The Satyr was too weak to do anything more than cling to me. I was conscious of the mighty tail of the creature that bore us, propelling us into the shadows of the far bank, before the tentacle released.
I stroked it athank you, but before it could pursue a more amorous agenda, my boots sank into the silt, and I dragged Jacques up the bank and beneath the trees.
Moments later, a Dragon shifter head poked out of the tunnel entrance. I hunkered down in the leaves just as the Satyr gave a horrible, gasping breath.
I pulled back the trench coat. The inside of it was soaked in blood, and when I ripped away the shirt, my gut twisted at what I saw.
No way the sword that pierced straight through had missed the lung, and as I leaned closer, I heard the whistle of air. How was he even still alive?
His hand reached to grab my shirt. “You have to run,” he croaked. “Leave me here. I can’t go any farther.”
“Très gallantof you, but absolutely not,” I replied.
His lips twitched at my use of French. “If I wasn’tmourant...” His eyes dropped to my breasts.
“You are not dying. And get your mind out of the gutter.”
“Ma cherie, it is where I live,” he whispered, and closed his eyes.
This was my fault. My arrogance, thinking that Matt and I could rescue Talakai, despite Jacques’s warnings. Be damned if I would leave him here to die. Killing the Dragon had drained me, but Jacques couldn’t wait to be healed.
The Satyr was more aware than I realized—when I attempted to lay my hands on him, he grabbed them.
“How did you—the Dragon,” he gasped, unable to continue. But I sensed his fear.
“I can heal, too,” I told him. “You have to let me try.”
A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth, and he nodded before releasing my hands. His eyes drifted closed again.
He’d lost so much blood, and there wasn’t anything I could do for that. But I could try to heal the wound, at least enough that he stopped losing more.
This injury was way more severe than anything I’d healed before. What if I did something wrong? But even as I debated, his breathing grew more labored, and he started to choke.
I laid my hands on him and pushed what energy I had left into his body.
In an instant, I was swept up inside him. I sensed the torn tissues left behind by the sword, the massive hemorrhaging still pumping away his lifeblood.
I gritted my teeth and used my own life essence to pull the tattered bits together. They weren’t perfectly aligned. No matter how I struggled—I just didn’t have the knowledge I needed to make it work. But the bleeding slowed down and then stopped.
Something shrieked overhead.
I tore my focus out of Jacques. His eyes were still closed, and he’d slipped into unconsciousness. His breathing, however, was more normal, and the skin beneath my hands now had a massive, half-healed gash instead of a gaping hole. But I swayed as I kneeled there, and overhead, I heard the distinctive sound of wind on wing.
They were searching for us. And with Dragons’ sensitivity to life energy, they’d find us.
I pushed myself to my feet and drew my sword. Jacques should not have to pay for my foolishness. And I had my men to save.
I pulled Jacques deep beneath the branches, and then started to move away, staggering between the trunks. Matt. He had to be alive. With our connection, surely I’d know if he wasn’t?
Anna...
Desperation beneath the word, but it wasn’t Matt. There was no mistaking that energy.Sebastian?
Anna, where be you?
Fear robbed me of breath as much as my lack of energy reserves.No, Sebastian. Stay away. They are after you.But Jacques—Jacques is hurt bad. He’s near the lake. Help him.
The tenuous link I had with him fizzled with static, but through it, I sensed his worry for me and Jacques and his dismissal of the risk to him.
