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A wall of smoke hit us like an explosion but without the sound.

Was there a fire?

I pulled my shirt up to cover my face, already coughing. My eyes burned, and I couldn’t see. I reached for Nyx, but my hands came up empty.

“Nyx?” I called to him mentally.

“Zaria...” He sounded far away.

“Where are you!?” I took a half step forward, trying to reach him.

“I—” The mental link vanished.

Panic closed off my throat. “Nyx!”

There was no answer.

I took another step forward and almost fell face first when my foot hit something solid.What in the Valley of the Dead.? I toed it again with my boot, and it dawned on me. It was Nyx.

I dropped to my knees next to him, franticly feeling for a pulse. I found his neck and pressed my fingers under his jaw. His vein thrummed steadily, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn’t know what I would have done if he was gone.

My lungs burned. It had to be Dragon’s Bane. It had hit us so fast—surrounded us. Not like when my village burned and the smoke spread, though. This was targeted. They’d figured out a way to turn it into a weapon. I had to get us both out of here before I was unconscious, too.

But how?

I couldn’t escape by myself, and even if I could, I couldn’t leave him. What could my magic do against this? Would mine even work with more poison seeping into my lungs with every second that passed?

“She didn’t go down,” a voice called from behind the wall of smoke.

I closed my eyes to try and listen, staying crouched to make myself a smaller target. My hearing amplified like I’d practiced, but this felt different. Footsteps on the packed dirt were like a picture in my head. I counted the number of feet and knew their positions, like I had tapped into a part of myself I’d never used before.

We were surrounded by at least forty men.

My heart stammered, and I wanted to gasp. To scream. To run. But I wouldn’t leave Nyx. I had to wake him, but was that even possible with Dragon’s Bane all around? It was hard to think when I was struggling to breathe. I knew the effect the herbs had, but I’d survived it before. I’d survived it my whole life. It drained dragons of their magic—that was what he said—and dragons needed metal to recharge, which I didn’t have.

Goddess, what can I do?

It hit me then. We could power share, and mine wasn’t drained like his. If I could force my magic into him, maybe he would wake up.

I didn’t know if it would work without him awake to accept the power, and since we weren’t melded yet, it might not work at all, but I had to try. I put my hands on him and found my center like he’d taught me, then I found his. It was weak. I wasn’t sure if this was the right way, but I focused on channeling my power toward his center, pushing it toward the empty vessel like I was filling him.

It was working! I could feel his center taking from mine.

The fae were closing in around us; I could pinpoint their movements.

We had to get out of here.

We had moments at most.

I pushed harder.

They sprayed another wave of the smoke.

No!

I surged my magic into him, not holding back.

“Nyx, please wake up. Goddess, please.”