He’d done the same to me a time or two. While I pondered our enemy’s next move, I kept my attention on the Storm Lords and on Arim by the bed.
When my lover tottered and fell to the floor, I immediately moved to his aid. The Storm Lords took my sudden action as a threat. Darius and Samantha shot fire. Marcus created and released a volley of icy daggers while Tessa shielded them all with a wall of water. Aerolus let loose his winds, and Cadmus pushed the many plants in Ravyn’s room to grow and lengthen like attacking vines.
Only Alandra and Ellie remained unmoving as they watched the chaos erupting around them.
As if in slow motion, Jonas deflected Marcus’s attack with a band of Dark energy. Sava whispered under his breath and absorbed fire into Shadow. I could do nothing but get to Arim. Without conscious thought, I waved my hand at my attackers and raced to Arim’s unmoving form.
Everyone around us froze.
Despite Tanselm’s aid, with the demons feasting on my soul, I shouldn’t have been able to amass that much power. Suspicion took root, that my strength had come from another source, one that lay helpless and unconscious on the stone floor.
“Damn you, Arim.” I glowered as I reached him and took him into my arms. Closing my eyes, I searched deep within his mind but could see nothing through the safeguards there, even in his subconscious. I did the next best thing and plunged a hand directly into his body, my physical flesh melding with his and seeking the source of his Light.
It hurt terribly, this invasion. But it showed me how weak Arim had become. Fear struck deep as I realized the selfless bastard had given me a chunk of his energy; the Darkness that normally dwelled within him now sat heavily inside me. Much of his Light had also shifted. The familiar pulse beat within my own heart to drive away the demon decay, now that I’d taken the time to truly hear it.
Arim, what have you done? I screamed at him in my mind, angry and afraid all at once. When we finally seemed to mend the breach between us, he had to go all sacrificial on me, diminishing our chances to find out where this togetherness might lead.
Despite the full restoration of my powers, which even now topped what I’d had before — Arim’s Light making me incredibly strong — I felt emptier than I had in a long time. I hadn’t wanted to admit it to myself, let alone examine my feelings, but I could no longer deny what I felt for Arim.
Seeing him so weak, I imagined him wasting away and dying. The notion terrified me. Without Arim in the world of the living, I didn’t know what I’d do. Raw grief tore me apart. As I sat there cradling him, I dimly realized the walls around us shook, and that in the distance I heard people screaming.
Pulling free from my terror, I toned down the Light and Dark energy in the room disturbing the castle. At once, the yelling outside abated. The occupants in the room remained frozen except for Sava, who blinked as he shrugged out of his imposed paralysis.
“By the Shadows, Lexa, don’t do that.” He glared at me before his face blanked, and he joined me by Arim’s side, crouching low. “How is he?”
“Weak, stupid, and an idiot.” I angrily wiped at the tears I hadn’t realized I’d been shedding. “Apparently, Nurse Feel Good,” I mimicked, remembering the nickname he’d once given me, “gave me enough magic to restore my energy while depleting his. From what I gather, he’s been experiencing more and more moments of weakness because of Tanselm’s fluctuations in power.”
“Yes, but now that you’re back, his energy should be growing.” Sava closed his eyes. Shadow glided from the corners of the room to settle over him. For a minute, he sat under folds of gray, until he opened his eyes and the shadows returned to their places in the room. “It’s bad. Tanselm is tapped. The land’s in a state of catatonic shock, suffering from some new madness Sin Garu’s created. I don’t understand it, but I know we can’t stop it from here. I think the demons have a hold on the land’s magic and that they’re building a portal to bridge worlds.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh, yes. In doing so, they’re draining Tanselm far faster than any Light Bringers ever could. Arim was thready before, but now he’s barely holding on. He gave you too much, and now he’s in the same state you were headed, worse off since he immediately bonded with the land upon his return. He’s too weak to fight the demons the way he is.”
I wanted so badly to kill Sin Garu I could taste it.
“Lexa?” Sava’s hair stood on end, reacting to the fringes of static energy surrounding me. It was a comical sight that would have made me laugh had I not been so worried about Arim and Tanselm. “Tone it down.”
I gritted my teeth at the strain to harness my rage and focused instead on Arim.
“Yes, Lexa. Tone it down and turn it. Use it to help my brother.”
Sava swore and rocked back on his heels.
Ravyn had once again decided to visit, this time standing next to her body. “Do as I say, and we can yet save Arim and the kingdom.”
“Nice timing,” I rasped and pulled in the negativity flowing into the room.
Jonas, the Storm Lords, and their affai remained frozen. Though by the avid gleam in Aerolus and Alandra’s eyes, perhaps those two remained aware of what transpired around them.
I glared at Ravyn. Dead or not, she was beginning to annoy me. “Now what?”
“Now you use what’s inside you to heal Arim.” Ravyn kneeled next to him.
“Gee, great idea.” I stared at Arim’s sister, my frustration growing. I could feel his pulse growing weaker. “How the hell do I do that?”
Ravyn shook her head. “I can’t tell you. I shouldn’t even be here.” She glanced over her shoulder, looking for what I couldn’t have guessed. “But do send my daughters my heartfelt congratulations.”
“Congratulations?” I growled. “Ravyn, get to the point. I’m kind of pressed for time here.” I didn’t have the time or patience to play guessing games with the dead. I had Arim to save before he joined Ravyn next to his body.
