Page 42 of Black Hearted (Cursed Fae #4)

Lorelei

The scream that tore from my throat was barely recognizable. Zane stood with his back to me, facing what I could only assume was the Tree of Transformation at the bottom of the hill.

I yelled his name, but he didn’t turn.

Sprinting as fast as I could without tripping down the steep incline, I ran to him, my wrists and ankles bleeding from the strength it took to rip free of his bindings.

My heart beat a furious cadence in my chest, ramming itself against my ribs.

Terror gripped me—I was too late. He’d already drunk the potion.

As I neared, I saw Zane place his hand on the tree. A moment later, he sank to his knees.

“No!” I screamed, a sob forming in my throat.

This wasn’t happening. It was supposed to be me, not him. Me.

A cracking noise rent the air, and a powerful shockwave knocked me off my feet. I was thrown backward, landing hard on my back, my teeth snapping together painfully.

I groaned, my body battered and sore.

Zane.

Scrambling to my feet, I gasped when I looked at the tree. It had split in two, revealing … a mountainous landscape with a gaping cave.

A portal. The tree had cracked in half, creating a portal to some unknown place.

But then my eyes fell on Zane’s limp body crumpled at the base of the tree, and my world crashed down around me.

Desperation clawed at me as I gathered as much power as I could muster, sending my magic along the lines of the earth.

I searched for every sign of life. I sensed every tree, every flower, every weed within a ten-mile radius.

Not only that—I felt the presence of animals, insects, every living thing.

But not Zane.

“No. No. No,” I whimpered, the word becoming a mantra of despair.

I ran to him, hope battling against the crushing weight of reality. My tears blurred my vision, but I pushed forward, stumbling toward him.

Zane couldn’t be gone. Fate couldn’t be that cruel.

When I reached the tree, my heart shattered. Zane lay on his back, his chest unmoving, his lips a sickly purple, his unseeing eyes fixed on the sky.

A guttural scream of despair tore from my chest and burst from my lips. I collapsed onto him, throwing my body over his lifeless form. Sobs racked my frame, my tears wetting his face, chest, and hair.

“Why?” I cried, my voice cracking. “Why did you do this?”

It felt like someone had carved my heart from my chest, leaving only a raw, empty, bleeding void in its place.

“It was supposed to be me,” I sobbed. “Not you.”

He had taken a fate that was meant for me, and that wasn’t right.

I couldn’t accept this. I wouldn’t. I had to do everything in my power to reverse it.

I’d healed the dying many times, but I’d never brought someone back from the dead.

It was something I had never dared to try before, but for Zane, I would do anything—give anything.

Taking a shaky breath, I lifted myself off Zane’s chest. Pressing a hand to his cheek, I found it still warm to the touch. Gently, I closed his lids, and as I gazed down at him, I could almost convince myself he was only asleep, not truly gone.

Leaning forward, I whispered in his ear, “I love you too, and I’m not going to let you go.”

Closing my eyes, I began to pull the life from every bush, tree, flower, and blade of grass around me, filling my wellspring of power. What I was about to attempt would require a tremendous amount of magic, more than I’d ever channeled before.

I continued pulling power, filling myself with more magic than I’d ever held before. I went far past my limits, until it felt like I might combust.

When I could take no more, I opened my eyes. The world around me was drained of life, washed in gray. The plants and vegetation were shriveled and dead as far as the eye could see. I knew it extended beyond the ravine—I’d likely drained the life from everything within a two-or three-mile radius.

Sadness pierced my heart for what I’d done to the land, but I vowed to restore it if I survived this.

Peering down at Zane, I was struck again by how peaceful he looked, as if he were only resting. I pressed a kiss to his stubbled cheek, then laid both hands on his chest and began to push my magic into him.

As I funneled my magic into Zane, I searched for a spark within him to ignite his healing. But it wasn’t working. Just my magic wasn’t enough.

Usually, when I healed someone, I poured my magic into their life force, their very essence, helping their body heal itself.

But Zane didn’t have a life force anymore.

For all intents and purposes, he was an empty shell, so as I poured my magic into him, there was no anchor, so it wouldn’t stay inside of him.

The only thing I could think to do was to push some of my life force into him as well to act as a tether.

It was an idea I wouldn’t have considered if Queen Liliana hadn’t done something similar to me using the faestone dagger.

