Chapter 63

Dessa didn't have to be told twice as she ran over to Elys's frozen form, still knelt on the ground, the hole in his chest bright red with blood. She absolutely hated that he was going to be the first she was going to try out her healing magic on. What would happen if she couldn't do it, if what she'd felt wasn't what she thought it was? The wound was made by the darkest of magics, so no one else would have been able to manage, not even Cleo and Adeena. But what Adeena could help her with was getting into his mind, breaking through the ward of time around him of his own making.

She knelt in front of him just as she did before, reaching up to take his face in her hands, though the ward around him stopped her from touching him. And his eyes...those beautiful mismatched blue eyes were on her, still unseeing.

"What do I have to do?" Dessa demanded as she looked up at Adeena, who came to a stop beside her. Cleo was right there with her, clutching her hand and seemingly never wanting to let go.

Everyone else slowly surrounded them. Urell and the Arloerin guardsmen and Elite were covered with sweat and blood, some hobbling over to watch. Malik and Kav were right behind Adeena and Cleo. Kav stepped up to take Cleo's other hand before moving to her side as he kissed her temple.

But it was Eamon, Milena, and Archer who were right there with her. Milena's hand immediately grabbed onto hers, squeezing tight before letting go, silently letting her know she was right there beside her in any way she needed. Eamon and Archer did the same, though they were also looking at Elys's frozen form, jaws tight with restraint.

"Your mating bond...you still feel it between you, don't you?" Adeena asked Dessa then.

She did. Even though she couldn't hear his soft voice on the other end, feel his love for her, that bond was still bright and shining and whole between them.

"Yes," she managed to whisper, looking back at him.

"Then that's all I need," Adeena said then. "You two..." She gestured to Eamon and Archer. "Once he's free, you'll need to restrain him. The onslaught of pain might send him into shock, too. He was hiding it before and managed to put up the ward just before it got worse. Keep him steady...and then let Dessa do what she needs to." She looked back at her then, nodding once. "I'll try to keep him calm with my magic, too. You know what you're doing?"

"Barely," she choked out. "But I'll do anything for him."

Adeena managed to smile as she stepped closer, brushing her hand along the back of Dessa's head before brushing her shoulder.

She couldn't put into words what she was feeling as her cousin's magic suddenly invaded her mind. It was different and yet so similar to what her own felt like, both darkness and light. A calming ease spread through her, stifling her panic and worry over Elys and her confusion of the revelation about Fin before it latched onto her end of the mating bond.

Dessa followed Adeena's magic where it came halt where his time ward began. That same calming magic spread over it, trying to find any weaknesses and finding none. She choked out a small pained noise when she realized Adeena couldn't find anything to use.

A noise that managed to create the tiniest of fractures that Elys seemed to respond to.

"There," Adeena breathed, immediately taking advantage of it.

Somehow, after a few moments of trying, she broke through and into Elys's mind, managing to manipulate his magic just enough for his ward to fall completely.

Mismatched blue eyes blinked once as Dessa's hands now touched Elys's face, gripping him firmly.

Until his scream of pain echoed around the square when he couldn't manage to hold it in any longer.

"Grab him!" Dessa yelled in a panic at Eamon and Archer. "Adeena, calm him down!"

But Adeena's magic could only do so much. "Whatever the male did...the dark magic...I've never..."

Elys's scream shattered through the air again as he thrashed in Eamon and Archer's hold. Once more, blood began pouring from his wound, pooling beneath him. Even more appeared at the corner of his mouth, dripping down his chin and neck. Eamon managed to finally get a good grip on his shoulders to hold him in his lap and Archer pinned down his arms just before his fist met his jaw.

And Dessa froze for just a fraction of a second before her magic sparked to life within her. This time...this time it filled her with a light unlike she'd ever known before, making her hands glow with warmth as she held them out in front of her. A choked sob escaped her lips, not in fear but rather in relief.

"It's all right," Dessa choked out as she shifted closer to Elys's thrashing body as Eamon and Archer held him steady. "It's going to be all right."

Just as she was about to press her hands to his chest, Elys's body bowed off the ground as another scream ripped its way from his throat.

Until she finally managed to sweep the first wave of healing magic through his entire body.

His screams quieted almost immediately as she took away the fiery pain that laced its way through every part of him. The sharpness of it had Dessa gasping and almost losing her focus. That was what hurt him the most, not the gaping hole in his chest. Because that pain was caused by Fin's dark magic, something Dessa's own immediately chased down and smothered until it died now that its master wasn't in this world anymore.

Eyes closing, Dessa kept her hands pressed against Elys's chest, her magic coursing through every part of him. Now that the dark shadow magic was gone, she was able to focus on healing. And just as her mother always described it for herself, it just came...naturally. She found every bit of managed skin, every bleed, every broken bone and managed to piece them back together. The blood that had pooled below his body was even receding back into him, the color returning to his dark olive complexion.

But Dessa didn't stop there. Healing magic was overflowing from within her, sweeping through every part of Arloerin, healing anyone who was injured. The obsidian bolt that was still lodged in Ollyn's side disappeared, his wound fully healed in those few seconds afterward, which had Cleo crying out in relief when she saw. Every guardsmen looked down at their injuries, watching as they disappeared before looking up at Dessa in awe.

She wasn't seeing them, though. The only one she kept her eyes on was Elys, who finally relaxed against Eamon as the last of his wound closed together, leaving a thin white line in its place. She hated he was left with another scar after already having so many, but at least she still had him.

Elys's hand reached up to grab onto hers just as she looked up to meet his gaze. "Hi," he whispered to her then, his smile wavering as tears once more lined his eyes. Happy ones this time.

A laugh somehow managed to find itself bubbling out of her as Dessa teared up, too. "Hi."

They were both moving then, gripping each other as tight as they could as Elys buried his face against her neck, and somehow managed to block out the cheers of relief and victory that sounded out all through Arloerin.