Page 138 of Blood of the Stars

Sorry she’d shot him? Sorry she’d been aiming at Aeliana? No. The stranger had to have been mistaken. Kendalyhn still hadn’t warmed up to Aeliana like the others, but she would never attack her. A mix of emotions swept through Aeliana, magnified by her energy store. “Come help me.”

Aeliana ripped the man’s cloak more, and soon Kendalyhn kneeled beside her, each of them pressing on one side of the wound. But every time they moved their hands to adjust the fabric soaking up blood, more spilled out. The man’s breathing grew shallow, the sheen of sweat now covering his entire body. Still, he reached for Aeliana’s hand, pushing aside the fabric so he could bring her palm to his wound.

She tried not to be squeamish, but placing her hand directly over his wound and letting the warm blood pour over her fingers left her queasy. Images of Arvid and Vera willfully pouring her blood into their hands, letting it seep into their skin, only intensified her nausea. In some ways, she relished the sickness. It was the only thing keeping her from bringing her other hand forward and cupping both of them beneath his wound.

“Help,” the man croaked.

“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I haven’t learned enough. I don’t know what else to do.” As the blood ran down her fingers, her desperation grew. Would it be so wrong to use blood magic? What if it was the only way to save him?

She shook her head against the thought. There had to be another way.

While she debated, the man was dying before her eyes.

He pressed his hand on top of hers with a surprising amount of force, then murmured something. Aeliana bent close to hear him.

“Give… to me.”

For a moment she didn’t understand, but as his grip tightened, sudden clarity spread through her. He wanted her energy because he was a progeny. He could heal himself.

Moving energy was the only thing she’d truly mastered. This was something she could do. She sat up with renewed purpose, closing her eyes to block out all distractions, including Kendalyhn’s helpless tears.

Her entire body tingled with the saturation of energy, and as she slowly pushed it through to the stranger, the buzz faded, like a swarm of bees leaving for their hive. At first nothing seemed to change. The wound still poured out blood, so much that her knees now rested in a puddle of it.

But then the flow lessened, and the stranger’s breathing gained back its rhythm and strength. Still, Aeliana released her energy, letting it pass from the heat of her starlock through her blood and into the waiting hand of the man who was no longer dying.

Aeliana wasn’t sure how long she kneeled over his body, how long she gave him her power. It seemed like moments, but when her magic finally ran out, she felt weary, like it had been hours. The stranger’s color returned, and while the wound remained, Aeliana could see that he’d healed himself from the inside out, leaving only superficial wounds still oozing.

Her power depleted, Aeliana sat back on her heels, exhausted, but before she could pull her hand away, the older man squeezed it with renewed force.

“Thank you.” He squinted up at her, then over her shoulder. “It appears we have an audience.”

Aeliana turned. Velden, Sylmar, Lukai, Kendalyhn, Gaeren, and Cyrus all stood in a semi-circle, gaping at the scene before them. She couldn’t blame their shock. Blood soaked everything, like an animal had been slaughtered. It covered her hands and trousers; she even sensed it had splashed on her face—or maybe she’d wiped her brow and spread it across her cheek. Felk sniffed at the air, his eyes darting to look anywhere but at the tempting blood.

Horror washed over her.

“I didn’t do blood magic.” The words sounded guilty to her own ears. She hadn’t, had she? She would know if she’d done it. The stranger had used his magic. She’d just pushed it out to him.

“We believe you.” Velden held out a hand as if calming a wild beast. Sylmar scanned the clear skies. He needed the proof, but she couldn’t blame him. When no dark spirits came, they all breathed easier. Still, disgust crossed Gaeren’s face before he could school his features, and Aeliana’s shame heated her cheeks.

“That kind of wound…” Lukai started. “How did you heal it?” There was awe in his voice, but it was mixed with something else. Maybe fear? Hurt? Jealousy?

Aeliana shook her head. “I didn’t heal it. I just gave him my magic.”

The others studied the stranger, who gave a sheepish grin and half wave. “Hello.”

“Let’s get you both back to camp,” Sylmar said, eyeing the bloody scene. “Maybe after you clean up, we can get the whole story.”

CHAPTER 56

Gaeren watched Daisy and the stranger from across camp, unsure whom to keep a closer eye on. What if Kendalyhn was right about Daisy? What if she traveled with these people, biding her time until she could join her aunt and rule alongside her with blood magic? Maybe that was the real reason she’d released the dragon.

He shook away the terrifying image. It couldn’t be possible.

But if she hadn’t done blood magic, that meant the stranger was more dangerous than he looked. None of the healers in Elanesse could pull off that kind of work, especially not on themselves. And where was the man’s starlock?

Lukai finished healing the silent stranger’s wounds, and Iris fussed over Daisy, brushing and braiding her hair while giving lots of loud opinions on Sylmar’s wisdom in sending her out in the first place. Daisy winced at the woman’s rough treatment but still smiled, as if she knew it had been triggered by fear.

Gaeren busied himself by training Gullet with the newest charm he’d added to his starlock’s cord. The wooden sphere directed Gullet to Enla, and the block to Riveran, but the roughly star-shaped wooden bead he’d added was intended to guide Gullet to Daisy. Gaeren had had to steal a lock of her hair in the night to train the dumb bird, but as Gullet pecked the bead and then hopped over to Daisy, relief rushed through Gaeren. It was working.

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