Devin was ready and ducked down to grab the short sword Winters had been using to fight with the magic. Sure enough, the witch magic zinged through it as he blocked the ball with the sword.
“Get out of here,” Devin told Cassie. She didn’t need to be told twice and quickly crawled to the doorway. Devin didn’t stay to watch her, but moved to distract Rolf.
The old man was twice his size and Devin expected him to be just as slow, but his first attack went wide and only left a scratch down Rolf’s arm where it should have cut right through him. Rolf was quicker than Devin imagined he would be. Devin didn’t wait for Rolf to attack as he continued his assaults, judging just how well trained the older man was. He had to give Cassie a chance to leave. Devin continued to attack but had to use his full concentration to keep up with the combination of witch magic and sidhe magic being thrown at him. It was easy to tell that Rolf had been using both for many years.
Rolf and Devin danced around the barn as they fought. While Devin wasn’t able to send blasts of witch magic back at Rolf, his sidhe magic worked just as powerfully. They moved together, and Devin tried his best to distract Rolf long enough for Cassie to get to safety. As another blow came his way, Devin turned in time to see that Cassie wasn’t out of the building as he thought. She stared with opened eyes at Rolf as she squished against an unseen barrier. Rolf had noticed before Devin and already sent a blast of combined sidhe and witch magic her way. There was no way Cassie would be able to stop it. Devin jumped in front of the blast. Had Devin known that Cassie couldn’t leave, and had seen the intent of Rolf, he would have been more prepared. As it was, there was nothing Devin could do but throw his body in front of the magic headed for the innocent girl.
Devin didn’t flinch as magic tore through his body, blowing his witch-magic-laced sword from him. Pain erupted from his shoulder all the way down to his waist. The fireball had been larger than the last one. Rolf wasn’t taking any chances; he was going for the kill. Devin was happy to find that unlike the plants, he was solid enough to keep it from hitting Cassie.
Rolf sneered at Devin. “You won’t just let me kill you quietly, but here you step in front of that? You would give your life for a witch. Can’t you see how that makes you not one of us? A sidhe would never do that.”
Devin sucked in his breath and truly hoped the connection was dulled between him and Nessa. He didn’t need her bleeding out wherever she was. Using one of his king’s sidhe swords, he pushed himself to a standing position through the excruciating pain. The blade was too heavy to lift, but it made a great crutch. Rolf was going to have to kill him before Devin would let any more harm come to Cassie. He had made a promise to Maria and would do everything in his power to keep it.
“Devin,” Cassie gasped when the blood seeped through his shirt.
“I’m fine. Keep trying to find a way out,” Devin told her. It wasn’t true, but Devin had to keep her motivated.
“A way out?” Rolf asked, a sneer still plastered on his face. “She can’t leave this place. She isn’t sidhe. The old man made his barn to trap those that didn’t belong here in case anyone got past the barriers into the town. It’s the perfect place to keep a young witch and end her life. I would thank you for delivering her up to me, but it won’t make a difference. It shouldn’t take more than one more blow to kill you. Are there any last words you’d like me to deliver to Nessa when I tell her how I was too late to save you from Winters?”
“Go to hell, Rolf,” the old man said from behind him. The ground instantly froze. The old man was standing while leaning on the sword Devin had lost from the blast. Rolf turned, but not in time to do anything about being encased in ice.
Devin wanted to help defeat Rolf, but he was too wounded to move anywhere. He stood vigilant in front of Cassie though he was in pain. He was waiting for the attack on him and Cassie, but Winters didn’t move to attack.
“Grab that horseshoe by the door and then you can leave,” Winters told Cassie. “It will break all the witch magic in the barn.”
Cassie reached for the horseshoe.
“Stop,” Devin said. He tried to sound forceful, but it was more of a gasp.
Winters stared at Devin, but Cassie froze in her tracks.
“You need to activate your bond back with Nessa. It will make you heal,” Winters said, now completely concerned for Devin and not his own wounds.
