Page 51 of Sun, Moon & Shadow (Fate of Aemoria #1)

“Well enough to get there,” she said.

Callan gave a close-lipped smile, the rest of his features drawn tight.

“You two take the horse,” Lucan said, handing the reins over to Callan. “I’ll run alongside.”

Callan agreed with a nod and proceeded to help Nova mount. He struggled to get himself onto the horse, exhaling sharply once he settled into the saddle behind her.

“How are you feeling?”

“It’s been a long couple of days, and that ice took a lot out of me,” he said with a dry laugh. “Let’s get you home.”

The word conjured an image of the Silvergard Estate in her weary mind. Nova closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. The strange horse whinnied nervously as Lucan sprinted past, a blur of black in the sunlight. Callan nudged the stallion in the ribs, and the animal took off at a gallop.

They reached the rocky outcrop a short time later, circling behind to where their horses waited, somewhat rested.

Lucan shifted in the blink of an eye, leaving Nova momentarily stunned, and untethered the animals.

The stolen mount carrying Nova and Callan slowed to a halt.

Behind her, she felt Callan slump to the side.

She grabbed uselessly at his cloak as he fell from the horse, landing in a heap on the ground beneath her.

In an instant, she slid down from the saddle and crouched on her knees beside him, shaking him by his shoulders and shouting his name. Callan’s eyelids fluttered. His skin was ashen, lips dry and tinged with blue. Nova threw open his cloak and frantically ran her hands over his chest and arms.

“Lucan, help me get this damn thing off him,” she ordered, pulling at the thick leather armor hugging Callan’s solid torso.

They worked together to remove Callan’s chest plate, revealing his blood-soaked tunic.

One of the soldiers must have thrust a sword underneath his armor.

Nova shoved the darkened fabric aside, finding a deep wound on his right side.

Blood flowed from it like a spring, pooling in the sand beneath his body.

Too much blood. Too much blood.

Nova’s teeth chattered, as much from the wind fluttering her flimsy nightgown as the dread taking root in the pit of her stomach, tendrils of it climbing like ivy into her throat.

“We need to get him back to the Estate,” Lucan said soberly, eyes wide. Nova had never been more desperate for Lucan to make one of his jests. The grave expression on his face chilled her to the bone.

“He can’t ride like this,” she said, voice trembling. “He won’t make it.”

Steadying herself with a deep breath, she leaned down to further assess Callan’s wound. It was the width of a few fingers, entering through his abdomen right above his hipbone and exiting his back just below his rib cage. Gods only knew what the blade had struck internally.

Instinctively, Nova placed her quivering hands on either side of the wound and pressed down with every shred of strength remaining within her. Callan’s body jerked beneath her.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Lucan demanded.

“Healing him.”

“No. You’re not. You’re too weak. We’ll throw him over the horse, and Nox’s healer can tend him.” He tried to pull her from Callan’s side, but she shoved him away.

Laying her hands on Callan’s wounds a second time, Nova closed her eyes and visualized his flesh knitting back together, stemming the rush of blood.

Soon, a warm sensation bloomed in her chest and snaked down her arms to her palms, where the heat intensified.

Nova grew dizzy, as though she might faint.

She breathed deeply through her nose and shook her head against the alluring pull of oblivion.

Her body temperature continued to rise. In her mind’s eye, she saw herself drifting closer and closer to an endless black pool.

An all-consuming darkness. It was surprisingly warm and comforting when she began to sink below the surface.

Nothing like the dreadful, biting cold she felt when the black mist had swallowed her bit by bit in her dream.

Nova, stop.

Lucan’s voice floated around her, faraway and fading in and out. She blew all the air from her chest as the enveloping darkness reached the hollow beneath her bottom lip.

I said, stop!

The next instant, something hooked under her arms and hauled her back forcefully.

The scorching heat on the surface of her skin dissipated, and she drew a ragged, painful breath, as if breathing for the very first time.

Nova thrashed wildly, blinking as her vision returned.

She found herself on top of Lucan, who lay on the ground, arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

“Let me go!” She tore free from his hold, throwing herself down beside Callan. She scrambled onto her knees, wobbling with the effort, and shoved the hem of his tunic up to his chest.

The flow of blood had stopped.

The straight edges of the wound were red and raw but slightly puckered, the tissue beginning to reach toward itself like a plant reaches toward the sun.

Callan groaned, and she gripped the fabric of his tunic, resting her forehead against his and letting out a shuddering breath.

He wasn’t fully healed, but she had kept him alive.

He curled his fingers around her forearm and squeezed weakly.

“You saved my life,” he whispered. The bluish tinge still clung to his lips.

“I suppose you owe me a debt.”

Nova cupped Callan’s face, her hands sticky with his blood, and pressed her mouth softly against his.

“Hate to interrupt,” Lucan said bitterly, rising onto his feet. “But we need to get going.”

Nova pulled her lips from Callan’s and glanced around, dazed, having forgotten for a moment that anything existed outside the two of them.

She stood and, with Lucan’s help, hoisted Callan onto Frost’s back.

Nova settled into the saddle behind him.

She took the reins in one hand and wrapped her other arm tightly around his waist, determined never to let go.

He was weak, but she’d make sure he stayed astride.

“What were you thinking?” Lucan scolded, bringing his horse alongside Frost.

“I wasn’t thinking. I had to save him.”

“You had next to nothing to give, Nova. You’re fucking lucky I was here. You could have drained yourself. You ...” Teeth bared in a silent snarl, he looked over his shoulder at the hulking black mountain behind them. “Let’s get moving. Try to stay on the horse.”

Lucan took off galloping south, and Nova followed close behind, the three of them racing back to the Silvergard Estate without pausing for rest.