Page 83 of Panther in the Shadows

Declan sees me. Howls. The sound carries across the shore. Alert. Relief. Victory. Others turn. Rush toward me. Hands reaching to help. Voices calling my name.

But I only see Rafe. His golden eyes find mine across the distance. Exhausted. Pained. But alive. Still alive.

"Moira." My name on his lips is prayer and relief together.

Crawling the last few feet. Collapsing beside him. My hand finds his. Our fingers interlock.

"It's over." The words barely make it past my lips. "She's gone. They're all free. It's over."

"You crazy, impossible, extraordinary woman." He pulls my hand to his chest. Over his heart. "You dove into the deep alone. You could have died."

"So could you." Leaning my forehead against his. "We're even."

His laugh turns into a cough. Blood flecks his lips. The corruption hasn't stopped. Declan's efforts are slowing it. But not stopping it.

"Moira." Declan's voice is urgent. Strained. "I can't fix this. The death magic is too deep. I don't have the power to purge it."

But I do.

Just enough left. One final spell. One last push.

I place my hand over Rafe's wounded shoulder. Where Catalina's spear punched through. Where the corruption entered his body. The wound is black. Festering. Death magic spreading through his veins like poison.

I call on the ocean one final time.

Clean water flows from my palm into his wound. Not much. Not the waves and fury from before. Just a trickle. Just enough.

Life magic. Healing magic. The opposite of what Catalina used. The cure for corruption.

The black veins start to recede. Slowly. Fighting every inch. But retreating.

Rafe gasps. His back arches. Pain and relief and healing all at once.

I pour everything left into him. Every drop of magic. Every ounce of strength. Everything.

The corruption fades. The wound begins to close. His breathing eases.

Darkness closes over my vision.

My mouth opens. To tell him I'm okay. That we won. That everyone's safe.

But the darkness takes me first.

CHAPTER 20

RAFE

She's not breathing.

Moira collapses against me, her body going limp in my arms. The last of her magic poured into my wound. Into saving me. Now there's nothing left.

"Moira." My voice breaks. "Moira, stay with me."

Her chest doesn't rise. Her lips are blue. The ocean claimed too much of her tonight. The fight with Catalina. The dive into the deep. The healing magic she channeled through every cell of her body until there was nothing left but will.

Even will has limits.

Declan's beside me in an instant, his hands pressing to her throat. Checking for a pulse. His face goes pale. "Rafe."