The old man wasn’t a threat—everything Devin had believed about Winters was true. He had spoken the truth before about trying to stop Rolf. They were safe alone with him in the barn.
“Unbind me from Nessa before you go for help,” Devin told Cassie. She stared back at him and then looked to the old man.
“Day human, you will surely die if you unbind,” Winters told him. Cassie didn’t move one way or the other. She was confused and worried at the same time. “And besides, she needs to go get help.”
“And if she walks out there and the bond returns, not only will I die, but so will Nessa. This isn’t a wound someone lives through, no matter if they are a sidhe or not. I’m not going to let my wounds kill Nessa,” Devin explained, slumping down to his knees now that Cassie wasn’t in danger. He didn’t even bother to wipe the blood dripping out of his mouth. He was resigned to his fate.
Cassie rushed to him and helped him lie down on the ground. She glanced from him to the old man again. She seemed to be weighing what they were saying.
“Cassie, unbind me,” Devin said. Lying down had given him enough energy that he could be firmer in his order.
“But he says you’ll die,” she replied, still unsure what to do.
“You really love Nessa that much?” The old man had hobbled closer.
“With everything inside of me.” Devin closed his eyes and took in a breath. It was getting harder to breathe, but he didn’t want to let on about the pain he was going through. Winters nodded.
“Unbind him, then,” the old man told Cassie.
She seemed startled at the old man’s order. Leaning in closer, she whispered into Devin’s ear, “What if he’s the witch sidhe?”
Devin looked back up at the old man, who shook his head.
“He may be a witch sidhe, but I don’t think he was the one that was trying to attack everyone. I have a feeling this barn and his magic was to help everyone, to help anyone that might stumble across the sidhe. He was protecting the innocent and protecting the sidhe,” Devin replied honestly, happy with his assessment of the old man. If Winters truly was trying to kill him, he could have at the same time he encased Rolf in ice. Devin knew that Winters wasn’t a threat.
“Devin is right. I have never used witch magic against another sidhe before tonight. I knew as a young man that witch magic was illegal, but I couldn’t help it. I fell in love. When the village found the witch in our town that I had fallen for, they killed her. I didn’t want that to ever happen again. I made this barn and placed all the spells. This is to keep others from having the same fate as my love.”
Shouting from outside brought all of their attention to the open doorway behind them. Cassie glanced down at Devin, and then back to the clearing. Ronan was sitting and rubbing his head as Nessa ran down the road with Turner close behind.
“Please, Cassie, do this for me. I don’t want Nessa to die. I want her to live. All I’ve ever wanted was for her to have a happy life.”
Cassie nodded and took a vial from her bag. As Nessa got closer, she opened the cap. Devin reached up, and Cassie helped him drink the liquid. Nessa crossed the threshold to the barn, and the bond immediately broke.
CHAPTER 12
Nessa dropped to her feet as the bond snapped. She could feel Devin slightly when she approached the barn, but now it was gone. The warm feeling of comfort was gone. She felt empty after months of being able to feel him. Now he was lying on the ground, bleeding. Death loomed over him. She could smell his blood as she got closer and realized how much there really was. He was dying.
“Why?” she cried, looking at his
beaten-up body that she could no longer help heal.
Devin gasped as the pain came, and he could no longer deny that the bond had been the last bit holding away everything.
“I couldn’t let you die. The sidhe need you. I need you to live. I want you to be happy,” Devin answered in a quiet voice. His strength was fading. “You can now make a choice of who to love. You aren’t stuck with me, and you can be free. You can be you.”
Nessa wiped the tears that were falling now. “You silly day human. I don’t want to live without you.” She tried to laugh, but just more tears came out. “Why would you ever think otherwise?”
Devin closed his eyes as he smiled through the pain.
“He asked me to make this potion soon after I got here,” Cassie told Nessa. “He wanted to unbind from you so that you didn’t feel his love through the bond. He wanted you to be able to choose who you wanted to marry without being affected by his feelings.”
Nessa leaned down with her forehead to his. “Silly, silly day human.”
