. Acton must have soothed his frayed nerves. He does not make choices lightly, so I trust that he will accept the result, no matter how it turns out.
When we meet again in the salon, the healers set up three portable gurneys.
Walt eyes them warily, letting on his remaining undercurrent of anxiety.
The healers lead Ada, Walt, and Acton to them.
They choose to sit for the moment. I stand next to Ada, holding her clammy, weak hand.
A light sheen of nervous sweat covers her brow.
She worries for herself, but mayhap more so for Acton.
I rub my warm, steady hand along her back.
While I tend to Ada, the witches talk through their plan one last time to coordinate their use of the relics.
I will manage the Banner of Life on Acton and then transfer the life force into Ada first and Walt second.
Simultaneously, Elgar will help the other witch unleash the full force of magickal energy into Ada.
In doing so, the witches believe we can prevent the waste of any of Acton’s life force.
Even I begin experiencing a case of nerves as we make our final preparations.
I need to tamp them down and be fully focused on the task at hand.
Niven signals to me that they are ready.
I press a lingering kiss to Ada’s lips and then join the witches.
Walt and Acton briefly kiss as well and then lie back on their gurneys.
Acton nods at me, telling me he is ready.
The witch whispers his spell, commanding the Banner of Life to pull life force from Acton.
The magick trickles out at first, but I do not let down my guard.
The onslaught will be sudden, fierce, and deadly if left unchecked.
As I suspected, its full power bursts forth, commanding a deep pull of Acton’s life force.
I immediately absorb as much excess magick as I can, decreasing the potency of the relic to stymie the flow of Acton’s life force to a small stream.
Acton loses consciousness but otherwise looks healthy and unchanged.
The witch immediately speaks the counterspell, severing its connection to Acton.
As planned, the healers wheel Acton away and minister their healing magick to him.
The magick in the crown feels unstable now that it brims with life force, like it could trigger at any moment.
All of us get into position around Ada. The power blazing within the Banner of Life instantly explodes, flooding straight into her.
I drain down the pulse of fae magick after it hits her with a heavy dose, enough to fill her cheeks with a healthy glow on her skin that has been missing since I returned.
Elgar tempers the current of magick into Ada, slow and steady, but it seems to be working.
Ada’s body goes stiff as a board, every muscle pulling taut and her eyes widen in shock…
until they roll into the back of her head.
Her whole body slackens as she loses consciousness except for the occasional violent full body twitch that sets off alarm bells in my mind.
I jerk toward her, needing to reach my mate to make sure she is still breathing, still with me.
“Stay back!” Elgar snarls, tearing me out of my haze to reach her.
He is right, this must be so painful for her, an ocean of magick crashing into her, that she passed out.
I cannot stand in its way even if my instincts scream otherwise.
I force my attention back to the crown and the witch holding it.
“Ready?” he asks, turning his attention to Walt.
“Do it,” I respond immediately.
The crown is still replete with life force.
The amount we poured into Ada made up for what she lost and more.
I have no concern there. But this leftover glut in the relic could be lifechanging for Walt.
I hope so, anyway. With another set of softly spoken words, the witch and I work together to thrust the remaining life force safely into Walt.
His eyes are closed, and I cannot tell if he is conscious.
The transformation is fast, shedding decades of age in a matter of minutes.
The deep lines on his face earned over the years become visibly shallower and many disappear completely.
His chest and shoulders fill out and broaden.
His silver hair turns a dark blonde and fills in thicker.
Once the relic is emptied of life force, the witch and I share a look of near disbelief. “This is power beyond anything I imagined. The crown scares me if I’m being honest. I’ve never used a relic this powerful,” he says breathlessly, looking pale.
“If this is what it can do after we weakened it yesterday, my ancestors made the right choice hiding it away in a remote mountain,” I concur.
Walt looks incredibly healthy now that the transfer is complete, though he lays unmoving on his gurney.
Thea breaks away from the group surrounding Acton and pulls Walt’s gurney to the side to check his vitals.
I turn my attention back to Ada. Her ribcage is heaving with deep, forceful breaths.
It is a favor from Mother Earth that she is not awake to feel this magick violently coursing through her body.
There was much of it from her coven contained within the relic that Elgar and the other witch are still pouring it into her nearly ten minutes later.
Her overall complexion is much improved.
Her cheeks and lips are a healthy radiant pink and the lines that exhaustion carved around her eyes have disappeared.
Within another minute or two, the gem’s blazing light finally dims as it empties.
I rush to Ada’s side, wiping the sweaty hair from her brow and gently clasping her hand. Her eyes flutter and slowly open. “How do you feel, my ember?”
“Better than I look, I’m sure,” her voice scrapes. She tightens her grip on my hand.
“You look well,” I assure her.
She smiles calmly, still gazing up at me. “How are Walt and Acton?”
“Better than we thought possible. You will be surprised when you see Walt,” I tell her, a smile in my voice.
“A good surprise?” she asks.
“A very good surprise,” I confirm.
Thea comes over to check on Ada. They share a tender smile as Thea runs her hands above Ada’s body.
“You’re looking so healthy, Ada. That’s a very good sign.
Let’s make sure that fae spell is fully gone,” Thea remarks as she hovers her hands over Ada’s abdomen and chest. Another healer joins her.
They intend to be completely thorough in making sure the spell has been broken.
I no longer sense any fae magick within her.
The beauty of her own magickal signature shines again.
I hold my tongue even though I believe this has been a success.
I want the healers to declare her cured first.
The rest of the healers assess her and then confer with Niven. The other witches wheel the gurneys next to each other again. All three of them are now awake and smiling. Ada’s eyes light up and her jaw drops when she finally sees Walt’s transformation.
“You’re a kid again,” she gushes as she holds his face in her hands.
They both giggle wildly and embrace, rocking back and forth in happiness. When they finally break apart, he laughs self-consciously. “Not a kid exactly, but I feel really good.”
The three of them hop off their gurneys and Ada leads them to the fireplace where a mirror hangs over it. Walt leans in close, examining his face, poking and rubbing at it. “Well I’ll be. I look like I’m about twenty-five again. Not much older than when I met Acton,” he declares.
“You are my handsome mate at any age. I look forward to watching you grow old again,” Acton murmurs as he stands behind Walt and wraps his arms around his shoulders.
“You still haven’t aged a day,” Walt notes, leaning back into his mate. His light expression quickly grows concerned. “How do you feel? Did it hurt? That had to be hard on you.”
“I fell asleep right away. But when I awoke, I felt as I did this morning. It was the right thing to do, Walt. My heart is content,” Acton assures him.
“Thank you for the gift of many more decades together, my petal. I look forward to each one,” Walt purrs, turning in his arms and nuzzling into Acton’s neck.