Page 96 of Gift from the Stone

Elementra, what wouldn’t I do to smell her mouthwatering, sugary coffee scent one more time. If I could bottle it up, I’d never need to breathe in the air again. If I could just bury my face in her neck and take a deep breath…

Deep breath…

Gasping, I sit straight up as air rushes into my lungs, and it’s like a damn Star gem’s been activated as blinding light assaults my eyes. All my senses come flooding back into me with the force of a volcanic eruption and the sound of my name being shouted urgently has me shaking my head. I have a moment of disorientation as the dizziness fades, then reality snaps back into focus.

“Little wanderer,” I croak, turning onto all fours to look down at her.

I see the black streaks coating her veins receding, her gray, lifeless skin brightening, and her lips pinkening by the second. Her silver eyes snap open, colliding with mine before she lets out a painful whimper.

“Move over, brother, we’ve got to get the dagger out,” Tillman orders me, hugging me and pulling me back from her at the same time. “Little one, this will hurt for just a second.”

“Jamie,” Corentin yells.

“I’m so sorry, little Primary, hold tight. Are you ready?” Caspian asks Jamie, straining as he wraps his hand around the hilt of the dagger still bulging out of Willow’s stomach. This is killing him to do this, but he’s going to do it for us.

Jamie nods, getting in position on the ground beside Willow. “Yes. Pull straight up on three. One, two, three…”

Willow’s cry of agony meeting my ears is both relief and torture, the sweetest yet most horrific sound. Silence follows as her cries are cut off as Jamie floods her system with his healing magic, taking away the pain and fixing any damage done. The silence is haunting and has my dragon pacing in my chest. We need to hear her voice.

As soon as Jamie pulls his magic back, she rolls to all fours and throws up black tar, her body dispelling the remainder of the poison. The four of us instantly spring into action. I pull her long, curly hair away from her face as Tillman holds her up gently around her waist, lending her his strength so she doesn’t use what’s left of hers. Corentin rubs reassuring circles on her back, letting her know we’re all here for her, and Caspian lays his hand on the back of her neck, gently pushing his water through her to clean her mouth and soothe the acidic burn of the vile tar.

“Fuck, I had no clue it’d be that awful.” Willow pants as she leans up on her heels, letting her back fall to Tillman’s chest.

None of us try to manhandle her out of his arms like we normally would once reuniting with her. Instead, we all run our hands over her in sync, cupping her cheeks, laying kisses where we can, and just soaking in the feeling of her here. She’s alive. That’s all that matters.

“What were you thinking, Will?” Tillman struggles to ask with the emotion clogging his throat.

She turns her body slightly so she can face him better, a pleading look in her eyes.

“I had to. There was no other way. If the dagger hit you or Lyker…”

“Why take the hit, Willow? Why didn’t you send the dagger off course?” Caspian’s icy tone causes a growl to fall from my lips. I see the fear and hurt swirling in his eyes, but I don’t give a fuck. He’s not going to speak to her like that.

“Hey, hey, none of that, dragon,” she teases lightly, laying her soft, now warm hand against my cheek. Her small smile has tears welling in my eyes as I fall into her silver void. “I’m sorry for pulling you into the darkness with me.”

“You knew I was there too?”

“I felt you the whole time. Your fire kept me warm, and I knew as soon as the hold was released on you, I’d be coming out of it soon as well,” she says lovingly as she leans forward and lays her lips to mine. I want to shove my tongue in her mouth and devour every piece of her, but she pulls back before I can.

Looking over at Caspian with more understanding of his rude fucking tone than I have, she runs her fingers through the shadows circling his body, causing him to shiver.

“The dagger was spelled and its course set. I didn’t kill him fast enough to break the enchantment. It was going to hit someone regardless, but if it had hit one of the two of them…” she trails off, shaking the tears from her eyes, “the results would’ve been too much to bear.”

The weight of her words causes his restraint to snap, and he wraps her in his shadows and pulls her to him.

“You saved his life today, didn’t you, little Primary?”

“I’d save any of your lives a thousand times over if I had to,” she says as her tears begin to fall, but Caspian lays a kiss to each streak, soaking them through his skin with his element.

“Princess,” Corentin whispers as he presses his front to her back, creating a Vito brother sandwich with her in the middle of them.

Leaning her head back, she closes her eyes and silently asks for a kiss, which he gives to her willingly. I can’t lie and say I’m sitting here patiently waiting for my turn again because I’m not. I need the brothers to hurry the hell up and pass me my sweetness.

“Our fierce dragon is about to burst at the seams with impatience.” She giggles, picking at the feelings she’s sensing from our bond as she breaks Corentin’s kiss, causing them to laugh. She groans as their bodies vibrate her between them, and I smirk.

That’s what she gets for teasing me.

“What’s wrong, little wanderer?” I pick as Corentin hands her off to my waiting arms.

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