“What’s going on?” Blaéz demanded.
Kira cast the warrior a quick look. “Long story. Echo will explain—”
The door opened, and Michael stepped out, his normally stern features drawn. His focus zoomed in on her mother, his eyes narrowed.
“Michael.” Luceré sighed, tucking back a strand of loose hair. “I feel him. He weakens rapidly.”
Oh, God, Kira ran into the room. At the sight of her big, fearless warrior lying on the bed, a bloody towel covering the hole in his torso with a sheet pulled to his hips, her throat tightened. No, she wasn’t going to break down again.
Luceré waved off the angel helper who enclosed Týr with a golden light and glided to his side. She lowered her hand an inch over his injury. Seconds later, a light, thread-like energy flowed over him, and Luceré lurched several feet away as if she’d been tasered. But she didn’t let the connection break, the glow remained fixed, enclosing him.
Michael appeared at Kira’s side and touched her shoulder briefly as if in empathy.
Echo had probably briefed them about Lila and Luceré.
What seemed like hours later, the light faded, and the wispy, white strands retreated back into her mother’s palms. Luceré’s skin appeared shallow, and she swayed.
With a wave of his hand, Michael moved the armchair from the living room to the bedside. But Luceré shook her head. “Thank you. I’m not done yet.”
A small basket appeared on the nightstand, startling Kira. She’d never seen this part of Luceré when she was Gran. She picked up several flat, palm-sized, pearlescent stones and began laying them around Týr’s body. “They’re healing crystals. He needs all the help he can get until his own healing ability starts up again.”
She set a paler stone on his upper chest. It lit up, and all the crystals connected, forming a shroud of light over Týr. Luceré finally lowered to the armchair. “The death spell used was meant to kill powerful immortals such as yourself,” she told Michael. “It’s a miracle he still lingers.”
“I sensed the spell was of demon origin,” he agreed, his jaw hard, expression forbidding. “It’s why I wanted you. The angel who aided us only slowed the bleeding.”
“Will he be okay?” Kira asked her mother.
Luceré’s expression softened. “As long as I continue weakening the spell, he should be. But I need to…I need sustenance.”
“Let me get you something to eat.” Kira spun for the door.
“Hedori brought food.” Michael nodded to the living room and the laden tray on the coffee table.
“Thank you.” Kira hurried over, plated some sandwiches and poured a cup of lavender tea. She headed back and handed Luceré the beverage then set the plate on the nightstand next to the basket.
“I’ll be back.” Michael gave a slight incline of his head before he walked out. It could have been a nod, but Kira had a feeling it was more of a bow.
Frowning, she went back to her spot on the opposite side of the bed. Everyone seemed to revere her mother. Was she truly older than Michael? If so, that would make her quite powerful. It was the only thing that made sense.
Kira’s gaze dipped to Týr, and she forgot her questions. The tightness in her chest amped up again, and she reached for his hand, wrapping his cool fingers in hers. He was always so warm, and now this. Knowing how close he’d come to death, pain lodged in her like a boulder.
You have to wake up, my love. Please, you have to.
“I loved once, too. Like you. Deeply. Except I could never be with the male I wanted,” Luceré said softly, pulling Kira from her anguished thoughts.
“What do you mean?”
“You ran off the other day before I could explain things.”
Her fingers tightened on Týr’s. “Then tell me now.”
Luceré gave a slight nod. “When I was tasked to watch over this world, I remained in my original state of energy for eons. Then, just over two and a half decades ago, I finally took human shape, and my path crossed with Lila’s. I wasn’t used to a corporeal body, and she thought I was ill when I stumbled into her. She took pity on a lost foreigner with no luggage or money, and I didn’t correct the misassumption because I couldn’t reveal who I was.” Luceré held the teacup in both hands and blew at the steaming beverage. “Anyway, the Oracle let me stay with her. Soon after, in my desire to see more of this world in my new form, I ended up in New Orleans and met your father in a rather unorthodox way…” A soft smile curved her mother’s mouth as she spoke about her near accident, exactly what Wrath had told Kira.
