the blade was pulled free, but he did his best not to move. The fire inside him continued to spread through is veins, but on a deeper level he could feel his turyn smoothing out. The poison was still working its way through his system, but his magic was stabilizing. It must have been the enchantment on the blade, he decided.
Opening his eyes slowly, he looked around. He couldn’t see anyone else with him, so he tried to turn his head and failed. Bug might still be there, behind him somewhere, but he couldn’t tell. There was no time left to waste.
Activating the limnthal, he summoned two potions. One was a universal antidote potion, the other a regeneration potion. They appeared above the palm of his left hand and tumbled to the dirt floor as he tried to grasp them.
His hands weren’t cooperating. After a brief struggle, he realized that neither were his arms—or his legs. The pain that had been burning through his veins had subsided into a dull numbness. He was paralyzed. Only his eyes would move, and all they could tell him was that the ground in front of him was gradually soaking up his blood.
I’m really going to die like this. It was a hard to face, but he had run out of options. Selene, I’m sorry. He wanted to see her face. He didn’t want to die alone.
In a fit of selfish desperation, he did something that if he’d been in a more rational mood he would never have done. He summoned his wife’s face so he could say goodbye. It was cruel, but he couldn’t help himself.
Lying on the blood-soaked ground, he saw Selene’s face appear in the air in front of him. He tried to speak, but of course, his voice failed him like the rest of his body had. “Will? What’s wrong? Will!”
Selene’s features were beautiful as ever, but the panic didn’t suit her. Will wished he could tell her that. I love you, he thought, hoping his eyes alone could deliver the message.
“William! Talk to me! What’s wrong? Is that blood?” Her pitch was rising as fear took hold. Contacting her had been a mistake.
And this is how she’s going to remember me. I’m such a jerk. Feeling weak, he let his eyes close. Keeping the connection open was tiring, and probably even more so for her.
“Bring me over, Will! I don’t have the strength for it. William, wake up! You have to do this, please! I can’t do it alone.” Though he couldn’t see her any longer, the tears and desperation in her voice made his heart ache. “William!”
He started to release the link, but a surge of turyn overwhelmed him, and the connection between them grew stronger instead. The magic swelled briefly and then vanished. It was over.
A tear leaked from the corner of his eye. Now I can die.
But death refused to come. His mind continued to think, and his regrets continued to torment him. How long is this supposed to take? he wondered. Let me go so I can quit thinking about her!
Selene was still on his mind, so much so that he imagined he could smell her. Something warm brushed against his face. “William?”
He opened his eyes. Selene was lying on the ground in front of him. Her face had a pallid hue, but her trembling arm was reaching out to him. What the hell?
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked. “Where’s your potions? Holy Mother, the blood!”
You’re probably lying on them, he thought. How ironic. He was probably going to die with the potions just a foot away, underneath Selene’s rump—and he couldn’t say a single word to tell her. She’s really going to be mad later when she realizes.
A rustling came from behind, outside his viewing angle. Bug hadn’t left, he’d just been in the front section of the tent. “What’s this?” asked the young man.
Will hoped Selene would jump up, to either fight or run, but she only moved slightly. Her head lifted slightly and then slumped back to the ground. Why doesn’t she do something? A second later, he understood. Selene was entirely turyn deprived.
Just contacting her through the heart-stone enchantment tired her out, even though he provided most of the turyn. How she had found the strength or power to summon herself through the link without his help, he couldn’t understand, but she had. Doing that had taken energy she didn’t have.
It was a miracle she was even conscious.
“Why?” asked Bug, sounding