Page 31 of Bradi

Nina turned to Marisa, her eyes wide with fear. “Help him!”

Marisa fought hard to stay calm. The urge to scream out in agony at the thought of losing Bradi was hard to overcome but somehow, she managed. “Do I need to know anything about him before I start?”

“Do you love him?” Nina asked.

Marisa opened her mouth to say no, but stopped. She couldn’t possibly love him, right? As she tried again to say no, pressure in her chest increased and she knew the truth. She didn’t want to admit it to herself more than anything but it needed said all the same. “Yes. I love him.”

“He is a shapeshifter. A panther, to be exact. If you can heal him to the point that he can shift, he will live.”

Bradi, a shapeshifter?

“Hurry!” Nina yelled.

“Leave us alone.” There was no way she was going to have an audience for what she was about to try.

They stood quickly and she put her hand up to stop the one called Pheebes. “Remove the sword from him.”

Nina grabbed her arm and for a second she thought that she might snap it off. “You said he’d bleed to death.”

Marisa closed her eyes and let her powers build. They flooded her arms quickly and she knew before she opened her eyes that her hands were glowing. It always happened that way. The white light followed close behind the feeling of weightlessness.

Nina looked at her and nodded her head. The man withdrew the sword, and Nina hurried the others away from them.

Marisa put her hands on Bradi’s wound. Leaning down, she placed a kiss on his lips as hot tears fell down her cheeks. The gashes on her legs, scabbed over, remained sore but pulled together. She knew it was working, but was unsure if she possessed enough power to save Bradi. She’d never tried to heal someone who was mortally wounded before, and didn’t want to think about what would happen if she failed.

“I can’t lose you too,” she whispered as she pushed more of her power into his body. “I don’t care if you don’t feel the same way about me. I love you, Bradi Janelle.”

As the last of the light within her seeped into Bradi’s body, Marisa felt her own waver. She’d used too much energy, too much power attempting to heal him. “I will follow you, Janelle. If you die, I’ll follow to the afterlife. You stubborn bastard. I won’t let you go without me. I won’t. I love you and I won’t let you go!”

Lying her head on his chest, she wrapped her arms around him. Suddenly, she felt fur under her fingertips. Knowing that he would live, she let the darkness come for her.

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