“Julian.”
He turned his head and tried to smile. “Fuck. I don’t think I’ll get out of here.”
Kiernan dropped down next to him and grabbed his hand. “Don’t say that, buddy. We’ll carry you out of this shithole and get you help. Don’t give up.”
Julian’s face had lost all color. Dark bruises bloomed under his eyes. His pupils were blown wide with shock. Blood trickled out of his mouth, and he licked at it in reflex.
We were all suspended in a state of disbelief. I could see it in Kiernan’s and Lance’s faces. This wasn’t real. My brain couldn’t keep up with the images I was seeing. Please. No. This is a nightmare.
But Julian was lying on his back, Kiernan’s arm around his shoulder. Kiernan’s wide, shocked eyes were glued to his best friend’s face. There was a stillness to his features that mirrored Julian’s expression. They both looked like they were frozen in space and time.
Julian coughed, and a stream of blood spilled from his lips. That broke the paralysis that had kept Kiernan and me fixed to our spots.
I whispered, “No. Don’t do this to me. To us.”
Kneeling next to him, I wiped the red stain off his chin. His skin was white, much paler than usual, cold and clammy.
I grabbed his hand and squeezed hard. He tried to respond, but his fingers soon loosened their grip. Julian’s blood was seeping into the fabric of his black shirt, bonding the fibers to his skin. He flinched when I probed at the wetness.
I lifted the shirt and saw the gash that carried through the garment into his flesh. This wasn’t good. He needed help. More help than my limited first-aid skills could provide.
“Kiernan, we need to bandage him up,” I said urgently. Kiernan lifted his head, and my heart sank at the tears spilling down his cheeks.
“Come on. You’ll have time to break down later.” I made my voice sound harsh and commanding, hoping to get through to him. I needed him to help me pick up Julian and carry him to safety.
Julian murmured some words, but I couldn’t hear what he’d said. I moved closer to his mouth and listened. “It’s no use. He cut something inside of me. I’m bleeding out. You’ll never get me back alive.”
Shaking my head violently, I said, “No. Julian. No. Don’t give up. Please.”
Sobs drowned out my last word. I wouldn’t, couldn’t leave him here. All he needed was a healer. I got to my knees, ignoring the red liquid that had spread under Julian’s body while I’d been trying to assess his injuries. It was seeping into my jeans and sticking to my skin.
Pulling on his shoulders, I tried to get him to rouse himself, to stand up. “Come on! Kiernan and Lance will help you. We need to get out of here and find a healer!”
Julian’s body didn’t budge. His weight was too much for me to lift, and Kiernan was no use at all. I pulled and tugged for another moment, before collapsing next to Julian and bringing my cheek to his.
“Amber,” he whispered. I nodded, tears streaming down my face and dripping onto his. “I love you. I’ve never loved anybody like you.”
“I love you, too. What am I supposed to do without you?”
Julian smiled, and I kissed his bright-red lips. “You’ll carry on. You’re not alone anymore. We’ll see each other again. Trust me. This isn’t the end for us.”
He exhaled the last words so quietly I wasn’t sure he’d said them at all. His next inhale was shallow, and then there was nothing. I waited for the exhale, but it never came.
33
I stared at the motionless body of my boyfriend, incapable of comprehending what had happened. I didn’t know how long I sat there, clutching his hand. It couldn’t have been too long, because his body heat remained on my skin.
Lance lifted me off the ground. “We’ve got to leave.”
That’s all he said. Four words that shattered my world. Kiernan closed Julian’s eyes and kissed his forehead. He arranged his clothes and folded his hands over his chest. When he was done, it looked like my beautiful Goth boy was asleep.
Leaving him behind on the cold floor was one of the hardest things I’d ever done in my life. As I walked away, I kept looking back, and Kiernan and Lance had to continually push me in the right direction. The further we moved, the more Julian looked shrouded in mist. It was probably because tears were blinding my vision.
Lance wasn’t saying a single word. In contrast, Kiernan never stopped his monologue about how Julian would want us to live. How we would take revenge for him.
