Page 107

“We meant her no harm, Malachi,” he said in a gentle voice. “This is not what we intended.”

“Did you know about this?” I asked Esther. “Did you know they would kill her?”

“I didn’t know,” Esther replied. “I swear it! I swear to the Saints! But theywilllet me save her life. If they want their peacemaker back, they’ll let me do this.”

Silas began speaking, but Esther cut him off.

“Jade is the peacemaker. I know you have your speculations still, but it’s true. If Jade is dead, you will wait centuries more for the next. Help me save her life.”

I could hardly breathe. Hardly think. The only thing I could do was hold Jade’s body in my arms.

“You can save her?” I questioned.

Esther knelt beside me, grabbing hold of Jade’s arm. “My time here is over, son. Let me do this one last thing.”

Esther began chanting in a language I didn’t recognize. Her eyes closed, but she didn’t let go of Jade.

Jade’s father screamed somewhere behind me.

The remaining Paragon members watched, entirely helpless, as Esther chanted and chanted.

“What are you doing?” I asked. But my questions fell void. Esther had gone somewhere else. Her eyes moved in wild motions beneath her eyelids as the chanting grew louder and louder.

When I thought she couldn’t get any louder, she fell to the ground.

Unconscious.

“Esther!” I yelled. Serefin crawled over to her, shaking her shoulders.

“Wake up!” he yelled at her. “Wake up, Esther!”

Jade twitched in my arms.

Jade.

Be okay. Be alive.

“Saints,” I muttered. Her body moved once more. “Jade! Can you hear me?”

I shook her lightly. Her wound still poured blood.

And then she coughed.

“She’s alive!” I yelled. “She’s moving! Serefin, help me over here!”

Serefin left Esther on the forest floor and knelt on the other side of Jade.

Silas spoke next. “I’ll heal your wife right now if you agree to the trials.”

Emotions flooded my body. I didn’t want to fight anymore. I didn’t want any of this.

Jade would not survive the trials. They were not created for humans.

But as her body twitched back to life, blood began pouring even faster from her wound.

She had minutes left.

“Let me come with her,” I begged. “At the very least, let me help her. She will be the one completing the trials, but she will not be dragged into the mountains alone.”