Caelan shuddered and a knot tightened in his stomach. Memories of crossing the Ordas flashed through his brain. Everything in that wild land had stalked them. Everything had wanted them dead.
“I’ll go to the Dead God,” he forced out in a choked voice.
“Good.”
The cloud of darkness that had blanketed the green space retreated and the sunlight returned. The goddess was pleased.
“But I have a request first.” He spoke in a rush, worried they’d be bound before he could get her agreement.
Her green face brightened into a broad smile. “Rayne,” she murmured, making his name sound like a welcome relief. “I like him. He’s the right amount of sneaky and compassionate.”
“Will you share some of your powers with him as you did with me while my mother held the bond? If I fail, I want to know that a new guardian is already in place to protect you.”
Tula tilted her head to the side and lifted her fan again. This time the kaleidoscope of butterflies was a rich buttery yellow. She watched them quickly slip across the sky, her brow puckering slightly at whatever she read for Rayne. He couldn’t guess at what she saw, but it didn’t feel reassuring.
“The future is too murky because of Zyros, but I will bless Rayne with my gift.”
Caelan didn’t even get out his sigh of relief. Vines shot across the distance between him and the goddess, wrapping around him tight enough to crack ribs and squeeze the air out of his lungs. Caelan tried to fight it, but he couldn’t move his limbs. He gasped again and again, but no air entered his body. Darkness crowded his eyes, reducing the world to a pinpoint.
A vision of Tula swam close, the blue of her eyes threatening to swallow him whole. His heart pounded loudly in his ears, trying to escape his chest. Through it, he thought he heard her whisper, “Remember…to live, you must first die.”
Caelan gasped, fighting to stay awake, to stay alive. The vision of Tula disappeared with a blink and he found himself staring up at Rayne. His advisor was kneeling on the floor in the middle of the Godstone room, the wind wildly whipping his light-brown hair around his head and face. The green of the Godstone reflected in his glasses, but beyond were fearful jade eyes.
“Cael,” Rayne cried and Caelan relaxed in his arms
“How—” He broke off in a fit of coughing. His lungs and ribs hurt like hell. The throbbing in his head promised the mother of all headaches, but he was still alive. Pain ripped along his throat as if he’d been screaming for hours. After a couple of deep breaths, he tried again. “How long was I out?”
“What?” Rayne stared at him, looking utterly confused. “You weren’t. You slammed your hands on the Godstone and were thrown backward into my arms.”
A second. Not even a second. All of that had happened in the blink of an eye. At least the gods and goddesses could work fast when they wanted to.
“Did…did you speak to the goddess already?” Rayne inquired.
Caelan grinned, but it was ruined by another bout of coughing. When he could breathe normally, he nodded. “Let’s find the others. I’ve got news.”
Rayne’s hand tightened on him when he tried to push to his own feet. “Wait! Did she…”
This time he opted for just nodding. When they were out of danger, both he and Rayne would pause to figure out their new gifts. It might also buy him the time he needed to figure out how to tell his companions that he had to go to Zastrad and speak to the Dead God.
23
Rayne Laurent
Rayne kneeled beside Caelan and started to reach out for the man’s aching ribs, but his fingers were trembling, and he immediately drew his hand back. He needed to fucking do this. They’d escaped the Royal Tower with minimal trouble and had retreated to a safehouse in Stonehaven. Caelan’s breathing was still ragged and pained from whatever the goddess had done to him. If Caelan could use his initial gift to heal others, logic stated that Rayne should be able to do that same thing.
Except he had no idea what he was doing.
What if he hurt Caelan worse? He wasn’t a fucking doctor.
“Can’t you use your powers to fix yourself?” Rayne demanded irritably.
Caelan’s smile was more of a wince as he shifted on the couch, seeming to search for a more comfortable position. “Probably, but I want you to try first. You need to learn how to use your gift.”
“Didn’t we go through this already with Prince Shey?” Drayce inquired in a playful tone that left Rayne wanting to kick him.
“Yes, and I ended up drenched.” Which was a bit of an exaggeration, but he didn’t care. “We’re talking about me attempting to mend the King of Erya. What if I do more damage to him?”