Page 117 of Beneath a Shattered Sky
More hands are touching me, dragging me out of my hard-won focus and back to reality. What they’re saying crashes into me like a wrecking ball as Drystan joins the group.
“Rhoswyn. Enough.”
The snap of his voice is what does it. I release the spirits, and my legs give out from underneath me. I can’t even figure out who’s caught me. My eyes are open, but sight is beyond me.
Ground it, ground it, ground it.I chant the words in my head as I reach desperately for their bonds in my chest. Danu’s power is shoving at me, demanding to be set free, and when I finally force it out to my Guard, they all curse.
My body goes limp, and I curse as a familiar tingling fills my extremities.
Before I know it, I’m waking up surrounded by black wings, the huge feathery appendages forming a shield between Bree and I, and the argument taking place beyond them.
“That was a complete disaster,” Drystan is ranting. “She may have helped us clear the fort, but she damn near killed herself doing it.”
“We wouldn’t have managed it without her.” Jaro is clearly trying his best to keep calm, but it’s not working if the dark growl lurking beneath his words is anything to go by.
“I thought the Nicnevin was supremely powerful,” Prae interrupts. “So what happened?”
Drystan’s voice is coming closer now, and the crunch of his footsteps on leaves makes me certain he’s pacing. “Who knows? Could be the iron. Could be the strain of such a powerful gift. She’s still fae, after all. Fae bodies do have limitations.”
“It’s probably the lack of her mating bonds,” Jaro mutters. “All that power without an easy way to ground it…”
“Whatever it is,” Drystan interrupts. “She’s not doing it again.”
“Well, that’s fucking great,” Caed mutters. “But you’re forgetting one thing.”
The smell of smoke wafts from Drystan’s direction as he growls. “Educate me, Fomorian.”
Goddess, I can almost see them in my mind’s eye, thumping their chests at one another. The thought is exhausting enough that I almost choose to fall back into the embrace of unconsciousness.
Caed’s smugness tells me I’m right. “Rose is going to want to do it again.”
“Is that right?” Bree whispers in my ear, and I glance up guiltily, not realising he knew I was awake.
“We won?” I ask, just as softly.
His green eyes flash with some unnamed emotion as he nods.
“Then, yes. I want to do it again. I can only get better with practice.”
“There will always be iron,” he reminds me. “And you could’ve died.”
“I need to work on using my gift.” I reach a hand up to stroke the black hair from his face, giving him plenty of time to pull away. “I can only improve from here, right?”
“Are you determined to drag me to an early grave?” Drystan demands, and I realise belatedly that I forgot to lower my voice.
Bree’s wings snap open, and I wince at the bright light of the dawn streaking through the trees. We’ve returned to camp, and if the dampness of my hair is anything to go by, someone has washed and dressed me.
All of them are staring down at me with varying expressions of relief and exasperation. Drystan blinks, striding away with a curse, and I grimace as I realise my fainting has broken my control over my aura.
“Sorry,” I mutter, scrambling to fix it.
My head feels sore, and my limbs ache, but otherwise, I feel better than I expected. “How long was I out?”
“A few hours,” Bree murmurs. “But perhaps you should give Drystan a few more to calm down before you approach him on this one, dragonfly.”
I can see the wisdom in that, at least. I’m not really up to a fight, and from the looks of things, my Guard is a little too emotionally raw to come at this with any kind of objectivity.
“Fine. But we will be discussing it.”
