Chapter 57
Blue fire blazed from the side, hitting Patrick center mass. He howled in pain as Cillian hit him again, taking him down completely. But I only had eyes for Declan.
My feet were running before my brain even had a chance to recognize the order. I sank to my knees next to Declan’s fallen form, my hands hovering over him. The wound to his chest still smoked.
“Why?” Ronan croaked.
Declan’s eyes watered, pain coursing through him. “You’ll always be worth it. Both of you.”
“Don’t talk like that,” I chastised.
He tried to smile, but a wheezing cough came instead.
“Get him on the backboard. We need to move him to the medical bay now,” Baldwin ordered.
A pained sound escaped Declan’s lips as the guys lifted him. I quickly clutched his hand as they loaded him onto the stretcher. It was all I could do. That and send all the healing energy I had into him.
I focused on pushing all my magic into him. My muscles trembled as we walked, and I knew I was reaching my limits, but I didn’t care. I kept right on pushing.
“Over here,” Baldwin ordered. “I need to close the wound.”
The guys set Declan down in one of the medical bays, and Colt instantly got to work cutting open his shirt. The moment his chest was exposed, I sucked in a sharp breath. There was a hole in Declan’s chest.
A harsher wheeze escaped Declan’s lips as if to punctuate the image.
My gaze jerked to Ronan. “Your blood. You can give him your blood.”
Anguish swept through Ronan’s expression.
It was Cillian who spoke. “Dragon’s blood only heals other supernaturals and humans. It doesn’t work on our own kind.”
Pressure built behind my eyes as I shoved more magic into Declan. Everything I had.
My legs gave out, and Trace caught me just before I hit the floor.
“Little Bird…”
“Don’t,” I whispered. “I have to help.”
Trace’s body shuddered. “Okay. I’ve got you.” Someone dragged over a chair, and Trace sat us in it.
I kept pulsing as much of my power into Declan as possible while still staying conscious.
Baldwin hurried over, wearing gloves and some sort of cover. “I need to move quickly, or we’ll lose him.” He glanced at Trace. “Can you knock him out?”
Trace jerked his head in a nod and then touched a hand to Declan’s shoulder. Purple sparks shot into Declan’s arm, and his hand went limp in mine.
Baldwin didn’t wait. He removed a scalpel from the tray. “I have to cut away the damaged flesh or it will infect the rest.”
I closed my eyes, muttering nonsensical prayers and not letting go of Declan’s hand.
I didn’t know how long we stayed like that. Fifteen minutes? Fifteen hours?
Eventually, Baldwin spoke again. “I’ve done all I can.”
His voice was defeated, exhausted. I forced my eyes to open. A large bandage covered Declan’s chest. But his skin was too pale. As if it lacked any color at all.
Nausea swept through me as I held Declan’s hand tighter. “What can I do?”
Colt’s gaze lifted to mine, so much pain there. “You’re doing it, LeeLee. We just have to wait now.”
But there was defeat in his words.
Ronan lowered himself to a chair on the opposite side of the bed, taking his brother’s hand. “Why?”
My eyes burned as if they’d been dunked in acid. “Because he loves you.”
Ronan lifted his tortured gaze. “He shouldn’t have.”
Dash moved in behind him and squeezed his shoulder. “You couldn’t have done anything to stop him.”
Tears filled Ronan’s eyes, spilling down his cheeks.
Each one that fell was a dagger to my heart. We couldn’t lose Declan. We wouldn’t survive it.
Every second that ticked by was a mark on our souls. A pain carved into our skin that we would always wear. The only sound keeping us company was the beep of the heart monitor.
Baldwin came in and out of the medical wing with updates of the cleanup. None of us cared.
The entire Assembly wanted to see us now, but Colt snarled that they could wait. After that, no one dared enter.
The steady blip of the heart monitor started to slow, and Ronan jerked upright. “What’s going on?”
Agony flashed on Dash’s face. “He’s slipping away.”
“No!” I cried as I surged to my feet. My tears finally came then, a torrent of emotion, falling from my eyes onto Declan.
I grabbed his face. “Don’t leave me. You promised. You promised you’d always be there for me.”
I bent my head, pressing my mouth to his as if I could breathe life into him.
“Holy hell,” Trace whispered.
As my eyelids fluttered open, I gasped. Sparks of magic swirled around Declan, moving faster and faster. The golds, silvers, purples, and greens that were all of us. And then, all of a sudden, they plunged into Declan’s body.
He jerked, an expulsion of air flying free of his lungs. The heart monitor picked up speed again.
My hands trembled as I released him. “What did I do?”
Dash’s eyes shone as he smiled at me. “You’re healing him.”
“His color’s coming back,” Colt said.
Trace pointed to the monitor. “And his vitals are better.”
I was scared to hope, to even breathe.
And then Declan’s eyes fluttered open.
“Leighton.”