Forged in Dreams and Magick (Highland Legends #1)(102)

The door to the study remained closed. I pressed down on the iron latch, carefully pushing the door into the room.

The place was a mess. Iain’s map desk had been shoved against the bookcases. Rolled parchments had fallen from their categorized homes, littering the ground like tan tubes of pick-up sticks.

Iain’s battered body stretched across the stone floor while Sunshine’s arm supported his head and shoulders. Those tremendous black wings were opened and curved protectively over Iain’s form.

Sunshine glanced up with a grave expression. “He’s badly injured. Every breath he takes is a struggle for life.”

“What can I do?”

He shook his head. “My expertise falls outside the realm of easing suffering.”

I growled, angry I’d been put in these circumstances over and over again, unable to be in control of anything, incapable to help those around me—the ones that needed me the most.

Energy still hummed hot and furious through my veins. I stared at the wall. Laser lights that had been beaming statically began pulsing rapidly. It powered up at my presence, responding to me like an excited dog wagging its tail.

The wall.

“Skorpius, move to the other side.”

The angel eyed me in surprise but followed my command.

I stepped between the two men and the wall. The surface pulsed as shimmering waves appeared, and the lights stopped beaming, incredible energy building beneath its sparkling exterior.

I glanced down at Iain. He’d gone so far under—away from the cruelty of the world—that his expression was relaxed . . . peaceful. Short, broken breaths were the only movements he made.

Shadows filled the room. A dark angel surrounded him. His body had been grimly painted by every shattered vessel, bruised muscle, and broken bone.

They’d stolen him. Forces still conspired to take him. Yet he clung to life by a thread . . . for me.

My gaze lifted to Sunshine as I slowly knelt. Everything in my programming made me fight for the man I loved with every weapon in my arsenal.

A whisper fell from my lips. “Will it work?” I raised my hand to a wall humming with power. It begged for my touch.

Those iridescent, blue-green eyes pierced into my soul. “For a price. Everything has a price.”

“If he lives, I will pay the price.”

Sunshine nodded once.

I pressed my palm onto the heated surface. Raw energy poured into my hand, running hot and furious through my body. I gritted my teeth and tensed my arm. The conduit fired so much power into me, I barely maintained the connection.

My free hand hovered above Iain’s chest, over his heart. With a focused determination I’d learned from the hunts, from the meditations, from every soul-searching, self-finding reflection, I aimed the exhilarating energy straight into Iain’s body.

Before I even touched Iain’s skin, a reaction happened. Warm, yellow light emanated from my hand, and Iain’s body jerked. Sunshine shot an arm over Iain’s abdomen, holding him securely.

I lowered my hand onto Iain’s chest. The contact sent the glow deep into his body. Iain’s lungs shot up, his mouth opening on a loud gasp. I clenched my jaw. His face contorted in pain, and I felt his suffering. Beads of sweat trickled into my eyes. I pinched them closed.

The wall’s energy buffered me from feeling the brunt of Iain’s pain as it assaulted me. If Iain could take every blow, every strike, every consequence of protecting people he loved, so could I.

Then it ended abruptly. The pain . . . gone.

I opened my eyes, and Iain’s bright, hazel eyes stared up at me in wonder.

Well, hell. That made two of us.

I quickly scanned his body. His skin was still dirty; his hair still encrusted with blood. But his color was pink and healthy. No more broken limbs. No more bruises. He’d been made whole.

Iain flicked a glance at Sunshine. His gaze returned to me, tearing away from the shocking form of an angel hovering over him.

“Och, lass. I’ve died, haven’t I?”

I laughed, so damn happy. “No, love.” I bent down, brushing trembling lips over his in the gentlest kiss. I pulled back, kneeling over him, staring into the beautiful olive eyes I’d missed. “Iain, you have no idea. The living’s just begun.”

*

Behind the castle, I walked in the rays of the sun while Sunshine kept to his beloved shadows. Iain bathed upstairs. Rowena insisted on preparing a special meal for the two of us, saving the enormous celebration for tomorrow at my request. Tonight would be a private reunion.

“Thank you for your help, Skorpius.”

He growled. I laughed.

It bothered him that I saw the teddy bear behind the dragon. I wondered if I’d see him again since the adventure had ended.

“You have many adventures still to come. You know how to reach me. My aid will follow.”

“My own genie in a bottle,” I mentally teased.

“Hardly,” he choked out, and I laughed, imagining his eye roll hidden in the darkness.

“What did you mean about the price to be paid?” I asked.

“Ahhh, now she’s curious. The fool acts now . . . questions later.”

“Fine,” I said. “I’m the fool. Tell me the consequence of hastiness—the price of saving a man not yet destined to die.”

He barked out a laugh. “Destiny. A word humans use to explain what they can’t control. How does it feel to be different now?”