Black Blood

by S. D. Grimm

  “You saved all of us.”

  Serena ran over to them, dried blood all over her clothes. “We did it!”

  Ryan caught her and wrapped her in a hug. “You killed the dragon.”

  “You healed the forest.” She wiped away a tear and turned to Ethan. “Where’s Jayden?”

  “Sh-she—” Ethan scanned the landscape and his insides crumbled.

  “The thunder just stopped, Ethan.” Tears welled in Serena’s eyes. She grabbed his shirt sleeves. “I felt her pain. Then nothing.”

  The rain had stopped.

  Only ash fell from the sky.

  Ash. Like snow.

  He scanned the ground where he’d seen her last, while his heart screamed for him to find her. “Jayden!”

  There. On the ground, still and silent. Ethan ran to her side and fell to his knees next to her. A black hole covered her middle. Her eyes stared into nothing. He cupped her head in his hands. “Jayden!” He pulled her still form into his chest, and a sob clawed its way out of him. “No! Don’t go where I can’t! Please.”

  Serena slid to a halt where Ethan sat. She touched Jayden’s arm. “No. It’s too late. It’s—I’m going back for her.”

  Ethan looked up at her, tears choking him. “Serena, you—”

  “I’m going!” She looked at Ryan. “Find Tessa or Rochelle. I’ll need one of them once I bring Jayden back.” She grabbed Jayden’s hand and fell limp beside her.

  Chapter 68

  Death Tolls

  Connor?” Something soft brushed his head and comforted him.

  He’d had a pack. A family. That made every sacrifice worth it.

  Connor squeezed his eyes shut as the wave of pain ate through his body again. He opened them, the world hazier than before.

  The dark-haired woman stepped out from the trees. Blood dripped beneath her eye. She wiped away the stain and no new blood took its place. Strange. She stared at Connor then turned to the woman next to her. “I have my powers back. I’ll heal this one. Find another.”

  She knelt beside him. “Can you hear me?”

  He nodded. At least, he thought he nodded.

  “Here.” She spread a cloak over him. Was he human again?

  She pressed her hands against him and bowed her head as all the pain seeped away from his body.

  His vision cleared, and he could see her now. “Madison?”

  Tears dripped out of her eyes, and she wrapped him in a smothering hug. He hugged her back. “I–I was supposed to die.”

  She laughed. “No. You’re going to be fine.”

  “Quinn wasn’t touching me. She was the only person who could have saved me from the effect of the bracer.” And it would have killed her.

  “I was touching you.”

  Connor spun around at the sound of that voice. Her beautiful voice. “Quinn?” His heart swelled. “How? You were—”

  She smiled that innocent smile and touched his face. “I was a tree.” He grabbed her hand to make sure she was real. To touch her. She smoothed his hair. “I’m also bonded to a phoenix. When Ryan burned me, I grew again.”

  The tree. The tree he’d landed into, lain at the base of, was Quinn. “You regrew?”

  She nodded and knelt beside him. He wrapped her in his arms as his body shook. She was alive. And real. This was real.

  “Are you okay?” Her small voice seemed concerned.

  He laughed. “Okay? Quinn, you’re alive. . . .” He let her go. “How many?”

  “More than half died when you opened the door, Connor. All the Mistress’s creatures.”

  “The Mistr—only the . . .” He couldn’t breathe. Something welled inside of him. Something joyful. “You mean . . .”

  “Yes.” She touched his face. “We won. And look.”

  He looked around him at the wood. Charred tree trunks were scattered amidst young, green saplings. The once-scorched earth was thriving. “How—you.” He faced her. “You did this?”

  She squeezed his hand. “We did this.”

  He pulled her close to him and kissed her. “You knew.” He kissed her again. “You believed when I didn’t believe.” He kissed one corner of her mouth, behind her ear, on her adorable smile. “You complete me.”

  Her lips parted as she stared at him. Then she smiled, slowly. “And you me, Wielder.”

  Chapter 69

  Noble Light

  Air rushed into Jayden’s lungs. She coughed, and the hole in her

   stomach screamed.

  “Jayden?” a soft whisper touched her ear. A tear dripped onto her cheek.