“I didn’t know who he was then since he’d tamped down his powers, and I had blocked mine, too. Despite the instant attraction, I refused to act on it. But, he wouldn’t take no for an answer. We fell in love…”
As if lost to her memories, Luceré sipped the tea, her gaze above the brim of the cup wandering off into the distance. Seconds ticked by before she spoke again. “He took me to Stygia, and there, he explained what he was. Even though I knew it would be risky for us to be together because of who I am, it didn’t matter to me. I loved him irrevocably. Then I discovered I was pregnant. To keep us safe, he sent me back to Earth to have you so no one would learn of your existence…”
Luceré drank more of her tea. “Being pregnant, I missed the merging. It’s something we Ancients do every once in a while to strengthen our energy. And I didn’t want my brethren to know the truth. They are merciless when rules are broken. The punishment is a fate worse than the most horrific torture.”
“What do you mean torture?” Kira demanded. God, she hated that word.
Her mother put the cup on the nightstand and rubbed her face, looking torn, as if she didn’t want to say anything.
“You have to tell me. I’m a part of you. Even my power appears like yours with all those healing white strands. Except mine are red, and…lethal.” Kira shook her head in disbelief at the truth. “If these Ancients are dangerous, I have a right to know.”
Luceré slowly nodded. “You are correct. I can’t continue shielding you. If the prime Ancient finds out the truth, he’ll trap me forever in my invisible form in whichever realm I’m sent to as punishment.” Luceré’s pained gaze found Kira. “And they will make you pay for my sin of breaking their only decree; never bear a young. It’s what they did to my younger sibling. I still hear her cries, and her children continue to pay to this day.”
Luceré’s dark eyes misted, and her throat worked. “We, who were created to be light, to bring hope to realms, we really are the worst. I refused to let anything like that happen to you. I told Lila the truth about myself, about everything, and my desperation to protect you was not only from your father’s enemies but also from the Ancients themselves…” She explained about using Gran’s blood, which she’d infused with a spell in her womb. “It made you more human than I expected, something for which I was eternally grateful.”
She had a little of Gran in her? The ache inside her eased.
Luceré shifted forward and stroked a fading crystal on the bed. It glowed brighter. “Lila was ecstatic to be a grandmother to you. After you were born, I entrusted you to her care and went back to Stygia. I had to tell Wrath the truth about myself. However, before I could speak to him, I was abducted and ended up dying—at least my human body did.”
She leaned back in her seat, her focus on her clasped hands as she continued. “So, I came back here in my energy form and bumped into our prime leader, who demanded I attend the merging or he’d have me relocated. I knew then that I couldn’t hold onto you any longer. For your own safety, I had to leave you…” Luceré lifted her head, her starless eyes dark and heavy with sorrow. “I remained in my molecular form, attended the merging, did my work, and occasionally dared to see you. Then, Lila passed away, and I missed you so much.”
Kira frowned, a memory from when she was a child stirring…one of a woman with soft, dark eyes who’d always made her feel happy. She shifted on her feet, her mind whirling. “I remember,” she w
hispered. “It’s vague, but I recall you.”
“I’m glad.” Luceré rose and joined her. Carefully, she lifted the slashed sleeve of Kira’s jacket and examined the cut on her upper arm.
With her entire focus on Týr, she’d forgotten about her own wound. Now, the cut kicked back in vengeance, as did the ache in her ribs. She grimaced. “It’s okay, it stopped bleeding.”
“So I see. Still, it’s odd that you don’t have fast healing abilities now that your powers are unbound.”
“Maybe it will take time, or maybe I am like Gran—human in this regard—since I do have some of her blood.” She shrugged it off.
“Perhaps.” Luceré waved a hand over her. Warmth flowed through Kira, easing the aches in her arm and ribs. “I couldn’t reveal this or the other supernatural things I could do to anyone, so I used Lila’s Oracle role as cover to do so.” She smiled. “There. All better. I should attend to your warrior now. Why don’t you have a shower? Your clothes are covered with blood, child.”
Kira shook her head, her gaze on Týr, her fingers tightening around his. “Later. I just need to be with him…”
Weak noon sunshine crept into the bedroom and did little to lighten the somber atmosphere. Two days later, and still Týr showed no signs of regaining consciousness.
