“I knew you’d come,” I whisper, but I can’t keep my eyes open. Then a soft wind picks me up from the ground and I’m in his arms, being carried away from the temple and down the mountain.
“I’ll always come for you,” Sebastian whispers.
I’m vaguely aware of the voices around me. Sebastian’s frantic requests and a low voice I somehow know belongs to a healer.
“There’s nothing more I can do,” the healer says. “The toxin is everywhere in her system, and any attempts to actively heal strengthen the poison.”
“She’s hurting,” he says, his voice raw.
“All we can do is wait. She needs rest. She needs to be home. Put her close to anything she naturally draws power from. Take her to the roof and let her rest beneath the stars.”
“We’re bonded,” he says, gasping. “Can’t I do something? Can’t she pull from me somehow?”
“The bond doesn’t work like a tether. You know this, Prince Ronan.”
My muscles scream as I’m scooped into someone’s arms.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “Abriella, I’m so sorry. I know what to do.”
And then I feel weightless, like I’m leaving my body. And it’s a relief, even as I fight it. I need to be in my body. I’m afraid if I leave it, I’ll never come back. If I disconnect from this physical pain, I’ll never find the courage to return.
I’m thrown back into myself in a rush, and I feel the arms around me shift, feel Sebastian stumble.
“Thank you,” Sebastian murmurs, and then I hear the sounds of a goblin thanking Sebastian for his payment.
“What happened?” Finn’s voice.
“I found her outside a temple in the Goblin Mountains. The others were dead, and she was like this—as if some creature tried to tear her apart.”
“Pretha, send for my healer.”
“No!” Sebastian shouts. “My healer already tried, but there’s a toxin in her system that fights back —it’s made stronger by any effort to heal her. She needs to be surrounded by her darkness. She needs . . .”
I force my eyes open. I’m in Sebastian’s arms, and he’s staring at Finn. I turn to see Finn’s face—I desperately need to see that face after being locked in my own nightmare—but I don’t have the strength.
“She needs everything she can draw power from, and she told me her power is stronger with you.”
“I understand,” Finn says softly. “I’ve got her.”
I whimper as they shift me into Finn’s arms and pain tears through me. When I open my eyes again, Sebastian’s backing out of the room, tears streaking down his cheeks.
“Please,” Sebastian says. “Please do whatever you can.”
“Thank you for bringing her to me,” Finn says.
Consciousness comes and goes, but I’m aware of the soothing darkness, Finn’s heat, and the leather and fresh pine smell of him.
“Shhh,” Finn whispers. Was I crying? “Shhh, you’re home now.”
“Home,” I say softly, burying my face in his arms. I don’t know where we are, but home feels right.
“I’ve got you,” Finn says. “Don’t give up. Don’t you dare fucking give up. You’re safe now.
You’re home.”
I feel myself being lowered into a bed, and I cry out, afraid he’s going to leave me here. I can’t find the words, but I don’t want him to leave, I don’t want to be alone. Because I’m dying.
“Shhh, I’ve got you.” Then I feel the mattress shift as he climbs onto the bed behind me and wraps himself around me. “Just rest, Abriella.”
When I open my eyes again, I’m in a big, soft bed and the night sky stretches endlessly above me. I brace myself as I roll to my side, shocked when nothing hurts.
“Is this a dream?” I ask the wall. I know Finn’s here. Even though I haven’t set eyes on him, I feel him.
“No,” he says. “You’ve been sleeping, but this is real.”
I force myself to sit up, but the effort sends me into a coughing fit.
“You should rest,” he says, but his eyes are red and his skin’s pale, as if he’s the one who should be resting.
I shake my head. “The children?”
“Safe,” he says. “Thanks to you. Pretha was able to work with Hannalie, and together their shield held. They kept the sleeping ones safe until we got the fires under control.”