  “Ethan?” His name barely made it past her lips. Serena had brought her back from the dead—for Ethan.

  “You’re going to be all right. Tessa is here.” His voice was shaky.

  Tessa’s hand pressed against her chest. It was so numb and so painful all at once. Then a familiar heat and cooling coursed through her. And she was whole. She grabbed Tessa’s hand. “Thank you.”

  Tessa just smiled. “I am going to help the others.” She touched Ethan’s arm before she left.

  Ethan.

  He stared at Jayden. “I almost lost—”

  “You didn’t.” She sat up, opened her arms, and crashed into him. His strong arms gripped her like he never wanted to let her go, and she breathed in this moment. Right here. She never wanted to forget how loved she felt. She found Serena’s hand and squeezed. “Thank you for bringing me back for him,” she whispered.

  “Thank you for coming with me.” Serena touched Jayden’s cheek.

  She hugged them both and then told Jayden she was going to tend to the wounded. But Ethan still wasn’t letting go. He pressed his face into the crook of Jayden’s neck. “I’m sorry she had to bring you back.”

  “You’re sorry?” She moved so she could look into his eyes.

  That melancholy smile tugged on his mouth. “Not for me.”

  She touched his cheek. “Don’t be sorry for me. I’m not. This is where I want to be. With you. Always.”

  His eyebrows lifted, but how could he be surprised? Her following laughter was half choked by emotion. “Oh, Ethan.” She tipped his head so he’d look at her, teary eyes and all. “Are you doubting my love?”

  It was his turn for a startled laugh. The kind that found joy in a sad moment and broke though. “Doubting your—no.”

  She smiled as he blinked away any coating of wetness, and then she kissed him. The way he held her, as if he never wanted this moment to end, as if he was memorizing the feel of her hair, her lips, her hands on his neck, made her forget everything else.

  And when it finished, she looked into those brown eyes and said, “The correct answer is ‘never.’ ”

  And the crooked smile that her words pulled from him melted her heart.

  “Jayden!” The voice made her stand up and turn in time to catch Luc in a tight embrace. “You’re okay!” He squeezed her. Then stepped back to look at her. “That storm was you?”

  She nodded. “I didn’t know you were here.”

  “I fought with the Healers and Feravolk. Madison brought me to the Healers. Ryan, you’re okay, too!” Luc kept one arm on Jayden and held out his hand to shake Ryan’s.

  Ryan complied, but something about him felt off. Sad in a strange way. Jayden was about to ask him, but Luc started talking to him about the fire.

  Someone rubbed Jayden’s back and she leaned into Ethan. She took a deep, calming breath and looked around. The Healers were tending to the wounded, and Quinn stood in the center of the meadow, arms raised above her head, growing new trees, with Connor beside her.

  “I’m going to find Madison.” Luc touched her shoulder. Then he nodded to Ethan and the two of them shook hands.

  Now that Ryan was free, Jayden approached. She wanted to fling her arms around him, but his sadness choked her. Something was very wrong. His face had grown gaunt, his skin pale. Just like the day she’d returned to Anna’s with the plant. “You’re hurt?”

  He shook his h
ead but dropped to his knees.

  “He’s dying!” Serena raced back to them and knelt beside him. “You—you’re poisoned.”

  “What?” Jayden clutched his sleeves.

  “You lied to me.” Serena stared at him, arms curled around her middle. “You said once the Mistress died, you’d be free.”

  Ryan’s emotions crashed into Jayden, and they carried so much sorrow and peace all at once. “Free of her.”

  Tears flooded Serena’s eyes. “Ryan! You deceived me on purpose.”

  He touched the side of her face. “You needed to defeat the Mistress.”

  Ethan knelt beside them, his sadness wrapping around Jayden’s heart. “Is it true, Ry?”

  “She claimed more than half of my heart. It’s too late for me.” He touched Ethan’s arm. “But thank you for saving me from the door. For giving me a chance to say good-bye.”

  “I will not say good-bye to you.” Serena backed up, eyes red-rimmed and brimming.