Tears kept coming out of her eyes. Nessa missed the bond completely now that it was gone. She wanted to show Devin how she felt not just with words, but with her feelings. Even without the bond, she felt it. She loved him, and there would never be another person she would love like she did him.
Old Man Winters approached her slowly.
“Let me save him,” he said quietly. He was looking at Nessa and Cassie, but more at Cassie. “If you broke the bond the way I think, then I can bind to him now to take on all his wounds. Do you have more of your potion left?”
Cassie nodded, but neither she nor Nessa knew what the man wanted to do. Her potion wasn’t created to form a bond. And besides, the bond would only kill both people. Devin had already explained that he was hurt bad enough to kill twice.
“Let me bind to him and once I take on my share of the wounds, unbind me from him. If Nessa then binds back to him, they will both be fine,” the old man replied. Nessa’s heart pattered at the idea of being bonded to Devin again.
“But he said this wound would kill Nessa if he was bonded to her,” Cassie replied, confused by what the man was asking to do. It made no sense for anyone to bind to Devin at that point, or they would die as well. “If you bind to him, then you will die from the wounds.”
He nodded to her in reply, but didn’t say more. He was offering to die to save Devin.
Devin was now unconscious, which didn’t help things much. He would argue if he knew what Winters wanted to do. Awake or not, it still wasn’t an easy decision to make.
“He won’t like it,” Nessa replied.
She shouldn’t have been eager to take the old man’s offer, but she couldn’t just sit and let Devin die. If she rebonded to him, he would reject her. Her grandfather made it clear that the bond can’t be forced. Would Devin accept the old man’s offer?
“And should that stop us? If we do something the king doesn’t like, but it saves his life?” Winters replied. “As a sidhe, it’s my job to protect the king. That’s exactly what I am doing.”
Cassie nodded along with him, even though she wasn’t a sidhe. She seemed to get the idea of saving the king. Looking up at Winters, she pointed behind him. “And what will happen to that once you’re gone? Will the ice be gone, and he’ll go back to attacking us?”
Nessa finally looked up and realized her uncle was encased in ice.
“What is the meaning of that?” She stood up in anger. Her last surviving older relative was encased in ice. He wasn’t dead, but he wasn’t able to communicate either to tell her what was going on.
“He was planning to kill us,” Cassie replied, still watching the ice statue.
“Not my uncle,” Nessa retorted, still not moving from Devin’s side.
“Yes, your uncle. He and I have known for years that we both knew witch magic,” Winters replied. “He was trying to get rid of Devin because he’s afraid of the sidhe changing. But we don’t have time to discuss this. Devin is dying. Let me save him.”
Nessa couldn’t argue that, even though she really had no clue what was going on.
“He will stay that way until he thaws,” Winters told Cassie, who was still staring at Uncle Rolf. “And most people don’t move too quickly after being frozen. You’ll have plenty of time to deal with him.”
The old man finally made his way over to Devin’s dying body. Simultaneously, he touched the blood on Devin’s bleeding chest and dropped his own blood into Devin’s mouth. Devin gurgled a little bit, but the blood slipped down his throat. Nessa watched and waited. She was sure Devin wouldn’t accept the bond.
“Please let him do this,” Nessa begged, leaning in close to Devin’s ear. “Please let him save you. If you don’t let him, I’ll never forgive you.” She couldn’t help but threaten him.
Devin’s eyes fluttered open a bit, and he viewed Nessa through his now slightly open lashes.
“Please, Devin. I can’t do this alone. Please come back to us.”
Nessa didn’t stop the tears running down her cheeks. The warrior in her was gone. She couldn’t help but cry and show weakness. She was weakened. She couldn’t stand to watch Devin die. She really meant what she was saying. She needed him back.
