Nathaniel’s gaze met mine, and my heart shattered at the pain I saw there. At the defeat.No. No!
“Cara,” Ode called out as she tried to reach for me, but I pushed past Nathaniel into the building only to find the space occupied with wounded fae and at least a half dozen healers tending to them.Oh, Mother Falia.
“Where’s Xander?” I blurted to the closest healer, and she pointed with her head to a door down the hall on the opposite side of the room.
“Thank you.” I rushed between the cots in the direction she’d indicated. When I reached the door I was after, I paused, taking a moment to steel myself. Was he dead? My throat burned, but I went inside.
Three healers stood bent over a mangled form, and they peered up as I entered.
“You shouldn’t be here,” one of them chastised, but then I heard the rasping words come from the form on the cot.
“Cara?”
A sob escaped me.Xander.“It’s me,” I said softly.
There was a pause and then Xander rasped, “Everyone out.”
“But Xander—” one of the other fae healers began.
“As the new leader of the Eastern camp of the Forgotten Fae, I command you to leave me,” Xander ordered.
I sucked in a breath.The new leader.The confirmation that Corak had to be dead made my knees weak.
Without another word, the healers filed out of the room and closed the door behind them. I went to Xander’s side and kneeled beside his cot. The male was nearly unrecognizable with deep wounds all over his body and scorch marks across his usually handsome face.
“Xan,” I whispered, my voice wobbling as I used the nickname he’d told me to call him. Clear blue eyes stared at me, and a tear streamed down my cheek. “You shouldn’t have sent the healers away. You need them to fix you up.”
His cracked lips bled when he tried to smile. “Fae can heal from many things, but not from this. I’ve lost too much blood.”
“But you’re immortal,” I protested. “I’ve seen fae recover from broken legs, and all number of injuries.”
He let out a low rattling breath, and I couldn’t stop staring at how pale he was. I pressed my fingers to his bloody cheek, jerking my hand back when I found he was ice cold. “Not this,” he repeated. “I’m sorry, Cara.”
“Sorry?” I sniffed.
“I promised to send you home. If I could have…” Regret shone in his eyes.
I shook my head. “It’s not your fault.”
He let out another pained breath. “Ode will take care of you. I’m sure she will. And when I’m gone, Ellis will take over as leader.”
“Don’t worry about me. Not now,” I told him, swallowing hard.
“But I do worry,” he said quietly. “Ever since we saved you from that bear...”
I smiled softly, remembering how he’d rescued me even when he’d had no idea who I was. “I’m not that same girl,” I replied. “It’ll take more than a Choram bear to take me down now.”
“I know,” he said, and his eyes crinkled with pain as he reached up, his hand cupping the side of my face. “Say hello to your sister for me when you find her. If anyone can find a way, it would be you.”
At those words, I couldn’t stop the tears. Ode had become a dear friend, helping me adapt to everyday life with the fae, but it had been Xander who’d shown me the true beauty of Zalei. Who’d trained me so I could survive in the forest and who’d given me a deep understanding of their ways. It was Xander who’d checked on me every night when he wasn’t away, and who’d shielded me from the curiosity of the fae when I’d first arrived. It was Xander who made me shiver every time he touched me, and who made my heart feel like it would burst every time he smiled. I wasn’t prepared to lose him. I’d lost my home, my younger sister, my father, and my entire life.
Xander’s eyes closed, his chest barely lifting as he struggled to breathe. “Goodbye, Cara.”
“No. Xander, no,” I whispered, my throat raw. He couldn’t die like this. The Forgotten Fae needed him.Ineeded him.
“Tell me what I can do to help you!” I begged, my voice cracking, but he didn’t reply. Tears streamed down my face, and I dropped my head as I sobbed, placing my hands on his chest. But as my fingers touched his bare skin, my palms pressed against his chest, power erupted from me. The rush of energy exploded, shooting out and moving through my body until it was flowing into Xander. I gasped at the jolt of power, and then I could feel everything he could. Every wound, the pain, the weakness, the agony. I whimpered as I took it all and gave him a piece of myself in return. I wasn’t sure how much time passed, but suddenly strong hands were shaking me, and the pain had subsided. I sagged, feeling as though I’d run half the forest, but then I was staring into Xander’s vivid blue eyes.
“What did you do?” he said, his voice no longer weak, but strong and deep, and full of concern.
