Chapter 33
Chapter
Thirty-Three
Two witches still stood. Ethan’s fur was covered in blood and gore, his back leg obviously broken. I threw my hand up again, hoping for something to help me. Something cold landed in my hand. I glanced down.
An ornate silver dagger humming with faint magic. Alright. Weird, and I didn’t expect to be in hand to hand combat with a witch, but the day was still young.
I tucked it into my back belt loop and kept running. But something occurred to me. The world had just handed me a fancy dagger, and I was running toward two bitches trying to kill Ethan.
I drew the dagger once more, aimed, and sent it flying.
A short scream and the one on the right went down. Not dead but disabled for now.
Ethan didn’t look behind him. Smart guy.
Underneath my feet, the earth rumbled. A sob threatened as two familiar strains of magic shattered through the air. Vines sprang from the ground, wrapped around the last witch’s ankle and flung her into the air.
“Ethan!” I yelled.
The wolf turned slowly. His eyes were full of molten gold. Saliva and blood dripped from his maw. I went to my knees, hissing at the residual pain in my bones, and raised my hands to Ethan.
His golden eyes softened. He took a single shaky step toward me, his entire body trembling.
“Help is here,” I said quietly. “We’ll get you home and to your healers as soon as we tie up loose ends.”
He was going to be fine. I repeated the words in my head, over and over like a mantra.
Ethan let out a huff and collapsed.
I let out a shriek of alarm and scrambled over to him, running my fingers through his matted fur. Ethan’s body was littered with cuts and wounds. I sucked in a hissing breath when I found one particularly deep cut, blood oozing from his ribs.
“You’re going to be okay.” I pressed my hand gently against the ruff of his neck and bent close.
Ethan’s breaths came in shallow rasps. A flash of light cracked in the air as Ethan transformed.
“Moira,” he whispered.
“Help is coming, Ethan. Evie and Soren and Cernunnos are here. They’re going to help.”
“Too late.” A sad smile.
“Nope.” My chest burned, power rising within me.
Ethan lifted a hand and touched my face. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t say that shit to me when you’re dying, asshole.”
Ethan let out a pained laugh, followed by a wet cough.
He slow blinked. “Don’t give Soren my territory.”
“No one but you is getting your territory.”
“You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, darling.” Ethan’s eyes fluttered closed.
I ran my hand down his ribcage, feeling amongst the fur and blood and gore for his heartbeat, only to find a terrible silence.
“No.” Tears slid down my face. “No!”
I pressed a hand to my chest. “Fee. If you ever wanted to help, now’s your chance. Please.”
A rainbow of colors burst from my fingertips telling me two things:
Fee heard me.
And Ethan was dead.
I pressed my fingers to Ethan’s skin. Prismatic light bloomed over his body as Fee’s magic worked to revive him. I whispered a prayer to the universe and lay down beside him, ensuring my hands stayed in contact with his body.
A hand rested on my shoulder. “Hey,” Evie said. She lay down beside me and curled her arms around me. “You cool going into the ground if need be?”
“As long as it brings him back.”
Evie brought up a cage of vines over our bodies. “I’ll wait with you until we know for sure.”
I nodded. Her cool fingers brushed through my hair as we waited.
“Is Cernunnos outside?” I asked.
“He is. Dad felt when Ethan…passed.”
“He can’t be dead.”
“When Rowan died, it felt like someone had torn my heart out with their bare hands. A mating bond is different from what you two have, but I know there’s a bond there. I can feel it. We all can.”
“Is it a mating bond?”
She hesitated for a moment. “No. Not yet.”
Tears spilled down my cheeks. “He doesn’t want it.”
“I know, Moira. You two live far enough away to keep one from triggering. I’m not sure that’s any consolation, but the distance will keep things at bay.”
“He loves someone so much he never wants to move on. Can you imagine what that must be like?”
“I know what it’s like,” Evie said softly. “Every time I see Rowan, I see my heart living outside my chest.”
“I don’t know what that’s like. No one has ever loved me that much.”
Evie scoffed. “Lies. But I get what you’re saying. One day I know you’ll feel the same way I do.”
I shook my head. “Mating isn’t in the cards for me.”
“You can’t know that.”
“I do. I’m happy with the way things are now. Cernunnos and I have a good relationship. He’s good for me.”
