Page 206 of The Chains You Defy

“But they can try, can’t they?”

“You won’t stop pursuing the idea, will you?”

“No.” I glared at the other males, who were listening intently, before I directed my attention back to Ireas. A theory formed at the back of my mind, and a spark of hope flickered into existence in the vastness of my desperation. “The Seadan wants life force?”

“Yes, that’s what research showed.”

“So, what if you feed the fucker some from an external source?”

“To make an educated guess—I’d imagine inducing such energy would stop the parasite from consuming its host’s magic as long as the creature has its favorite meal.”

“How fast is the consumption?”

“I have no idea. But transferring life force from one person to the other is impossible anyway.”

“Watch me.” I jumped to my feet and stalked over to where Nayana slept, kneeling down next to her.

She could receive all of my life force if necessary—without a second of hesitation.

“You can?” Ireas had followed me, forehead wrinkled, and lowered himself at my side.

After a few moments, I dipped my head. “Possibly. Maybe. Not that I’ve done so before, but my intuition screams at me that I can.”

“How? That’s unfeasible.”

Inhaling deeply, I focused on the young fae and whispered to him. “Enamcoharta gift.”

“Oh. Oh!”

“Keep this to yourself. Only Antas has found out so far. And sadly, mydearestgrandfather. I haven’t even explained the full meaning to Nayana yet.”

“How long until the gift vanishes?”

“Stupid question. You were there when I first met her. So, a winter and a day later before—”

“Fine, yes. And you assume the body gift allows you to share your life force?”

“Not sure if Colainn is the reason. I guess so, since dreamwalking sounds more like an Intinn endowment, and the ability seems too physical to belong to Anam, whose contribution is still unknown to me. According to some books on this topic, it’s ordinary for not all gifts to show instantly.”

“Makes sense. But Dion, what in the Triad’s names are you thinking, keeping something huge like the Enamcoharta from her? Hasn’t she asked why a brand is forming on her chest? Oh, wait. That’s why you pressed for a Glamour device? Oh, Dion—” Ireas interrupted his sermon and massaged his temples, but before I could tear him a new one, he continued. “If you don’t tell her, she’ll be furious with you again. You’re risking a second Amalach.”

“Of course, she hit me with a million questions. And I replied to most of them. That the Enamcoharta means she’s marked by magic and that the symbol could disappearagain, so hold your horses and focus on the more important issues. If I send her some of my life force, will you be able to trace how fast the Seadan burns through the energy? If the pest consumes my essence at all?”

“I can. But Dion, are you sure you want that? You’re reducing your own lifetime.”

“As if I fucking care. I’d sacrifice every fucking winter I have left to keep her alive.”

Ireas nodded, although his eyes were still riddled with skepticism, and he placed his hand on Nayana’s forehead again.

Growling, I clamped down on the impulse to push his filthy paw away and rip his flesh off his bones with my teeth.

“Don’t overdo this. We have to monitor the outcome first.”

As I nodded, I gently placed my hand on the glamoured skin under Nayana’s left collarbone. Carefully, I searched for my own life force—up until now, I hadn’t been aware that I could do so—and separated a small strand from the pulsing ball of pure energy. Cautiously, I nudged that part of my essence to her until the glowing tendril had disappeared from my reach. The distinct coldness this procedure had left behind was unpleasant, but of no importance.

During the aftermath, I drummed my fingers against my chin and tapped my foot as I observed Ireas for eons. “The Seadan ceased attacking her Potential. This is indeed working, Dion. The parasite is consuming your energy. Enthusiastically so. You’ve just bought Nayana additional time.”

“I can transfer more to her.”