Kira rubbed her burning eyes and shifted on the chaise lounge opposite the bed, exhaustion weighing her down as she watched her mother perform yet another extrication of the spell.
She appeared tense in her concentration, and her warm, brown skin held an ashy undertone. Wearily, Luceré lowered her hands. A smile of relief curved her mouth. “The dark incantation is undone. He’s going to need blood urgently. We couldn’t give him any while he was under the spell, he would have rejected it all.”
Kira jumped up. Her gaze rushed to Týr then moved back to her mother, her heart pounding in relief. “Then take from me. I should be viable, right? Unless he needs blood from his kind?”
Luceré looked up from checking the crystals. “You’re the daughter of an Ancient and a Sin. Your blood is perfectly acceptable, but he will need more. I will speak to the others.” Luceré glided to the door.
Kira stroked back Týr’s lank hair. His usually tan skin bore a pallid cast from his blood loss…and he felt too hot. “You have to get better, the curse is broken. Fight,” she begged, blinking back the burn in her eyes. “Or I swear on every one of your damn candies I won’t give you a moment’s peace. I’ll change all their colors and hide everything!”
Please show me some sign that you’re recovering so I know you’ll be okay, my love.
Soft voices drifted to her. Luceré shut the door and came back.
Kira felt his brow again. “He’s burning up.”
“His body is fighting to regenerate, and it’s taking a toll on his system with the blood loss.” Luceré lifted the wadded dressing on his chest. At the raw, open wound, Kira bit her lip, recalling too vividly what she’d seen in her nightmare from when he was imprisoned in Tartarus.
“I’ll be back,” Luceré said. “I need to prepare a stronger healing balm.”
Hedori appeared and set up the equipment near the lounger, reminding her of a blood donor’s clinic. She’d had no idea he even knew this kind of medical stuff.
“I attended a first-aid course years ago out of boredom,” he said as if reading her thoughts. “And I might have sat in on a few lectures at the university. Curiosity and too much time on one’s hands will do that.”
He smiled, ripping the wrapper from a needle. Uh, crap. Kira hastily shut her eyes. Needles terrified her. More sounds… Plastic tearing, then strong, warm hands gently grasping her forearm. “Ready?”
Sheesh! “Don’t warn me, just do it.”
He pushed up the sleeve of her sweater and tapped the inside of her arm for a vein. “He is blessed to have you. I heard what you did out there—”
“It was nothing.” She grimaced at the slight prick. Okay, so not watching those bags fill up… “I only wanted to save him from that horrible friend of his.”
“I would say slicing this so-called friend into pieces while keeping Týr safe in a sphere of protection is not…nothing.”
Kira shook her head. “Týr eviscerated Narfi and the corpses.”
“From what I understood, he would have been beheaded. Týr merely finished what you started.”
What felt like hours later, Hedori removed the needle and stuck something on her inner arm. “There, all done.”
She opened her eyes and frowned. “Only one pint? Why didn’t you take more?”
“You look like you’re about to faint. The others are donating, too. All will be fine.”
“Oh, okay then.” It relieved her that unlike humans, they didn’t need to be compatible in this area…just powerful. Hedori put a glass of orange juice in her hand. “Drink that.”
As Kira sipped the nectar, she watched Hedori hook up the blood bag to transfuse it into Týr.
She set the glass down on the floor, rose to her feet—and swayed. Dammit. Dizziness forced her back onto the lounge. It wasn’t that she hadn’t eaten much or even that she had just given blood. Exhaustion had finally caught up with her.
Aethan was the first to walk inside and donate plasma. One by one, the others followed.
After the last warrior was done, Kira rose from the lounger and headed down to the kitchen to fetch a container. Back in their bathroom, she filled it with cold water. Kneeling beside the bed, she dipped a cloth into the liquid.
Dried blood smeared his chest and lower torso, and there were specks on his neck and face, too. In his brutal past, he’d awakened too many times to this sight. She didn’t want him faced with that horror ever again.
