66. Zai
Zai
Shards of frozen blood melted beneath my heated fingers before I could pluck them free. Blood, both mine and Erion’s, trickled down my shoulder in thin rivulets.
Exhaustion gnawed at my reserves, but I kept my bolster flowing into Lora’s broken body.
The way she’d wielded Erion’s blood should’ve unsettled me. Weaponizing a dead man’s essence, her boyfriend’s essence, was nothing less than a grotesque violation.
But instead of unease, recognition flickered beneath my ribs.
That dark side of her, corrupting her, dragging her under, was the same ruin festering in me. But where my darkness grew from the need to prove myself, hers was born from the need to protect.
Raw admiration tightened my chest as I watched her fall to her knees with Erion’s limp body in her arms.
Her strength, her ferocity, the brutal lengths she’d go for the ones she loved—she was a pure force of nature. With her torn red dress, blood-streaked face, and skin covered in gashes and burns, she was devastatingly beautiful, like a warrior queen crowned in blood and ruin.
My bolster could only keep the pain at bay, never heal the cause of it. But somehow, I had to help her.
I edged forward. She didn’t flinch. Didn’t react at all. Her gaze remained fixed on Erion’s pale face.
“Lora?”
No response.
I crouched beside her, placing one hand on her arm. Her ice-cold skin was slick with blood.
She scrambled to her feet and twisted toward me. “Get away!”
Her trembling arms jerked up in defense. Her teeth clattered, violent shivers wracking her frame. Her wounds were finally claiming their toll.
Frustration prickled through me. She could be so scorching stubborn. So determined to hate me.
I wet my lips, willing her to see the sincerity in my eyes.
Her fingers curled, preparing to wield, but I closed the distance, capturing both her hands in mine. “Stop wasting your strength on me.”
Her legs gave out. I caught her before she hit the ground, hooking one arm behind her back and the other under her knees, cradling her against me.
Her fist pounded my chest. “Let me go.”
“I’m trying to help,” I murmured.
Cold radiated from her skin, her lips tinged blue. Channeling heat from my core, I let warmth flow into her, just enough to thaw the frost coating her body.
I scanned the underbrush, spotting a patch of thick moss cushioning the base of an old tree. Tightening my grip around her, I carried her toward it.
Her knuckles struck my chest. “I don’t need your help.”
“I know.”
Another blow. “You killed him.”
“I did.”
Her hand slapped my ribs, weaker this time. “I thought you cared.”
“I do.”
The fight drained from her, leaving only trembling exhaustion. Those dark eyes locked with mine as I lowered her onto the soft moss into a lopsided sitting position.
I kneeled beside her, assessing the damage carved into her skin. Burns blistered across her arms. Gashes sliced deep into muscle. Flesh had been torn away.
Her vacant stare drifted past me, as if the world had ceased to exist.
“Lora, listen.” I captured her hand. “You need to use your healing.” I guided her palm to her arm, where a large wound gaped raw and bleeding. “Channel your healing, and I’ll direct your hand to where it’s needed.”
No answer. She swayed, her body tilting as if balance had abandoned her.
I slipped one hand behind her neck, anchoring her, while positioning her palm above the wound. “Come on, Lora, don’t give up now. I know that defiant fire still burns in you.”
Her unfocused gaze slid to me.
Nodding, I drove more bolster into her, strengthening her in what little way I could. “I’ll help you. Just summon your healing.”
Blue light flickered from her hand, washing over the torn flesh. Relief crashed through me.
“That’s it.” My voice was a low murmur. “Keep going. Just like that.”
The edges of her wound slowly knitted together. Encouraging words tumbled from my mouth in a steady stream. “Perfect. You’re doing so good.”
My muscles ached from the awkward position. I shifted behind her, settling my legs on either side of her hips. She leaned into me with a soft sigh, her icy back pressing against my chest. I let my heat seep into her, coaxing circulation back into chilled limbs.
My thumb stroked her knuckles. “That’s it, lean on me. I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere.”
I kept her hand steady above the injury, the way she’d held it when she’d healed my leg. When her split flesh had completely fused beneath newly formed skin, her blue light faded.
I guided her palm to a new wound on her shoulder. “Hey, stay with me, Lora. Show me how strong you are.”
The glow returned, flowing into jagged slashes carved through skin and muscle.
“Perfect. Just like that.” My lips ghosted against her ear. “That’s my fierce moon girl.”
Candlemarks crept by as I guided her hand to new injuries while murmuring praise.
My vision blurred at the edges, fatigue dragging at my consciousness. Every time I was certain I had nothing left to give, I wrenched a new thread of magic from deep inside and shoved it into her.
Surrender wasn’t an option.
Something primal unfurled inside as I tightened my arms around her, savoring the feel of her curves pressing against me.
For weeks, she’d been an obstacle in my way. A thorn in my side that I couldn’t remove. She was the most stubborn, infuriating, impossible woman I’d ever come across.
But somehow, she’d carved through my walls, straight into my bones. Into my very soul. Dangerously close to finding her way into my heart.
And by the blaze, I wanted her to keep carving.