Evie started braiding my hair, her cool fingers scraping against my scalp. “You’re good for him, too. Maybe that’s enough.”
It had to be. “Is my mom dead?”
Her fingers stilled. “We didn’t see your mom.”
I closed my eyes, resisting the urge to scream bloody murder. “Did you see a silver spear?”
“Ari picked one up. She seemed totally freaked out by it.”
“Mom got away.” I sighed. “Again. Fuck.”
“Not cleanly. She left enough blood behind to supply a hospital.”
“Huh. Maybe she died somewhere else.”
Evie and I both laughed. Neither of us had ever been so lucky.
The rainbow light died down, the warmth in my chest slowly returning to normal.
Ethan didn’t stir.
“Maybe Fee’s power only works once,” I murmured. “She already resurrected him before. Maybe it doesn’t work on the same person again.”
“Don’t say that. A phoenix’s power is never ending, and Fee left it to you. Magic doesn’t work only once.”
I rubbed my fingers through Ethan’s hair and pressed my face against his neck. “Come back to me,” I whispered.
Light bloomed in our cage of greenery, casting an iridescent sheen over my skin.
“A heartbeat,” Evie said. She gently squeezed my arm. “He’s alive.”
Evie took the cage down slowly and scooted away. I lay there with Ethan until he opened his eyes.
“Hi,” I whispered.
He blinked several times. “Moira,” he croaked. “You’re alive.”
“And so are you.” I smiled. “Again.”
Ethan closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath. “How?”
I wasn’t ready to tell him about Fee. “Evie helped,” was all I said.
He frowned but Ethan was so tired, he didn’t question anything. “Your mom?”
“A problem for another day.” I touched his cheek and rolled away, slowly coming to my feet.
Cernunnos stood there watching me carefully. I limped over to him and lay my head against his chest. Warm arms encircled me. “My gods, Moira. You are dripping in death magic.”
“Yeah,” I said on a sigh. “About that. Let’s chat about it later.”
Ari stomped over, waving the spear at me. “Where the hell did you get this from?”
I pretended innocence. “Umm. The witches had it in their camp.”
In her other hand was the dagger. “And this?”
I waved my hand at one of the groaning witches. “Same. You might want to check to see what else they’re hiding.”
Cernunnos chuckled softly. “Ari seems like someone you will eventually grow to trust.”
“Today’s not that day.”
He exhaled. “Only one of the witches was actually pregnant. They managed to trick even Evangeline’s senses with a powerful spell. I’ve never seen anything like this coven. Their magic is disturbing.”
“Did anyone die?”
“Four witches. Evie would have been devastated had they actually been with child.”
I tilted my face up to see his lips twitch. “Now she’s trying to figure out exactly how they did it.”
Something had been bothering me about this. “They knew the Lords wouldn’t go after them if they were pregnant. Their softness with children is well known.”
“They investigated Soren well.”
“I don’t think it was them. This has my mother’s hands all over it.”
“You think she was trying to ingratiate herself with the witches to eventually get to the Lords?” He stroked his chin. “Once she made herself useful to the Lords, she might be able to get to you more easily. Both clever and diabolical.”
Cernunnos chuckled. “But we screwed that all up didn’t we?”
“We certainly did.” And thank goodness for that.
If I hadn’t gotten involved when I had, my mother might have been able to take Soren out, put the blame on the witches, and offer her assistance to the Lords in a ploy to her ultimate goal: put me in chains once more.
This time I couldn’t hide my shudder of disgust. “I put nothing past that awful woman.”
His arms tightened around my waist. “We will find her. And when we do, she will answer for her crimes.”
I smiled up at him. “Let’s keep letting Soren believe this was all because of his horniness.” I looked around. “Where is he anyway?”
“One of the witches popped him with a boil spell. He’s completely covered up.”
I let out a cackle. “Oh no. Our pretty little Lord isn’t so pretty anymore?”
Cernunnos grinned. “That penis isn’t getting anywhere near a woman for at least two weeks.”
“Serves him right.”
“How about I take you home? Ember has been asking about you.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest, simple joy this time. Fee rested contentedly deep in my veins.
“I’d like that.”
Cernunnos picked me up and carried me away in a gentle gust of silver and emerald wind.