I was about to tell him to shut up when we reached the end of the hallway. A narrow flight of stairs led from below ground up into the light. We had no clue what would await us at the other end, but heavy steps echoed behind us, coming closer.
We had run out of time. There was no other choice but to face whatever was waiting for us outside. Lance took point and was the first up the steps. He pushed his head through the opening, looking both ways before turning back to us. “Come on. There’s nobody outside.”
Kiernan hissed, “It’s probably a trap.”
I agreed with him, but we were out of choices. Somebody shouted, “There they are.”
Thinking about what we’d left behind, I sobbed once before an icy calm descended. This was it. I didn’t care if we had to fight, but I wasn’t going to be taken prisoner if they were planning to kill me, anyway. I would go down in a blaze of glory. Likely literally.
It took us a couple of seconds to exit the cold, dank prison. But when we crossed the threshold between the building and the outside, all three of us felt the change. The dampeners’ force field lifted once we were in the open.
The lightning fizzing inside my tummy blazed from a little frozen pebble to a massive, white-hot solar flare. Next to me, Kiernan became more solid and heavy as his earth power made its comeback. And Lance seemed to grow in stature and wildness as his fire magic took over.
Together, we were formidable. If only Julian had been able to add his water magic. I pushed that thought deep into my soul. The time for mourning would come later. Now was the time to tear this fucking place down.
Rapid footsteps pounded ever closer, about to ascend the steps behind us. We turned around, waiting for the armed Fae to attack. We didn’t have to talk. We all knew what to do.
As the first warrior’s head appeared at the top of the stairs, Lance smacked him back with a well-aimed flame burst. Kiernan lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers to raise a solid earth wall, locking our pursuers into their own dungeon. If they insisted on coming through this way, it would take them days to dig through.
We turned back and surveyed our surroundings. Standing in the middle of a meadow full of wildflowers, I found it surreal. It seemed the most unlikely place to have a prison like the one we’d just escaped from.
On the other side of the grassland, a path led back into the forest.
Kiernan said, “We better get out of here. We need to find Beth.”
I nodded. It wouldn’t take long for the guards to use another exit out of the underground building and pursue us. We needed to get a head start. As if on cue, men were shouting behind us. They still sounded far away. But the travel spell would allow them to catch up very quickly.
Without hesitation, we ran across the meadow. I tried to draw the magic glyphs into the air as Beth had shown us, but it didn’t take. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Lance and Kiernan do the same.
Shaking his fingers, Lance shouted, “Dammit. What is it with this place? Why doesn’t this work now?”
I yelled back, breathing heavily as my feet pounded the soil, “Maybe there're rules about where we can use Fae magic.”
We were just about to enter the forest when something whirred past my cheek. I gasped in shock. Kiernan’s shoulder suddenly sprouted an arrow, and a red stain blossomed on his shirt. He took another three steps before he lost his footing and collapsed.
A horrible sense of deja vu washed over me as I stared at the second person I loved lying on the ground, unmoving. Lance ha
d fallen to his knees next to Kiernan, feeling for his pulse.
Behind us, someone shouted, “I got him.”
My head flew up, and I stared at a group of guards, led by a nobleman. The one who’d killed Julian.
My lightheadedness lifted and was replaced by a deadly calm. Lance said something, but I couldn’t hear him over the rushing in my ears. My vision narrowed until all I could see was the smirk on the face of the bastard who’d murdered Julian, and maybe Kiernan as well.
My fingers burned, and the sound of hissing and crackling broke through. When I looked down, my hands were fizzing with tiny sparkles.
I pulled them apart, and lightning crawled up and down my skin. I had no clue what expression was on my face when I looked up. But our pursuers’ eyes widened, and they stepped back. The only one who held his ground was Julian’s murderer.
I didn’t know if he was brave or stupid, but I didn’t care. I raised my arms, focused my powers, and let fly. At the last moment, he seemed to realize what was coming for him. He dropped his bow and lifted his hands as if to defend himself, but my lightning bolt hit him right in the chest.
