Chapter 210: The Healing Frequency
“I did not come to control your body Arkan. I came to quiet the fire inside your head,” Diana said. Her voice came out in a low hiss as she fought to steady the sudden surge of heated air filling the shelter tent.
Arkan lunged forward barely two inches. His hand around the dagger shook violently as the purple veins winding up the young wolven’s neck swelled wider by the second. “What trick are you playing? Keep your hands away from his neck before that void energy tears his small frame apart.”
“Step back three paces and hold your tongue if you still want him breathing come morning,” Diana snapped. She went straight to the heart of the danger.
She wasted not a single second. She pressed the plain brass charm given to her by Kael directly over the nerve cluster at the boy’s neck. Her shoulders went rigid as sulfurous heat began to seep through his skin. Every nerve along her temples throbbed hard enough to spark raw terror yet she refused to let her focus slip.
Diana drew a long slow breath and opened her mouth gently to release the new technique Selene had taught her during her recovery at the palace.
Hummmmm
It was not the thunderous roar of the Alpha’s Voice that once split the stone of the Solstice Altar. Instead it was a low vibration warm and steady. The sound moved slowly through the air of the tent then slipped into the boy’s ears like a balancing frequency designed to soothe.
Arkan froze in place. His protective wolven instincts shifted instantly and his muscles lost their sharp tension. The rusted blade in his hand lowered several inches without him noticing.
The healing response began to work at the magical and molecular level. The deep purple veins flaring erratically along the child’s neck faded gradually. Streams of mental poison that had blocked his central nerve pathways reversed course sharply. Thin dark purple mist was drawn out through the pores of his neck skin then pulled straight into the metal of the charm Diana held.
SCREEK
The brass grew dangerously hot and turned dark purple at its edges. It acted as a safe vessel and filter for the corrupted magic. The boy’s convulsions stopped completely. His arms went loose and his eyes rolled upward before closing fully into a deep calm and natural sleep.
His mother sank to her knees in the straw lined corner. Tears of relief ran down her face as she watched his breathing return to a steady even rhythm.
Arkan watched every moment and his anger softened into profound awe. The set of his jaw eased entirely. He saw how Diana drained her own strength and absorbed the enemy’s toxic pressure just to save a refugee from the Eastern Fang. This was the same group that had betrayed the Silver Moon clan long ago.
“You… you truly drew the poison out without harming his nerve tissue,” Arkan whispered. His voice came rough and unsteady stripped of every sharp and confrontational tone.
Diana did not answer right away. She pulled the charm free with hands that shook violently. Her mismatched eyes one gold one purple began to blur as her stamina vanished too fast. Her whole body turned cold as if the frozen void itself had moved directly into her chest. “There are… twenty nine more children here Arkan. I must finish… their defensive wards…”
“That is enough Diana. You have pushed far past what any wolven body can endure,” Jace said sharply. He stepped forward with his prosthetic leg grinding heavily against the ground to catch her.
Before his hand could reach her shoulder however Diana’s balance broke completely. Her vision went black and she pitched straight forward.
Arkan moved with the blinding speed of his wolven instinct. He set aside clan pride and every political divide then leaped forward and dropped his rusted dagger into the dirt.
His scarred powerful arms caught Diana just before her face struck the cold mud floor. He held her small form tight against his chest.
The instant his right hand rested against her neck to check her pulse something startling happened.
SZRRRRST
A sharp yet gentle shock of clear silver light spread across both their skins. It raced from their fingertips straight to the center of their hearts.
Arkan’s wolven eyes went wide. His own heartbeat surged three times faster falling into perfect rhythm with Diana’s weak pulse. Deep within his mind the sacred and eternal mate bond awakened fully amid the chaos of the camp. This sudden shift of raw earth magic swelled around them and left Jace gripping his sword hilt tight with uncertainty.