Page 150 of Enchanted Shadows
But it was the limp body next to it on the ground that had all of my attention.
“Owen,” Miles tried again.
I pointed, raising my voice slightly when I whispered back, “That ismy wife.”
Miles must have felt the pure determination emanating from me as he wisely let go of me.
Every step toward her, my heart threatened to leave my body entirely, increasing in speed, increasing in panic.
She couldn’t be dead. She couldn’t be dead.
I would not allow it.
My magic flared with my next step toward her. It lit me up and gave away my location, but making sure that Kessara had a pulse seemed infinitely more important.
As it did, she jerked, turning her face only slightly toward me. “Owen,” she rasped.
Relief flooded every cell of my body as I finished closing the gap between us, dropping to the ground before her. “Hi, sweetheart.”
She tried to push herself up to sitting but failed. I caught her as she propped herself up on her forearm. And that was when I noticed the blood. Even in the dark, it glistened on her skin. Down her ears, her nose, and from a slight slice on her neck.
Add that she had evidently used her powers to burnout, and I vowed hers would not be the only blood spilled this night. My power I had been attempting to push down to keep us in the dark refused to remain hidden anymore. It was ready, as was I.
I moved to put my hands on her, finding her skin cold to the touch. Just when I thought I couldn’t reach another level of pissed off, here it was. Beckoning to me.
I moved to her neck, the injury that wasn’t from burnout, one that had been done to her body.
“Just a nick,” she explained. “The sword is right here.”
My eyes went to find the weapon she was referencing. “What happened? Where are they?”
“I—” she swallowed. “I’m so tired, Owen. I will try.” She took a steadying breath, as if fighting the urge to sleep. “They are in there.” She tried to point her finger, but it didn’t go far.
I had never seen my wife look so defeated, so utterly exhausted and spent. But if I focused on that right this moment, I would break. So I forced my eyes back to the purple hydrangea tree.
Roots had appeared to shoot out of the ground and formed a sort of cage. It was... what I was seeing didn’t even make sense. A domed cage made out of what looked like tree roots stood there steadfast as if it had always been there. Along every strand of those roots, a gold magic crawled along it, I assumed making them stronger. And between the joints of woven roots in the barrier, I couldn’t see in it at all. A perfect darkness lied within. Shadows.
“It’s a trap?” I asked. Miles had been worried this was a trap, and it was, but not for us.
“Yes. Calix and Bram are also nearing burnout. None of us... have much energy... of any kind left.”
It’d been three days they had hidden and tried to best one another in this forest. If I had more than a moment to consider it, I would worry that pulling back the men from combing the forest might have hurt things, not helped. But I didn’t have time for regrets at this moment. No, in this moment vengeance was the priority.
I would finish this.
“My powers are keeping them down for now,” she got out. “I sent out some stones to find you and poured everything I had left into this, and then the tree just... it moved. It helped me.” Her voice caught on the last part, her eyes glistening.
After everything I witnessed in this forest, I shouldn’t be surprised. And yet.
And yet.
This went beyond words. And basic understanding. In the moment Kessara needed it most, the dead queen’s magic had come to her aid? The aid of the child of her husband, the man who siphoned her magic against her will. All for a person, which had she known, would have been a daily reminder of that man’s unfaithfulness.
I gave my head a shake. I could try to grapple with how odd this was later. I needed in there. I had to get into that cage and finish this. Now.
My hands moved along her body, checking her ribs, looking for other injuries. She wasn't in good shape. There were areas where I was sure there would be bruises, but she was alive. And I didn’t want to stop touching her, even if I knew I had to. Momentarily. “Kess,” I whispered.
“Yeah?”
