hail of steel on the remaining man. Aria lets out a scream of pure anguish—cold and lingering.
I lower my hand the moment the last fae is wrapped in briar. All at once, energy leaves my body and I sink to my knees. They slam into the rocky ground, now cracked and dry—void of any life but my snaring vines.
Chapter 34
Hook races over to me, licking my face as I support myself on all fours. It’s as if I have just sat on the redwood throne. My body trembles and aches. Exhaustion clouds my vision.
“You killed him!” Aria screams. “My love, my love…” Her words devolve into sobs. I’m not sure if she stops talking, or if my mind stops paying attention to her—focusing instead on keeping me conscious.
I really was made to bring life, and not death. Even using the latter as a method to achieve equilibrium demands a high toll. Waves of magic roll within me like a choppy sea and I sway slightly. I’m slimy all over, slick with sweat, as if my body is trying to expunge the uncomfortable sensation of making the earth barren.
“Luella—”
“I’m fine,” I say as Eldas kneels next to me. I look up at him and then back at Aria. She now stares numbly at the world around her, my vines sinking into her flesh at multiple points. No matter what, I couldn’t kill her. It’s just not in me. So I’ll leave it to Eldas and his justice to decide what happens next. “You deal with her. I’ll take care of Harrow.”
“I’m taking both of you back to Westwatch,” he declares. “I will return and deal with them when I know you’re safe.”
“But…”
“They’re not going anywhere for the next five minutes.” Eldas gives a nod to the thickets surrounding us. “You truly are incredible,” he murmurs as he slips his arm under mine and around my shoulders. With Eldas’s help we stagger over to where Harrow is. He’s in some kind of daze; his eyes are glossed over and half open, unfocused. Eldas’s mouth is set in a grim line.
“I’ll help him,” I say.
“I know you will.” Eldas leans forward, resting his palm on Harrow. He adds with a slightly bitter murmur, “Helping him at all costs seems to be one of your strengths.”
The shadows thicken around us before I can comment on his remark and then are promptly chased away by the lights of Westwatch’s entry. Two guards startle at our sudden appearance. Eldas barks orders and disappears once more, leaving Harrow and me behind. I notice that Hook didn’t join us and selfishly hope he’s looking after Eldas back in the fae lands as Eldas deals with Aria and the aftermath.
At my request, Harrow is taken to a room not far from the laboratory. Every step is harder than the last, but the clanking of the concoctions in my bag keeps me moving. Harrow needs the medicine I made and so much more.
Sevenna is nowhere to be found while I’m treating Harrow—a blessing. I can move alone and unhindered for the first hour of his treatment. After that, I’m swarmed by other healers. Harrow is stable enough, and I make my escape before whatever is holding back Sevenna gives way.
My rooms are cold and vacant when I return to them shortly after dawn. I look over to the bed but the idea of sleeping alone without Hook or Eldas to keep me warm is unappealing. Instead, I bathe, washing away the night’s events, and then curl up on the sofa of our parlor, drifting asleep despite myself.
Half the day has burned away when I wake. Eldas is the first thing to come into focus. Lilian’s journal is on his knee, split down the middle. Even with his superhuman reading speed, he likely didn’t sleep if he’s that far along.
“You’re awake,” he says without so much as looking up.
“So it seems.” I pull myself upright. Every muscle screams in protest. I could sleep two more days easily. “How’s Harrow?”
“They say he’s stable. The healers cleared up the…what did you refer to it as to them? Fever he got from being out in the rain? Though he has yet to wake.” Eldas’s eyes finally flick up to me.
“I figured you wouldn’t want everyone to know about the glimmer,” I say gingerly.
“So many assumptions you make.” He closes the journal slowly. “You assume I wouldn’t want people to know about my brother being involved with glimmer.”