Page 84 of When Storms Ruin

I wouldn’t allow it.

I dipped into my magic again,forcefully. There was only a small ember. It was infinitesimal…but it was there. I dragged that scrap of magic to my core, bringing it through my fingertips as I placed my hands against his chest.

“Diana, what are you doing?” Tess asked, moving into my field of vision across the table from me. My eyes snapped open, meeting hers. “Diana,no.You’ve already depleted all your magic, there’s nothing left. Your eyes…”

“We don’t have another choice,” I ground out, my teeth clenched.

“There’s always another choice. Diana, there’s nothing left but your life force. You can’t do this.” Tess’ voice was panicked, but I could no longer see her. The only thing before my eyes was the swirling ember of magic as it flowed through my fingertips.

“Diana! Stop! If you give up your last ounce, it will beyour lifefor his.”

Her words sounded far away, as if I was under water and she was desperately trying to reach me from shore.

“Diana! Diana! Diana!”

There were other voices now, but I couldn’t distinguish them. I felt hands clawing at mine, trying to scrape them away from Nik’s chest, but I held fast.

If it was my life for his, I would give it.I loved him.

Didn’t they understand?

Tears streamed down my cheeks in earnest, my hands glowing with amethyst magic where they connected with Nik’s skin. His eyes were open now, the vibrant blue searching mine. His lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear the words that were coming out of his mouth.

I smiled down at him, releasing one hand to run it through his blood-stained hair. He gripped my wrist tightly, and asurge of happiness swelled within me that he suddenly had the strength to do so.

It was working.

I would never recover if I didn’t save him. The sight of his lifeless, dirt-stained, blood-soaked body with an arrow protruding from it would plague me forever. The feeling of his lips on mine, his fingers exploring my skin. I would never be able to let him go.

Never.

I would forever behauntedby the memory of him. By the loss of him. By all the what-ifs and could’ve beens. Even if he didn’t feel the same.

I wouldneversurvive the loss of him.

Despite having pushed my feelings towards himdownanddownanddownthese past few months, they all came bubbling to the surface now. I loved him, and I wouldn’t let him go.

I wasn’t sure if the conscious part of me realized my strength was weakening as I pulled on that ember of magic, my knees buckling as I fell to the floor. My wrist was still tight in Nik’s grip.

All I could hear was my name,over and over again,as my vision went dark.

Of two things I was certain. One: the darkness had swallowed me, and it had spit me back out. I had survived. Two: there trulywasa limit to how much magic I could wield.

When the darkness engulfed me, I had no idea how long I had been down there. When I woke, I was in an infirmary of sorts, though different from the one at the safe house. In the end, I hadn’t given my last ember of energy to Nik. I hadn’t needed to. Liss had broken the connection between us before I had the chance and healed him.

Zion and Puck had found her.

My first words were for Nik, asking where he was. If Liss had made it in time. I couldn’t describe the immense relief I felt when they told me she did. Nik was still weak, and I hadn’t seen him, but he wasalive. The dread I had felt in that moment, when he had stopped breathing, had threatened to consume me.

To tear my heart from my chest.

I hadn’t even realized how strong my feelings were before that moment, before the threat of losing him had almost drowned me.

My second words were for my jacket, which had been taken from me when they had washed me and dressed me in a hospital gown. The key spell was still tucked away in the jacket pocket, and I would be damned if we almost lost that, too.

I was weak from pulling on the ember of my life and was in no position to travel yet, but one thing was certain: we needed to get out of Prins as soon as possible. Saanvi and Kenna had confirmed that the streets were flooded with Nightshade soldiers searching for us. They had collected our dead while I had been unconscious, and it made me sick to think I hadn’t been awake to help.

To see how many had given their lives for our cause.

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