her, turning back to look at his brother. “And the horse will still die in pain. You promised no bloodshed, Chad.”
“I lied,” Chad told him smoothly, before shooting Eric in the leg. He laughed when his brother crumpled to the ground.
Willow took that opportunity to dive behind a large tree.
Chad grinned, bringing the massive crossbow to bear on Ruben. “Looks like you’re next,” he told Ruben.
“Kill us all and you’ll be trapped in there forever,” Ruben said. “There won’t be anyone left alive to free you. You’ll rot in your cage. A slow, painful death.”
Chad cocked his head, considering.
A movement above Chad caught Ruben’s eye. The coachman had climbed on top of the cage, unnoticed by the Bright prince. He held a long, deadly looking whip.
Quickly Ruben looked away. The coachman was their only chance.
Madness gleamed in Chad’s eyes as he sighted the arrow on Ruben’s heart.
“You don’t want to kill me,” Ruben said, knowing he had to distract the other man.
“Oh, but I think I do. But first, I want her to die.” As Chad raised the crossbow again, aiming at Willow, the coachman snapped the whip, knocking the weapon out of Chad’s hands with a loud crack. It discharged its arrow before bouncing into and through the bars onto the ground.
Ruben dove for it. Chad began cursing virulently.
Ignoring him, Ruben turned to check on Eric. The Bright prince had torn his shirt and made an efficient tourniquet over his wounded leg.
“I’m all right.” Eric waved him away. “Please, check on Tatiana.” The worry in his voice told Ruben the other man truly cared for his fiancée.
“Let me check her out.” Pushing past Ruben and Eric, Willow knelt at her sister’s side. She took Tatiana’s pulse, then began feeling along her arms and legs and rib cage, searching for broken bones.
When she looked up again, her expression was tight with strain. “She has at least one broken rib, and I think her left arm is also broken. Beyond that—if she has any kind of other internal injuries—I have no way of knowing. She’s unconscious.”
Exhaustion was evident in the way she swayed, even from a crouched position. Though Ruben hated to ask it, he had to. “Can you try again?”
For a second she closed her eyes, appearing to muster up her last remnant of faded strength. “She’s my sister,” she said finally. “I’m not sure she’ll let me, but of course I’ll try.”
Shaking with the effort, she began humming tunelessly as she let her hands hover over Tatiana’s rib cage. Tears streamed down Willow’s cheeks, but she held her position, until the tremors became all-engulfing shudders. As Ruben rushed to steady her, she collapsed in his arms.
“Is she...?” Eric asked tentatively.
Ruben cradled the woman he loved and glanced up at the other man, only to find him gazing at Tatiana with an eager, hopeful and completely besotted look.
“I don’t know.” Transferring his attention back to Willow, Ruben gathered her as close as he dared, wishing he could send some of his strength to replenish her limp body.
But whatever magic he possessed was limited to shape-shifting and he could do nothing but hold her.
Willow’s chest rose and fell with shallow breathing, and she didn’t appear hurt, just depleted.
Next to him, Eric gave a glad cry. “She’s waking up.”
Sure enough, Tatiana had begun to stir. Pink returned to her colorless skin as she regained her strength. Ruben wished he could say the same for Willow.
“Keep her still until she can focus,” Ruben cautioned.
Eric nodded, reluctant to tear his gaze away from the woman he planned to marry. Tatiana moaned, trying to push up onto her elbows. She opened her violet eyes and blinked up at Eric. Realizing who held her, she tried to push him away, struggling to see beyond him. “Chad?” she cried out, her voice full of anguish. “Chad.”
To his credit, Eric continued to hold her. “He’s alive,” he said drily. “As am I and your sister, I think.”
But Tatiana did not hear him. She’d already slipped back into unconsciousness.
Ruben looked away, back at his mate. Her long lashes fluttered, and he saw a shimmer of awareness in her caramel-colored eyes. “Willow?”
A ghost of a smile touched her lips. “I think I healed her...”
“Shh.” Placing a soft kiss on the smooth skin of her forehead, he held her close. “Conserve your strength.”
“But Tatiana...”
“She woke up and then went back to sleep. I think she’s going to be okay.” He kissed her again, this time lingering. Inhaling the fresh lilac scent