She hadn’t been just pulling my magic from me, but my very life force as well.

But unlike her, I would be willingly giving my magic to Zane rather than taking something from him.

I wasn’t sure if it would work, but it was the only option I could think of.

Without hesitation, I dug deep into myself. If I died saving Zane, it would be a worthy sacrifice.

Reaching into the depths of my being, I visualized my center of power as a glowing orb in my chest. With a mental blade, I sliced it in two. Agony ripped through me, worse than anything I’d ever experienced. I don’t know how I remained upright, but I did.

With a roar, I shoved the glowing essence into Zane. Even though I was giving my life force willingly, the process was excruciating. Pain shot through me as if I were being torn apart.

I bit my lip to keep from crying out and tasted the coppery tang of blood, but as soon as I transferred some of my life force into him, his body jolted as if struck by lightning. Relief flooded me when my magic circled the essence, anchoring it inside him as I’d hoped.

I wasted no time funneling healing magic into Zane, feeding the spark until it grew into a roaring fire. The pain only intensified, but I refused to stop.

Minutes ticked by. Or perhaps even hours. Time was whittled down to just two things now: the agony that ripped through me and the healing fire burning inside of Zane.

Then, suddenly, I felt him. Zane’s presence brushed against me like a soothing balm, lessening the pain. For a moment, I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began.

But his heart still wasn’t beating, and his chest wasn’t rising. It wasn’t enough.

I pushed harder, emptying myself completely. I gave him all my magic, then took his fledgling energy into myself to fuel my efforts, filtering it and sending it back into him.

Finally, I felt it—a faint, weak thump beneath my palm.

My heart leaped as the beats grew stronger and faster. With a gasp, Zane’s eyes snapped open.

Completely spent, I collapsed forward onto his chest, my muscles like jelly, and my mind clouded with exhaustion. But I was alive.

And so was he.

Zane wrapped his arms around me, sitting up and cradling me in his embrace. He looked down at me, his blue eyes wide with wonder as they searched my face.

My gaze fell on the dead grass, shriveled flowers, and dry bushes behind Zane. I had drained the entire area of its life to heal him, and I’d do it again without hesitation.

“Thank you,” I whispered to the earth, acknowledging the tremendous sacrifice it had made.

“What happened?” Zane asked, his voice filled with confusion. “The last thing I remember—” He broke off, his eyes catching on the gaping portal beside us. His expression darkened with realization. “But … the sacrifice. I died.”

He turned to me, questions written all over his face. I nodded. “You did. But I saved you,” I said simply. The details could wait. All that mattered now was that he was here with me. I had brought him back, and I was determined never to lose him again.

Concern flashed across his features. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

A laugh bubbled up inside me, a mix of joy and relief. He had just returned from the brink of death, and yet he was worried about me.

Grinning, I nodded. “I’m perfect. Now.”

Reaching up, I brushed a lock of hair away from his face. My hand trembled, but it wasn’t from weakness. It was the sheer gravity of the moment. As my fingers lingered near his cheek, both of us stilled, our eyes falling to my wrists.

The wounds from when Zane had bound me were still there— minor but unmistakable. What shocked us both was the blood seeping from the small cuts. It wasn’t red as it should have been. It was black.

Black, like the blood of an Ethereum lord. Like Zane’s.

He gently grasped my wrist, holding it as if it might shatter. “Why are you bleeding black? How?”

“I … don’t know,” I admitted, my voice barely a whisper.

It had to have something to do with the way I’d healed him. When I gave him my life force and essence, when our energies intertwined and flowed into each other, something must have shifted—fundamentally altering me.

If I were being honest, I felt different.

Not in who I was because, at my core, I was still me, but my magic had changed.

It was sharper, deeper, more complex, though I couldn’t yet articulate the exact nature of the transformation.

If this was the price I had to pay to bring him back, it was worth it.

Still, I was alive, and I could already feel my strength returning.

Movement caught my attention, and a shadow flickered at the edge of my vision. I turned toward the portal and gasped. Four cloaked figures stepped through the swirling gateway, crossing from their world into ours.

Zane scrambled to his feet and reached for me, helping me up. His movements were swift, his instincts protective as he immediately tucked me behind him.

“We will not hurt either of you, Zane, Lord of the Western Kingdom, and Lorelei, Princess of the Spring Court.”