My hands begin to glow faintly as I place them on his chest, the silver-blue light intensifying as I press harder against his skin. The power that’s been awakening inside me since our first meeting responds to his presence, even in this state.
“Come on,” I mutter, focusing my will into the energy flowing from my palms.
The regenerator supplements my efforts, its soft green beam merging with my blue-silver light to create a pulsing teal glow that spreads across Kael’s torso. I feel resistance—his injuries fighting my attempts to heal them, his life force flickering like a candle in the wind.
“Fight, damn you,” I hiss, pouring more of myself into him.
Nothing. The energy flows from me into him, but it’s like trying to fill a shattered vessel. The magic leaks out almost as quickly as I can channel it. His body is too damaged, the internal injuries too severe.
Frustration and fear claw at my throat. I’m losing him. All my scientific knowledge, all my emerging magical abilities—none of it is enough.
Unless…
The thought that forms is both terrifying and exhilarating. In my research on Storm Eagle genetics, I discovered references to ancient healing bonds—life force transfers that could save a critically injured mate. The texts were fragmentary, the science beyond even my understanding, but the principle was clear: a temporary merging of energies, a sharing of life itself.
It’s dangerous. Possibly fatal if done wrong. But Kael is dying, and I can’t lose him now.
I strip off my jacket, then my shirt, shivering slightly in the cool canyon air. Skin-to-skin contact is essential for the energy transfer. I position myself over him, pressing my bare torso against his, my hands cradling his face.
“Listen to me, Kael Stormwright,” I whisper, my face inches from his. “I am not letting you go. Do you hear me? Your clan needs you. I need you.”
I close my eyes, focusing on the incomplete bond between us. I visualize it as a golden thread, stretched thin but unbroken, connecting his heart to mine. Then I pour everything I have into that connection—not just my healing magic, but my very essence.
The world explodes into blinding blue-white light.
Pain lances through me—not my own pain, but his, transferred through our connection. I feel ribs snapping back into place inside a chest that isn’t mine. I taste blood in a mouth that’s foreign. My wings—no, his wings—scream with agony as shattered bones realign.
Our heartbeats synchronize, his strengthening as mine weakens. Our breaths match, his deepening as mine grow shallow. I’m giving him my strength, my health, my life force. The transfer is more powerful than I anticipated, more consuming.
Too much. I’m giving too much.
But I can’t stop now. His body is healing, responding to our combined energy. Torn flesh knits together beneath my hands. Ruptured organs seal themselves. The malformed shifting begins to reverse, his body finally settling fully into human form.
My vision darkens at the edges. My limbs grow heavy. I’m going too far, risking my own life, but I can’t bring myself to break the connection. Not until I know he’ll survive.
Just when I think I might lose consciousness, a surge of energy flows back toward me—not my own returning, butsomething new. Storm magic, wild and electric, fills the spaces I’ve emptied within myself. Kael is unconsciously responding, his healing body instinctively protecting mine from complete depletion.
His eyes snap open—golden amber burning with confusion, then recognition.
“Elena?” His voice is raw, barely audible.
The connection between us pulses once more, then stabilizes into something new—not the complete mate bond, but stronger than before. A balanced energy exchange rather than the one-way transfer that nearly killed me.
I collapse against his chest, suddenly too weak to hold myself up. His arms—human now, the wing completely transformed—wrap around me, holding me close.
“What did you do?” he whispers, voice tinged with wonder and horror. “What did you do to yourself?”
“Saved you,” I manage, my voice sounding distant to my own ears. “You were dying.”
“So you decided to die instead?” Anger mingles with gratitude in his tone.
“Calculated risk.” I try to smile, but can’t muster the strength. “Scientific approach.”
“Reckless,” he corrects, but his arms tighten around me. I feel his lips press against my forehead, gentle despite his obvious fury. “Brilliant but reckless.”
We lie together on the forest floor, both too weak to move, the regenerator still humming softly beside us. My scientific mind notes that we’ve created a temporary energy equilibrium—my healing magic balancing his storm power. The exchange saved his life and prevented me from giving too much of myself.
Fascinating, really. If I had the strength, I’d document the process for future research.
