Page 88 of Tiger's Destiny
“It’s okay. This will all be okay,” I crooned, as much for myself as for him. I touched my lips to his forehead. “There’s so much I need to tell you. Please don’t leave me.”
He mumbled something but I didn’t understand. He whispered the word again.
Asambhava.
The translation came to my mind quickly—impossible.
I laughed wetly and said, “Good. Because I plan to keep you around for a while.”
Kishan returned with the trident and the swords. Pressing the golden blades together until they clicked, he twisted the handle and shrank the weapons down to the size of a knife. He knelt beside Ren and warned, “This is going to be difficult. The darts are in his lungs and heart.”
“Lokesh stabbed him in the heart before and drained all his blood, and he still came back,” I said hopefully.
“I’ve never been injured this badly before,” Kishan said frankly. “I don’t know how long this will take to heal. Give him a few drops of the elixir right after I remove the spear.”
I nodded mutely as I watched Kishan bring the knife to Ren’s chest. He plunged the blade in swiftly and began sawing. I couldn’t watch. I closed my eyes and kept stroking his hair, but I felt Ren’s twitching and then the jerk of his body as Kishan finally lifted the spear from his chest.
Immediately, I attempted to give him the elixir but he was gasping for breath and thrashing due to the damage in his lungs. Kishan grabbed his head and held him steady while I got some drops in his mouth. I couldn’t help but see the gaping hole in his chest. Crying, I used the Scarf to cover his exposed wound.
How can anyone recover from something like that?
Ren stopped thrashing and lay still as if dead. Fresh tears slid down my cheeks.
“Kishan . . . ?”
I couldn’t finish the question. I couldn’t ask if he was still alive or not.
Kishan cocked his head and listened. “He’s not breathing and his heart isn’t beating.”
“No.No.”
I cried and rocked back and forth, cradling his head in my arms.
“Please come back to me, Ren. Come back.”
I said this over and over until Kishan whispered, “Kelsey, shh. Wait.” Kishan touched Ren’s arm briefly. “I feel a faint pulse.”
It was several long, agonizing moments later when Ren first took a breath. Wetness rattled in his chest, and his body barely moved.
“He’s been a long time without oxygen,” I whispered, more to myself than to Kishan.
Kishan rubbed my back and inspected Ren’s chest. “All we can do is wait, Kells. He’s still a mess, but he’s starting to heal.”
I held onto Ren, clutching him desperately as if to physically keep death at bay and didn’t realize that I was pouring fire power into him until I saw a twinkle through my tears. I blinked to clear my vision and gasped when I saw that the two of us were bathed in a golden light. The special magic that happened when we touched was helping him to heal.
After I realized what was happening, I concentrated my efforts and kept pushing the energy back into his weakened frame as it circled between us. Before long, his breathing settled and deepened as if he were asleep. Kishan announced that Ren’s heart had a stronger beat and that the hole in his chest had closed.
My eyes grew heavy. I was so tired. I shifted to a more comfortable position and lay my head on Ren’s shoulder. I almost blacked out, but then a hand caught my wrist.
A warm voice said softly, “Priya, you must stop.”
“Can’t stop,” I mumbled. “Ren needs me.”
“I will always need you.”
The body I’d been lying against moved, and I moaned in protest. Suddenly I was weightless. Someone had picked me up. I felt a soft kiss against my cheek and heard quiet voices.
“She wore herself out trying to save you,” Kishan said.