  Serena stared at Ryan. Her insides quivered. Was this what Ethan had felt when he knew Jayden was gone? Because as she sat here, she could feel Ryan slipping away from her. From this world. He’d done it on purpose to save all of them. He’d known he would die, and yet he fought with them. It wasn’t fair. Someone with such a pure heart should not be forced to carry around a heart tainted with so much darkness.

  There had to be something she could do for him.

  That was her purpose, wasn’t it? To heal them. If she couldn’t keep all of her family safe, why was she here? A sob welled in her chest and it ached. But she held it in. She had to figure this out. There had to be a way to do something. Now. Here. She couldn’t go back for him.

  Ryan touched her shoulder. She wanted to punch him and hug him. “You lied to me,” she whispered, every word making her throat hurt.

  “Serena, you told me there was good in my heart. You told me to embrace my powers. You told me to hope. I chose to do that. I knew if I told you it would be the end of me, the three of you wouldn’t have been able to defeat her today.”

  “It wasn’t just us. You—”

  “I know.” He took her hand and kissed the back. “I never thought I was worthy to be a Deliverer. You did.” He looked up at Ethan and Jayden, too. “You all did. You all accepted me even though I thought she’d claimed me. So I know it feels like you’ve lost, but really you saved me.” He cupped Serena’s neck in his hand and looked deep into her eyes. “You saved me. Remember that, always.”

  She hunched over and the tears came. Everything hurt. Why had she not seen this coming?

  Ryan pulled her into his arms, and she wanted to scream. “Serena—”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Connor said two of us would die—and I could only go back for one.”

  If only Dash were here. If only there was a Healer strong enough. But only Madison and Tessa were, and they’d both already done this. She needed Dash right now. She—her eyes snapped up to meet Ryan’s, and she wiped her tears away. She could not let him die tainted. “Ryan, do you trust me?”

  His heart was completely open to her, she could feel it—the one piece of good that he clung to. He looked right into her eyes. “Of course I do.”

  “I can’t let you die like this.” She couldn’t stop the shake in her voice. “You are not her pawn.”

  “But my heart is still dark. Tainted. I feel it. It will send me to the afterworld with her. Won’t it?” He touched his chest.

  “Not if I can help it.” She pulled her dagger from her boot. “Hold still?”

  He stared at the blade and then looked at her and nodded once. “Do it.”

  “Serena!” Ethan grabbed her arm. “What are you doing?”

  “The Mistress has a hold of his heart now. I can’t let him die with a tainted heart, Ethan. As a prisoner of the Mistress. He’d go to the afterworld with her. Wouldn’t he? That’s not him.” Tears streamed down her face.

  “It’s okay, Ethan.” Ryan gently removed Ethan’s grip from her arm. Then he looked at Serena. “The Mistress said the only way to be free of her was to cut out my heart. She was telling the truth, wasn’t she?”

  “Yes.” Serena could barely say the word.

  “This is madness.” Ethan grabbed Serena’s shoulder. “You can’t—Ryan, you could still have time. You—”

  “I don’t.” He clasped Ethan’s hand, stood, and pulled him in for a hug.

  “Listen to me, Ryan. You are a hero. Don’t—don’t forget that.” Ethan choked on his words.

  Then Jayden wrapped her arms around him. “Don’t you dare say good-bye to me.”

  “Then until we meet again.” He kissed the top of her head and turned to Serena. Stared right into her eyes. “I trust you. I’m ready.” He knelt and she with him.

  She didn’t even try to hold back tears now. Her chin trembled and her voice shook. “I love you.” She thrust her dagger into Ryan’s heart.

  He cried out. She breathed deep. If Dash was right, she’d be able to see his heart. There. It beat so slowly, bathed in a strange, bright-but-dark light. She pushed the dagger against his flesh and the hole widened. She reached in and tore the heart from his chest. Easily it came, bathed in the noble light. She tossed the broken heart to the ground and reached inside her own chest. The heart there, that Dash had given her, beat strong and fierce. Full of light and love. As Dash had done for her, she pulled it out. The pain ripped into her, but the peace she felt, the love, covered it so quickly. Then she pushed the heart into Ryan’s chest. The light that bathed him turned white and sparkled. She could almost hear Dash’s voice telling her, “Well done.”