Devin wanted to die peacefully. He had spent his life protecting Arianna, his first love. He had given his life to save her only to be rescued by Nessa with a blood bond that gave his injuries to her to heal. They had survived, but they were bonded. Now he was dying for a second time, and all he wanted to do was go in peace and quiet. He looked up at Nessa and felt her pain. It was just himself assessing her, but he still couldn’t help it. Her eyes were warring with anger and sadness. He saw it even though the bond was gone. He didn’t need it to understand Nessa. He had been staring at her for weeks. He knew her perfectly, and the one thing he could never do was disappoint her. He was prepared to say good-bye to her once the bond was broken, but now he couldn’t. He couldn’t leave her alone.
Devin looked over to Winters at his other side. The old man waited to feel the pain of the bond hit him. He was completely ready to die for Devin.
Devin felt the ground beneath him. He felt the sidhe magic strongly again once the barn had been opened from witch magic. He felt everything all around him, and more than anything he just wanted time to stop. He wanted to freeze it all to give himself time to make a choice, a real choice. He wasn’t going to make a good judgment with Nessa there next to him crying. It was impossible to say no to her. He loved her too much. He needed time to stop.
Sidhe magic tingled out of Devin. Even with his wound, he could still do sidhe magic. The people around him began to slow down until he couldn’t even see them move. His wounds felt lighter, and he pushed himself up to a sitting position as the world froze. Winters stumbled back at the motion from Devin. He had been left unfrozen.
“What?” the old man asked as he looked around.
“Not exactly sure myself.” Devin took a breath and still felt the pain, but it was bearable now. “We have a few moments to talk now.”
“About?” Winters asked. He was still looking around the frozen world in wonder.
“Why? Why are you offering your life for mine? If I heard correctly, you want to bond to me to take my wounds, then unbind and die,” Devin responded.
Winters nodded. No one knew if Devin had heard the plan, but he wasn’t unconscious before, he was just too weak to open his eyes. He knew what was going on.
“Why are you giving up your life?”
“You mean what little is left of my life? I’m an old man. I don’t have much time left. This way, I can decide how to die,” Winters replied. Devin nodded but didn’t completely think that was the case. “Do you know what the punishment is for witch magic?”
“No.” Devin had no clue on any punishment.
“For a noble, they can be banished for a crime such as witch magic. For me? I’m just a commoner. My only punishment is death. At least this way I get to choose my death. Let me go the way I c
hoose. I’m an old man anyway. Let my death mean something. Let me save you.”
Winters made a logical argument. Devin wanted to say he could save him and not put him to death, but he wasn’t sure how that would go over with the nobles. Devin needed to keep the village together for Nessa’s sake, and the promise he had made to her grandfather. He didn’t want to use someone else’s life to do so, though.
“I can see you don’t want to do this, but you need to. The sidhe need you. They have to change, even if they’re afraid like Rolf. At one time, he was a good man. He still is, he’s just afraid of change. He’s never lived a life of anything other than privilege. He heard your plan to get rid of the noble system, and he got scared. They’ll all be scared. They need you to keep them in line, and show them that it isn’t too bad. The sidhe need to change. You’re the one to do that. We need you. The sidhe need you. She needs you.” Winters motioned to Nessa. She was frozen with tears falling down her face.
“But I can’t take your life,” Devin replied. The frozen world began to slowly move again. He didn’t have the strength to keep the sidhe magic hold in place. He was finally coming to an end.
“You aren’t taking it,” Winters said as the world moved again. “I’m giving it to you. I’m offering you my life so that you save the sidhe. It is a present. Please accept this as my present to you.”
He stared hard at the old man’s eyes as the world moved faster, and the agony returned. Devin leaned back down as the pain forced him to. Winters was sure that he wanted to give up his life, but Devin had never intentionally taken the life of someone as pure as this man was. Devin could see it now that he had taken his blood. Winters’ life was as pure as the snow that covered his arms from using his sidhe magic. Winters stared at Devin until he was forced to close his eyes again momentarily. The old man was begging him with his eyes.
Devin relented and let the bond form between them. He didn’t want to do it, but something in the man’s eyes told him there was more to it. He needed to do it for him.
The Day Human Way Page 19