His mouth opened in an agonizing wail, but it didn’t last long. I hit him again and again, until his body was nothing but a smoking, charred piece of flesh.
When it was over, I lowered my hands, and the veil of destruction lifted from me. I gagged as the smell reached my nose. At least the rest of the Fae troupe had scampered. I wasn’t sure I had it in me to strike them as well.
When I turned to check on Kiernan, both Lance and Kiernan were gone as well.
34
Where were they? Had the fae taken them? I spun around, looking into all directions, but I was completely on my own in the beautiful wildflower meadow. The only sign things weren’t as peaceful as they looked was the greasy black lump fifteen feet away.
The sight of what had once been a living, breathing person made my stomach heave. I didn’t want to look, but equally, I couldn’t look away. I’d killed a man, on purpose, with furious anger in my heart.
This wasn’t at all like when I’d first come into my powers. Then, I’d been a naïve seventeen-year-old, completely overwhelmed by the sudden magic erupting from me. I’d only later learned of the deadly consequence of my loss of control.
Today, I’d taken a man’s life on purpose. Losing Julian had hardened me, and I didn't feel sorry. Determined not to waste another moment’s thought on Julian’s killer, I turned away and called out Lance’s name. To my relief, he stepped out from behind a large tree.
“Is it safe?”
I nodded. “Yes. They’re gone.”
Lance emerged fully from the forest. “I wasn’t so much worried about them. But have you got your lightning under control? I’ve never seen you lose it like that.”
Had he been afraid of me? I looked at my hands. They seemed perfectly normal, with only a slight reddening of the skin.
“Yes,"I said hesitatingly. “I think it’s okay now.”
Lance stepped closer. “Actually, it was awesome. I didn’t know you had that much power in you.”
“What about Kiernan?"
“He’s behind those trees over there. He’ll be alright, I think. The arrow hit him high in the shoulder. We should be able to get it out.”
Behind Lance, there was movement. My eyes widened. “Beth. Thank God, you’re okay. I thought we lost you.”
My roomie ran to me, and I pulled her into a bear hug. She hugged me back just as hard. She said, “I hid. I don’t know if I managed to pull a glamor over me, but there were Fae scouts passing by and never saw me. I followed them until I came to this dungeon. I was trying to figure out how to get in, but then you busted yourselves out.”
Beth looked around. “Where’s Julian? Is he hiding as well?”
I blinked rapidly. Now was not the time to break into tears. My pain was mirrored in Lance’s eyes. I took a deep breath. “Julian… he… he didn’t make it.”
Beth whispered, “What?”
“He’s gone. They killed him."I sagged for a moment, the rush of emotions threatening to pull me under. Lance put his hand on my shoulder, holding me up.
I rallied and pulled myself up straighter. “We need to get out of here. They’re bound to come back soon.”
Lance nodded. “They know now what Amber can do, so they’ll be prepared.”
I was still shaking with adrenaline, but I knew he was right. As strong and powerful as I’d felt when I’d burned up Julian’s murderer, now my legs barely carried me. The lightning power seemed to have taken every ounce of magic from me. Instinctively, I knew I had to recharge. My battery had literally run flat.
At the Academy, I’d never once used my full magic. In fact, I’d been discouraged to experiment too much, especially after blowing up my bed. This was actually the first time I’d reached deep and used all the power at my disposal.
I followed my friends towards the forest. After a few steps, the weakness spread throughout my entire body, and I stumbled. Lance and Beth hadn’t noticed I was falling behind. I bent over, resting my arms on my thighs and took deep, even breaths. It helped a little with the dizziness.
Lance looked back and immediately ran to me. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head, still staring at the ground between my feet. I straightened carefully. The simple movement was enough to make me feel lightheaded again, and I swayed until Lance grabbed my arm to steady me.
I mumbled, “I don’t know. I think the lightning used up all my energy.”
Beth had followed Lance and took my other arm. “Can you walk?"
I nodded. My skin under Lance’s hand warmed up, and I felt a rush of power through the contact. Beth’s touch left me unaffected.
