Chapter 83 CHAPTER 83
As I rolled the charging stone toward the couch where Alira lay, I noticed her breathing was so shallow it barely moved her chest.
The longer the process took, the faster my heart beat, a contrast to her weakening ones. Hell, it felt like she was dead already in a horrifying way but I was too adamant to believe that. She couldn't be, not after she's walked into my life and given me something to live for.
So this damn thing better work, perform actual magic or something, whatever leads to her opening those beautiful ember eyes and she can snap her mouth at me as she wanted. But this stone working was not negotiable.
It just has to.
The stone itself was massive, about the size of a small barrel, its surface covered in ancient runes that glowed faintly with stored solar energy. Fifteen years of absorbing the double suns' power had made it incredibly potent.
Dangerous, even, if used incorrectly.
But right now, it was her best chance.
"Help me position it properly, be careful or it'll absorb your power if it's struggling to help her," I told Florian.
“I don't mind,” he shrugged.
A little too quickly for my liking. Why's he trying to sacrifice himself so damn much?
“I'm sorry but I'm not ready to explain to the king why his favourite toy is dead,” I grunted. “Move it that way and stay away from that part of the runes.”
He puffed out harshly, but he reeled his emotions in and together, we manoeuvred the stone until it sat directly beside the couch, close enough that its energy field would encompass her body.
I grabbed the cup of his blood, the dark red liquid still warm.
Fae blood was different from ours, not more potent but golden in contrast to our red.
Florian had a mixture of both, intense in both colours depending on the angle you look at it.
But his was more powerful and I just needed a little but being so overzealous, he nearly filled the cup.
My emotions were flaring up again so I bit my tongue and focused on using the blood, it would act as a conductor, helping channel the stone's energy directly into her body to renew her depleted energy. Without this, she won't be able to do anything else but breathe.
"What are you doing?" Florian asked, watching intently and hovering.
Resolving to behave myself, I proceeded to explain what I learned those years ago from my former personal healer.
"Her Chi was blocked before but it still existed, but right now, it's broken, emptied and weak. This is a form of transfusion through the sun. The stone holds concentrated power from the second sun, it's been storing it for over a decade now. So since her chi is linked to fire like most dragon kin, this is the perfect charger. If I can create a bridge using your blood as the magical conductor, the stone will feed energy directly into her core."
“Wow, you are a man of many talents,” he muttered and actually moved back a bit for me to finish working.
I ignored the compliment and knelt beside Alira, dipping my fingers into the blood. Because if I focused on it, pride would set in. I might even tell him to fuck off because I'm all she'll ever need.
But there were more important things to do and if this went awry because of my lack of emotions contrasting with all the things I was now forced to feel all at once, I would follow her into the other world. I'm not living with that guilt.
My hands were shaking again, but I forced them steady.
This had to be precise. One wrong symbol, one misplaced rune, and the energy would scatter instead of focusing where she needed it most.
And kill her.
"Hold her steady," I said without looking up. "When this starts working, her body's going to react. She might convulse, might scream. Don't let her move, everything must remain in a steady form or…”
“Or what?” he asked, his voice carrying more fear than mine.
“Let's try not to find out, okay?”
Florian positioned himself at her shoulders, his hands gentle despite their size.
Then I began tracing runes on her skin with his blood.
Ancient symbols my healer had made me memorise until I could draw them in my sleep.
Connection. Transfer.
Restoration. Protection.
One on her forehead, right between her brows.
Again and again I drew the symbols, my heart beating faster after each cycle.
The blood was warm against her cool skin, and the contrast made my stomach twist. What if I was doing something wrong? It's been so long since I did this and I might…
‘Stop thinking that way, Draco,’ I warned myself, to avoid corrupting the energy in the room.
Florian watched in silence, his face tight with worry.
I didn't blame him one bit, and this didn't have to do with the fact that I suspected those training sessions they did created something between them even though they were always covered in blood.
But because this was old, ancient magic. Dangerous magic. The kind that could save someone or destroy them depending on how carefully it was wielded.
"Now the stone," I murmured, my chest tight as I forced myself to remain positive.
This must work, there's no other acceptable option.
I placed one hand on the charging stone's surface and the power hit me immediately.
A sharp breath puffed out of me instantly, the electric feeling doing things to my head. Trying to destabilise me.
But I held steady, allowing it settle a bit.
Then I placed the other hand on her chest, next to Florian's steady, terrified ones.
For a long, terrible moment, nothing happened.
Then her entire body jerked violently.
"Hold her!" I barked, terror hitting my heart as I watched the blood shake, almost trickling out of place.
Florian's grip tightened on her shoulders as Alira's back arched off the couch, her mouth opening in a silent, agonised gasp.
I sent my shadows to her feet, pulling her down and steadying her until the blood signs returned to normal.
The energy was flooding into her, pouring into the empty spaces where her chi had been completely hollowed out.
And it hurt.
I could see it in every line of her face, in the way her hands clenched into fists, in the tremors wracking her frame.
"Fuck, is this supposed to happen?" Florian's voice was strained.
"Yes,” I grunted. “Her body's been empty too long. It doesn't remember how to hold power. We're forcing it to remember."
Please work, please please…
Her back arched again but we carefully forced her down and steadied her until a sound finally escaped her throat.
A whimper, raw and cracked.
Something in my chest broke at that painful sound.
"Easy," Florian said, his fingers squeezing her shoulders. “Easy, Alira. I know it hurts. Just breathe through it. You're safe, we're here and you're going to be okay."
I guess his bubbly personality was coming in handy for the first time.
Stars, why was I angry at this man?
He'd saved her life, he found her, brought her from wherever this insanity happened and stayed with me to save her life.
And all I could think about was how his hands had held her first.
How she'd been cradled against his chest, not mine.
How he'd seen whatever destroyed that leech, witnessed her power, been there for a moment I should have been part of.
Pathetic, Draco, absolutely pathetic.
I shook my head and refocused on the task at hand, monitoring the energy flow as carefully as I could.
Colour was returning to her face in increments I could actually see now instead of hoping for.
It was working. Stars above, she was going to survive!
The relief that crashed through me was so overwhelming I had to close my eyes for a second just to process it.
"Is she...?" Florian's voice was soft, almost reverent.
"She's finally stabilizing and her Chi is recharged properly. It'll do most of the work now and she'll make it. You can let go now."
I heard him exhale, long and shaky, and I felt him sag slightly where he knelt beside her.
We'd done it.
Together.