Page 91 of Death Warden
SPECTRE
“I can’t see.” She claws and grabs at my shoulders. “Spectre, why can’t I see?”
I hug her to my chest, taking long strides toward her room. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”
“I can’t breathe.”
“You need to lend her your power,” Dax orders. “Do it now.”
I climb onto the bed with her in my arms and gently turn her face up to mine. “It’s going to be okay, Adi. I promise you.” I press my lips to hers and channel my power into her body. My mouth tingles, my throat heats, and energy spills into her.
She wraps her arms around my neck and presses up against me, eagerly devouring what I give her.
This is the mystical equivalent of a blood transfusion, and her cold body warms as it begins to work.
It will buy her enough time to reset her reserves.
My head starts to spin, and I break contact with her.
She stares at me with a dazed expression. “Thank you.”
I kiss her softly. “Anytime. You’ll be okay now.”
Her eyelids flutter closed. “I’m so tired.”
Foreboding pricks at my scalp. “Adi?”
But she slips into sleep.
“Spectre.” Dax jerks his head toward the exit. “We need to talk.”
I carefully lay Adi onto the bed and pull a blanket over her. Finley jumps up and lays beside her.
“I’ll watch over her,” he says.
I nod and head out of the room where Dax, Logan, and Curo are gathered.
Dax pulls the door closed behind me. “This isn’t normal,” he says.
“Nothing about this is normal.”
“What he means is that Adi shouldn’t have collapsed like that,” Logan explains. “She didn’t expend any energy.”
My mind whirs. “You think something took it?”
“No,” Logan says. “I think the pressure on her mystical reserves has increased.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I think I do,” Curo says. “She came here to make up for the loss of a mage who was helping to keep the lock intact. Tobias thought the leylines would compensate for the loss. But there’s supposed to be one more mage and her conduit out there also providing a stream of energy to keep the lock intact.”
The penny drops. “You think something happened to them.”
“It’s a theory.”
“A solid one,” Dax says. “Stay with Adi. She might need more of your energy.”
“There’s only a certain amount he can give before he’s compromised,” Logan points out.