“I think I can draw strength from you,"I said.
Lance nodded. “I feel it, too. Maybe this power drainage situation might actually work in our favor for a change.”
He pulled me away from Beth and pressed his mouth on mine. He was right. I immediately felt stronger and steadier. But I was afraid to draw too much from him and moved back after a couple of seconds. “That’s enough."
Lance watched me carefully, then nodded, satisfied with what he saw. “Okay. Let’s go."
Kiernan was waiting for us in a hollow behind three trees. He looked better, not quite as pale, although the shaft was still in his shoulder.
“Shit,"I murmured. He couldn’t make the track back to our world with the weapon stuck in his back. How do you remove an arrow from a person?
Lance, Beth, and I looked at each other a little helplessly. “Do any of you know first aid?”
Beth shook her head. “Other than watching doctors on TV, not really. But I don’t think you’re supposed to pull something out of a wound. It might bleed again, and we have nothing to stop it.”
That gave me an idea. “I could cauterize it.”
Kiernan’s face turned gray. “Cauterize my shoulder the way you killed that Fae guy?”
So he’d seen what I done to Julian’s killer. I shrugged. “I’ve only got a small amount of energy from Lance. I doubt I could hurt you.”
Kiernan grinned, despite the pained grimace. “You mean other than searing my flesh so I won’t bleed out.”
I returned the smirk. “Exactly.”
Turning serious, I kneeled next to him, took his hand, and swiped the hair off his forehead. My heart ached as I remembered doing the same for Julian not that long ago. “I can’t lose you as well."
Kiernan pulled his fingers back and cupped my cheek. “Acushla, I won’t die. And I was only joking. I can handle a bit of pain. Just get that fucking thing out of me.”
There was the Kiernan I loved. I grinned even as my heart ached. Lance sat down on his other side. “Okay. There is no barb on this damn thing. It went right through the shoulder. I can see the arrowhead. Should be easy enough to pull out.”
He looked at me for guidance. “How do you want to do it? Can you cauterize as I pull? Or should I
yank and—”
“Hey. No yanking,"interrupted Kiernan.
I grabbed his hand again and squeezed while addressing Lance. “I can cauterize as you go, but the longer it takes, the more it’s going to hurt. So don’t jerk, but try to pull it out quickly.”
Lance nodded. “Do you want a piece of wood to bite on?"
Kiernan looked at him as if he had two heads. “I’m not going to chomp on some dirty piece of wood. That’s fucking disgusting.”
Lance shrugged. “Suit yourself, buddy.”
We rolled him to his side so I could access his back and front. Beth covered her eyes and turned away. I took a mental note to tease her later about her squeamishness. But when Lance began easing the arrow out of Kiernan’s shoulder, I wished I could look away as well. Kiernan clenched his teeth, groaning occasionally.
The moment Lance tugged on the piece of wood, the wound began to bleed. I focused what little power I had and sent it into the hole the arrow had cut into Kiernan’s flesh. His groans turned into screams.
Lance looked at me for permission. I nodded, and Lance pulled the shaft out with one quick pull. I put one hand against the entry and the other against the exit wound and sent my lightning through Kiernan’s shoulder to stop the sudden rush of blood. The smell of roasting meat assaulted my nostrils, and a new wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm me.
Kiernan’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he stopped moving. Bile was rising in my throat as I stared at his gray face. “Is he…”
Lance reached out to me, but I jumped up and threw up behind the tree. I didn’t have much in my stomach to begin with, but that didn’t stop me from retching and spitting. Lance called out, “Amber. It’s okay. He’s fine.”
He hadn’t looked fine to me. At all. But when I wiped my mouth and turned back, Kiernan’s eyes were open, and his gaze followed me as I staggered back to his side.
I wished I had some water to rise with. Kiernan’s beautiful green eyes were hazy with pain and disorientation, but he was alive. “Is it going to leave a scar?”
Second Chance Hope: a paranormal reverse harem academy adventure (Second Chance Academy Book 3) Page 15