Kira straightened and grimaced, ignoring the ache in her back from giving Týr a bed bath. In the bathroom, she discarded the bloodied water and set the metal dish aside, dropping the used towels into it. She undressed and stepped into the shower. Under the cascading water, tears of worry leaked out again.
As she shuffled into the dressing room, a towel wrapped around her body, she found Echo seated on the wooden trunk, pushing at her cuticles while waiting. Her friend nodded to the tray on the dresser. “I brought coffee and sandwiches.”
Food was the last thing on Kira’s mind, but for the last two days, Echo had watched over her like a guard dog. She sighed. “I’m not really hungry.”
Echo got up and shut the dressing room door. “You think it won’t upset Týr to see you wasting away when he awakens?”
Oh, man. “I’m hardly emaciated.” Kira rolled her eyes at her slender friend and opened the closet, searching through her things for something to wear.
“Michael just contributed blood, too,” Echo informed her. “Luceré said since the spell’s broken, he should heal faster now. With all the powerful blood in him, hopefully, he’ll awaken in a day or so.”
Kira spun to her, clothes gripped in her hands, her heart thundering in her ears. “Truly?”
Echo smiled and nodded.
“God, I hope so.” The heaviness inside her easing a smidgen, she pulled on jeans and a forest-green sweater with snowflakes scattered at the neckline.
“Okay, eat up, and then you should try and get some rest. The warriors said they’ll take turns keeping an eye on Týr so you and Luceré can take a break.”
Under her friend’s watchful eye, Kira choked down a grilled cheese sandwich and drank her coffee, then set down her mug. “Where is she?”
“First floor, blue guest room.” Echo picked up the tray, her brow wrinkling in thought. “You know, except for her change in appearance, it’s like being with Gran.”
“Yes. I felt the same when she spoke to me earlier. She explained a lot of things…” Sadness swamped Kira at the sacrifices her mother had been forced to make. There was so much she didn’t know and wanted to understand. “Life’s so unfair.”
“I know.” Echo came back and gave her a one-arm hug. “I don’t care what appearance she
takes on, I’m glad we still have her in our lives.”
“Me, too.”
“Okay then.” She smiled. “I’ll get out of here. Please try and sleep once you’re done talking with your mother. Go get in next to your warrior. It will comfort him sensing you close.” Then her soft smile morphed into a wry grimace. “Now to go soothe mine. Aethan’s still rattlesnake-mad because I didn’t call him the moment Gran told us to go to the cabin. I don’t know when he’ll realize and accept that I can defend myself and that we weren’t in any real danger. Well, except when the ass threatened to kill you. Not that I told Aethan that. Ugh, men.” She blew out a frustrated breath and left.
Now Kira felt worse. She should have insisted that Echo remain behind. She had to apologize to Aethan.
She tied back her damp hair and walked into the vast bedroom, her attention instantly shifting to the massive bed on the other side of the room. Blaéz stood near Týr’s side, his expression pensive.
Týr’s chest slowly rose and fell, the only indication that he lived. A fresh dressing had been taped over the fist-sized wound. An intravenous glucose drip had also been set up alongside the blood one. He appeared to have lost weight, too, as if he’d been through months of illness. It hurt to even breathe, seeing him like this.
Blaéz turned those startling, cerulean blue eyes on her when she stopped at the foot of the bed. “He lives because of you.”
“Except I wasn’t fast enough,” she whispered. “He got hurt so badly.”
“He still breathes, which is encouraging, considering how malevolent that spell was.” His bleak gaze shifted back to Týr. “I saw this moment, long before you both met… Back then, I had no idea what it meant, seeing him swamped by a black storm where a rainbow flickered. Now, I realize you had to be there with him. Without you, his destiny would have taken a darker turn.”
Týr would have died.
Her stomach cramped so badly, she wanted to curl up into a ball until the pain faded. Instead, she wrapped her shaky arms around her waist.
“It will take time, but he’ll be okay,” Blaéz said softly. “Thanks to you and Luceré. But to be brought down by a friend whose bitterness festered for centuries is indeed a betrayal of agonizing proportions.”
Heart's Inferno (Fallen Guardians 4) Page 33
