Page 216 of Between Despair and Hope

Ryo was in the sky within a moment, but Irses turned doleful eyes on me. And gods, with the tilt of his head and that vivid green, I was reminded so strongly of Rain. “We’ll be alright. Go. There’s more of these out there. Do as you’re told,” I said, and if a dragon could give attitude, I swore, Irses sassed me more than Elora did. He did what I asked though, taking off into the sky as I stumbled over to Dewalt and Theo. My legs ached, and I needed to sit down for a moment before rifting into the capital.

“Aedwyn is back. Aerfen too,” I told Dewalt, nodding toward the shifting mouse, as I placed a hand on his sticky chest. He winced and unbuttoned his shirt so I could treat the wounds easier. It took far longer to heal him than it ought to have, and I worried they would fester. Those claws had looked foul.

“Rainier said Aerfen was dead,” he grumbled, itching at his healed chest.

“Declan must have lied.”

When I finished with Dewalt, I sat down on the ground, rubbing my legs and pouring my own divinity into them. Perhaps I’d pulled a muscle. A moment later, Aedwyn walked over, naked. His face was gaunt, cheeks hollowed and eyes dull.

“There’s clothing in the stable. I’ll get you some,” Dewalt said.

“That won’t be necessary. I won’t be in this form for long.” He tilted his head, looking at me curiously. His light brown hair was sheared short, and he had a full beard—copper in color. Dewalt shrugged, going into the stable anyway to get his own replacement shirt.

“We’ve been looking for you. I’m so glad—”

A woman stepped out from the sparse gathering of trees beside the stable between the beast corpses. I hadn’t seen Aerfen before, always in her hawk form, but judging by the resemblance and her nudity, it had to have been her. When I moved to stand though, the pain in my legs increased, and it moved up my torso, compressing. I couldn’t breathe. I leaned back roughly against the wall, gasping for breath, but nothing happened. The shifters looked at me with curiosity while Theo knelt at my side.

“Emma? Are you alright? Do you need some water?”

The pain increased over my body, squeezing tight. I thrashed against the pressure, gulping for air, but I couldn’t get any. It felt like drowning, but there was no water. As Theo moved to sit in front of me, I watched as Aerfen pulled something out of her mouth. A tiny black orb. Shining, she held it out in her outstretched palm to her brother.

I was clawing at my throat as a memory surfaced in my mind. My hand reaching in the dark, Keeva standing over me, my bones breaking, me tugging on her hair. Slowing her heart and killing her. The memory I’d used to form Hyše. The memory I felt slip away from my grasp, I watched dissipate, and by the time it was gone, I couldn’t remember the woman at all.

But I knew Hyše was dead.

Just as I could finally take a deep breath, the cold air biting, I found the shifters watching me carefully as Aedwyn placed something on the ground—the black orb his sister had handed him, and it was smoking. I didn’t understand.

And I didn’t have time to understand as the twins ran, and the ball exploded, throwing both me and Theo through the stable wall.

The heavy sound of fists smacking into flesh woke me, and I winced as the setting sun shone directly into my eyes.

“You fucking traitor!” Dewalt yelled, and I dragged a hand over my face, grimacing as I found tiny sharp objects embedded in my skin. I was dizzy, so it took me a moment to gather my bearings and realize my divinity was abnormal. It was faint, buzzing frantically but barely there. A whisper of the power I should have had. It was simultaneously both relieving and terrifying.

“You left me!” Aedwyn shouted, voice a shrill sound as it echoed in the clearing.

My back felt as if it were on fire, and I sat up before looking down at my legs. My breeches were torn, and I could see tiny black fragments of something digging into my flesh, red dots of blood painting my skin. When I went to tug a larger piece out, still no bigger than my smallest nail, I nearly retched when I realized it was obsidian. I was covered in it. Tiny daggers of obstruction stifled my divinity. It was choked, but what little I did have was trying to heal me. Using all of my concentration, I stopped it, afraid my skin would close over the fragmented cursed rock. Instead, I focused on the back of my skull, where I’d slammed into the stable wall. I needed to get my wits about me.

Everything felt as if it were spinning, and it took me a moment to focus on the figures blurring in front of me. Dewalt had Aedwyn pinned to the ground, and his fists were flying into him, beating the shifter into submission. Aedwyn was unarmed, still naked, and he covered his face with his hands. But it was no use against the righteous assault.

“Your Majesty, Emmeline, are you alright?” Nor was at my side, and in my haze I wondered how long she had been there. How long had I been out? Clearly, the blast had drawn her outside even though I’d told her to stay put. I felt heat at the back of my skull, and I was grateful for what small bit of my divinity remained as it worked to heal me.

Dewalt panted, sitting up with his hands in his hair. Aedwyn lay still on the ground, but I saw the shallow rise of his chest. I wouldn’t have cared if it never moved again.

“You can stand, can’t you?” The novice asked me, looking down at my bleeding legs. “Those creatures will be back; we need to get out of here.” She tugged at me, trying to pull me up.

“Hold on, Nor,” I said, watching as Dewalt stood, dragging Aedwyn toward us. I wondered if the only reason the shifter survived was because Dewalt’s sword sat beneath the debris from the stable.

“Where is his sister?” I called, and Dewalt scanned the surrounding area before shaking his head. I couldn’t see her, and the small net my divinity would allow me to cast only let me feel four other heartbeats nearby, though one was— “Theo?” Rising to my knees, I frantically searched for the boy. I’d been so dazed I hadn’t even realized he had been hurt. But when I finally found him, my breath caught in my chest.

He was lying closer to the center of the stable, immobile. His chest movements were shallow, and though I’d barely heard it with my divinity, his heart was sluggish. Blood leaked from his nose and ear, and his auburn hair was far more red than it ought to have been. He clearly had a devastating head wound, and I needed to get to him.

“Nor, help me—

The novice fisted my hair and pulled as I screamed. Grabbing onto her hands, I held on as she dragged me backwards out of the rubble into the clearing.

“What the fuck, Nor?” Dewalt shouted, shock not even beginning to describe what both of us seemed to feel. “Let her go!” Though I couldn’t see him, I heard the thud of Dewalt dropping Aedwyn.

“We don’t have time for you to heal the boy. He’s waiting for us.”

---