them together, but the pain must have been excruciating.
“Anna, get him ready to move!” James called to me. “We can’t secure the area without backup.”
My heart pounded with urgency. James was right. We needed to get out of here, but Trevor wouldn’t survive being carried in his current condition. If I couldn’t heal him quickly, I was putting all of us at risk. I took a deep breath to concentrate, because panicking wouldn’t help me. Healing required the skill to weave intricate strands of magic – I couldn’t just throw a bunch of power at him and hope for the best.
Trevor’s chest moved as he took in shallow breaths, and the terrible wounds on his chest started to knit together as I worked. I breathed a sigh of relief when I felt his body strengthening and his heart beating smoother. I could do this.
“Please,” Sam prayed. “Just let him be okay.”
Trevor’s skin closed over the wounds, but he didn’t open his eyes. I leaned over to examine the wounds and catch my breath. Doing this much magic wasn’t easy, but Trevor’s life was on the line.
“Is he going to make it?” Sam asked in a trembling voice.
I smiled at her, but it was strained. “I healed him enough to move him, but we need to get to a secure location so that I can focus on his internal damage.”
While I’d been working, Cody had helped Mike up and was half-carrying him towards the portal that was still flickering with magic.
James had his arm around Davis, and they weren’t far behind the others.
“Is it safe to move Trevor?” Sam asked me, her ordinarily light eyes dark with worry.
I nodded. “We just need to be gentle.”
Sam crouched down, unsure of how to lift Trevor without hurting him even more. Anguish was etched on her face as she gazed down at Trevor, frustrated with her helplessness.
“I have him,” I assured her softly.
I concentrated again to use my magic to pick Trevor up without jostling him and float him toward the portal. I tried to make his passage as smooth as possible, so I didn’t break open any of his wounds or harm him further. I was making progress with healing him, but he still needed a lot of work.
“When did you learn how to do all of this?” Sam asked in confusion.
I gave her a grim smile. “You’ve been gone for a while, so we have a lot to catch you up on.”
“Likewise,” she mumbled as she followed me through the portal.
“Do we need to wait for the others?” I asked worriedly. I didn’t want to close the gateway without Rich and Quinn, and I’d tuned out of the conversation before I heard the full story of where they were.
“They’re waiting at a hotel,” Sam admitted. “Rich and Quinn have the ‘package’ that we retrieved and were keeping it safe while we investigated a potential threat.”
“We need to recover them as soon as possible,” James grumbled in my direction.
I didn’t answer him immediately, because I was concentrating on getting Trevor in the house unharmed. Opening gateways, healing Trevor, and then transporting him with magic was quickly draining my strength. I gently laid Trevor on the couch in the living room, unable to go any further.
Some of our packmates followed us when they saw our group move into the house, but I let the others handle all of the questions. Just taking care of Trevor was taxing enough, and I could seriously injure him if my concentration faded for even a second.
The second I released the magic that had been cradling him in the air, I collapsed and fell to my knees.
“Shit!” Sam called out as she rushed to my side. “Anna, are you okay?”
I struggled to stay upright but waved off her concern. “I just need a couple minutes.”
“Bullshit,” Cody growled as he picked me up off the ground. “You need to rest.”
“Upstairs,” James ordered.
“No!” I told Cody as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I need to stay close to Trevor in case his internal injuries get worse. Plus, Mike and Davis need to be healed, and I need to go get Rich and Quinn. We can’t leave them behind.”
“We won’t leave them behind,” Cody soothed me. “We have a plane and pilot on standby waiting to bring them back to Seaside.” He rubbed his hand on my back and I closed my eyes for just a second.
“Save your magic for healing,” James ordered. “Anyone can bring the team back to