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A Demon? Or just another injured male in this unnecessary war?

She swallowed. He was the most feared warrior in Brónach. He’d killed without mercy or hesitation. The Demon torched villages and ripped mothers from their children. He’d murdered people close to her family. And yet...and yet the muffled cry that escaped his lips, the way he clung to his body as if he could cling to life itself. It tugged at her instincts.

Let him die, a voice whispered.Let it be done.

Another cry. Arianna’s throat went dry, but she took a step toward the most feared male on the continent.

Earth swirled around her ankles, grazing her skin, but she didn’t stop. Rion cried out again, gripping his stomach tighter, but when she touched his shoulder, his sharp gaze snapped to hers.

Faster than she could see, his bloody hand gripped her throat and slammed her into the nearest wall, knocking the breath from her lungs. His nails dug into her flesh and a wild, twisted gaze told her he was only half aware of his surroundings. The blood loss was taking its toll, instinct drove him now.

His grip tightened and blood ran down her neck. Maybe it was hers, maybe it was his. But this response, it wasn’t anger. It was fear.

He growled, snapping his teeth. Black spots lined her vision but she fought to remain conscious. It was now or never, her options had run out.

Arianna lifted her hands and placed them on the bloody wound across his forearm. She focused on the gash, hoping beyond hope he was alert enough to notice.

The skin around the wound began knitting itself together seemingly of its own accord and his eyes widened in response. The Demon’s grip went slack, but before he could speak, his body convulsed and Rion fell to his knees again.

Arianna spluttered and coughed, desperately sucking in air. She could save him if he let her.

Sweat rolled down his face and his skin had already turned an ashy color. Arianna reached for him, but that voice returned sounding strangely like Talon’s.Let it happen. Be done with it.

She looked at Rion again and a familiar ache pulled Arianna to her knees.

I’m sorry, Talon.

She reached one hand forward and earth wrapped around her body, the particles digging painfully into her wrists. His lips drew back in a fierce snarl, but his eyes shone with pain and desperation.

He didn’t stop her when she reached for his wound.

Rion groaned when her magic bled into his core, and he gripped her wrist so hard she was sure it’d snap. His magic danced across her skin, rubbing it raw in some places, but she ignored it, concentrating on the damaged tissue beneath his blood-soaked clothes.

Arianna shifted a muscle and Rion gasped, his other palm hitting the floor. He clenched his eyes in both pain and relief. The Demon panted, grunted, but didn’t complain. She shifted another muscle and patched the edges of a tendon.

No one ever said healing was pleasant.

When the outside bleeding stopped, Arianna withdrew her bloody hand and glanced toward the bed. She needed him there, to assess the deeper damage. She chewed her bottom lip. Arianna had never healed something so extensive, and she honestly wasn’t sure he’d live. She should have studied more, but it wasn’t as if there were books available that detailed her kind of magic. They stored those texts somewhere within the royal city.

Her body trembled, but Arianna took a steadying breath and reached for him again. His grip on her wrist tightened, and she winced when the bones ground together. The sand grazing her skin dug deeper into her flesh until blood trickled down both her arms. His gaze was like a raging inferno of instinct and survival.

“Let me help you.”

The flame in that gaze wavered and his body with it. The magic fell away from her skin and Arianna saw something like fear cross his face. He couldn’t overpower her, not as he was, and The Demon knew it. His magic had reached its limit, but Arianna didn’t waste time letting him dwell upon it.

She took the arm still gripping her wrist and pulled it over and around her neck. To her surprise, Rion let her. Arianna positioned herself at his side, wrapping her other arm around his waist. His entire body went rigid. Arianna counted to three, clenched her teeth, and lifted them both from the floor.

His scream rattled the cabin and her heart ached when he leaned into her, panting and gritting his teeth. The massive bulk of him almost swallowed her whole.

Arianna gave him a moment to catch his breath then they took a step. She waited a second before taking another. And another.

His breath turned shallower with every step. She thought he might collapse at one point, but little by little they made it to the bedside, and she lowered him onto the mattress.

Without looking at him, Arianna’s hands reached for his abdomen again. He winced, hissing at the pain, but she closed her eyes, sinking her magic into his body like water. Arianna gradually became one with it, pushing and pulling at broken muscles and shattered ligaments. She didn’t understand it all, only knew the injuries were wrong somehow. Some things were too hot, others too cold. She focused on those and her magic did the rest.

Rion gritted his teeth and gripped the sheets so hard his knuckles turned white, but never once did he complain or threaten her.

Someone had finally done it. They’d brought down The Demon though whether they’d survived the encounter was a mystery. She should want the same thing. After everything he’d done to her people, Arianna should want to still the strong pulse of his blood. She should want to stop the heart beating in his chest. It’d be so easy, but—she’d never taken a life.