Page 6 of Witch's Rebirth
I nodded, bringing my gaze back down to my lifeless lover in bed and gently placed my hands on his chest. His backward-beating demon heart pulsed too slowly beneath my palm. What I would give to feel that heart racing in time with mine again.
Carefully I lowered my hands until they hovered over the bandage wrapped around his abdomen. Once there I drew on Earth for healing and Fire for sterilizing the wound. I sent small pulses of magic first, to see if they would be rejected like when he first got hit and fell from the sky.
To my relief, his body absorbed my magic with no resistance at all. As my confidence grew, my magic became stronger. Since I couldn't save him from the angel's kiss, I poured every ounce of my love for him into healing his physical body. His skin slowly returned to normal, his breathing grew deeper. Still I pushed more magic into him, wishing I could undo everything he just went through.
I didn't realize I was crying until strong arms gently pulled me away. Completely drained of magic, Sal's embrace was all the strength I had left. He rubbed my back and my neck as I leaned against him.
"He's okay," he whispered into my hair. "Thanks to you."
I nodded into his shoulder. My tears were a mixture of relief and fear of what could have been. If anything in the last few hours had been different, I could have been sobbing over my lover's corpse.
Another pair of lips kissing into my hair told me Ash had joined us. I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Thank you, angel," I whispered. "You saved him. You're the real hero here."
He said nothing but lowered his forehead to mine, pulling me into his chest. Sal kissed the back of my head and pressed his chest into my back. His heart beat a comforting rhythm between my shoulder blades.
The three of us were so emotionally charged yet completely drained. Nearly losing Raum affected all of us, not just me. We leaned on each other for strength, relief, and the will to keep going another day. Another century.
"You should rest, angel. You're exhausted." Ash's eyelids began drooping with fatigue and I kissed each one of them before turning to Sal. "You too, lion. You took down two of those fuckers."
"Three," he quietly corrected with a small twitch of his lips. He glanced over at Raum, now looking like he slept peacefully. "Are you sure, beautiful?"
"Yes." I slid my hands down to his chest and gently pushed him toward the door. "I'll stay with the birdbrain for a while."
That got a light chuckle from him but Ash still looked especially grim.
"We don't know what the damage will really be until he wakes up," he said weakly. "He could have lost half or most of his power before I could stop it. He might be nothing more than human now."
"We'll worry about that when he wakes up, then." I pushed Ash out the door to follow Sal. "Both of you go rest, now. If I find you two spooning, I'm not gonna complain."
My attempt at a joke fell flat as they both walked out of the bedroom like zombies. Seth had disappeared too, probably not wanting to awkwardly observe our three-way embrace.
With a heavy sigh, I dragged the chair Sal had been sitting in directly next to Raum's bedside. I watched his calm, handsome face and the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. He looked good. Better than good, even. My extra healing magic must have added shine to his hair and a bright, flawless quality to his skin.
"I don't care if you're human now," I said softly, careful not to wake him. "I love you and I'm not ready to lose you. If we get old and wrinkled together during this lifetime, that's fine with me. I can accept it if you now have a limited amount of time on this earth with me. We'll make the most of it. But I won't let anyone else take you from me."
I reached for his hand. His skin was warm and I could feel the strength in those large fingers. For a moment, all my fear melted away. I knew my Raum, the wily, confident trickster. Whatever lasting damage had been done, he'd adapt.
He'd laugh it off, give it the middle finger, and probably invite it to suck his dick for good measure. That was why I loved him. The way he dominated me in bed and made my body heat with a mere look were just extras.
I didn't even realize I fell asleep at his bedside until someone violently shook my shoulder.
"Wake up, sweetheart. We've got some shit to deal with."
Fucking Seth. Again, why was he always the one to fetch me like an errand boy?
"What shit?" I moaned groggily. My hand was still entwined with Raum's, who looked exactly the same. I slept so hard, I could feel the lines of the bedsheets etched into the side of my face.
"An unexpected guest," Seth hissed through gritted teeth. From the way his jaw clenched and his brow furrowed, he was not in the least bit pleased about this guest.
"Where are Ash and Sal?" I asked, following him down the stairs.
"Keeping her restrained down in the basement. Unlike me, she actually deserves to be there."
She?
A spark of hope dared to ignite in my chest. Could Diana actually have been stupid enough to come straight to me? How easy would that be?