  Then she recentered the dagger and thought of healing him as she pulled it out. Her energy was draining fast. But if Dash was right, she could do what a unicorn could. She could heal him.

  White light suddenly bathed her eyes. She lost sight of him. Of everything.

  No. She had to keep it together. She had to make sure he was healed.

  But her head hit the ground.

  Chapter 70

  Scars

  Sunlight poured onto Serena’s face and beckoned her to open her eyes. Above her, a candelabra sparkled. She lay on white sheets like those in a Healer’s home. In fact, this looked strangely like her own home in the Valley of the Hidden Ones. She sat up.

  Where was—“Ryan?” The relief that flooded her tingled in every part of her being. An overwhelming happiness. She clung to it. Breathed it in.

  He stood by the window, smiling that charming smile she’d missed. “Morning, beautiful.”

  He neared her, a playful gleam in his eyes. “You were starting to worry me.”

  Truth. “You—you’re alive? Right? Or am I dead?”

  He chuckled and sat on the edge of her bed. “I’ve been awake for two days.”

  She scooted near him and placed her hand over his heart.

  “It’s beating,” he said. “Thanks to you.”

  “Thanks to Dash.”

  “And you.” He nuzzled her neck, and warmth spread through her whole being.

  He was alive.

  She sat back and marveled at how pure his heart felt. The same as before, only minus the taint. “I thought I’d lost you.”

  “I thought you had, too.” His smile melted her insides. “I have to admit, I thought you were giving me a noble death. I never imagined you’d save me like that.” He touched the side of her face.

  “I hoped it would work. But I wasn’t sure.”

  “Either way, what you did was to save me.”

  “Yes.”

  His gaze traced her face and he pulled her close. His lips pressed against hers tenderly. She tugged him closer, and he laid her against the bed. Kissed her again. Then looked into her eyes. He rubbed his chest where she’d stabbed him. That charming smile covered his face. “But you didn’t even leave me a scar.”

  A shocked laugh escaped her throat. “A scar?”

  His playful look returned, making his eyes practically spa
rkle. “When I tell the story to our children and have no scar to show for it, what will they think?”

  “Our . . . children?”

  His eyes grew wide, and he backed away from her. “Well, yeah. I thought—”

  She sat up, pulled him closer, and found his jawbone with her lips. She kissed him again, inching closer to his mouth. “But you haven’t asked me to marry you yet.”

  He chuckled. “Serena, will you—”

  “Yes.”

  His fingers ran through her hair as he tucked her body into him. “Thank you.”

  Jayden followed Westwind as he loped through the Forest of Legends. Even this part, five days’ journey from the heart of the forest, had been touched by Ryan’s fire. Ethan, Ryan, Serena, Connor, and Quinn followed behind her, insisting that they’d all walk with her even though between their returned bonded animals—Blaze, Cliffdiver, and Zephyr—they could have been carried. Even Enya, Quinn’s phoenix, had returned.

  But not Stormcloud. Jayden’s heart ached at the loss of her friend. She still didn’t know what had happened to her.

  “I hope we make it before the storm breaks.” She nudged the wolf with her words.

  “Not much farther.” Westwind looked back at her and winked.

  She glanced back at the others and shrugged. “He still won’t tell me where we’re going.”

  “This looks familiar,” Ethan said.

  Westwind splashed across a river. The other side held more green. Not so much fire damage over here.

  “Oh. This place is amazing.” Quinn stopped. She twirled in a circle, her eyes closed, and a huge smile on her face. “I feel it. Deep roots grow here. Old trees. So many memories. So much love.”

  Jayden spun to face Westwind. The creek. The trees. Any long grass had withered and fallen, but now that she looked at it and replaced dead and burned trees with living ones in the picture her mind created, she knew this place. “It’s Anna’s cottage.” Her voice came out a whisper.

  Westwind loped ahead, and Jayden ran after him, pulse racing. She stepped into the clearing and gasped. The cottage still sat in the middle of a tree grove. It housed different kinds of trees, a pond, a meadow perfect for raising chickens and goats. Joy bubbled inside of her.