Page 84 of Petals for Vicious Secrets

Lenna kneeled on the other side of Hope and started Healing her skin as well. Ciaran handed over the skin duty fully to her, as he was now circling over Hope’s heart with both hands, his blue eyes not leaving Hope’s closed ones.

Damn if it didn’t feel good to use her powers again. Damn if she hadn’t been born to do this, despite of whatever she had tried to convince herself. Lenna fully focused on the Healing, barely noticing that Jake kept mouring people in at lightning speed and Nina and Theon were already here until Nina kneeled next to Hope’s head, stroking her black hair.

“Hope! Hope, wake up!” Tears lined Nina’s blue eyes. “What happened to her?”

“What the land felt, her body must have suffered many times worse.” Ciaran’s circles became faster and more intense. Dark green sparks jumping from his fingers to Hope’s chest, that was raising and falling with very slow and shallow breaths. A couple of red sparks joined Ciaran’s ones, and they seemed to dance with each other before the red ones vanished.

Indianna and Sasha were moured in next. Indianna checked her pulse and said, “Her heart rate is too slow. We need someone Healing her brain immediately, or we risk her brain not receiving enough oxygen and having catastrophic consequences.” Jake was gone again before he could even listen to what Indianna had ordered. Fuck, when had they thought that bringing so many people was a good fucking idea?

Ayla kneeled between Nina and Ciaran. Her Northern majesty had finally cared to help the woman perishing in front of her. She took over the constant circling Healing motions hovering over Hope’s head. Lenna felt a long-standing hateful knot in her chest, easing.

Jake moured in the group's last, Carson and Brendon, and kneeled between Lenna and Nina.

“Three fucking panoms Healing you and you don’t wake the fuck up?” Anger lined Jake’s voice. “I don’t give a Cardinals-damned shit about who you are, but we haven’t risked our necks for nothing, so wake the fuck up.”

“You don’t talk to her like that,” Ciaran said, baring his teeth. “All of you, get the fuck out of here right now. This is clearly not working.”

“Out, as in, out, out?” Lenna said. The cuts on Hope’s skin were mostly healed now, the skin sewn back together by magic.

“Just give me some space. Please,” Ciaran’s voice was tense, and the last word was definitely not in his usual vocabulary.

They all stood up, walking down the alley, giving him exactly what he had asked for.

55

Hope

She was dead, yet she was alive. She was conscious, but she wasn’t.

She was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by red sparks and red feathers. She didn’t feel her heart beating. She didn’t feel her daggers. Did she have any daggers? She had a body and yet she hadn’t, so it was pointless to look down.

She felt something far, far away. As if it came from another world or another life.

A female flew towards her from the undefined whiteness above, landing next to her in the solid whiteness she was standing on. Her wings were red, massive, and the pale skin of her unnaturally perfect face dissolved with the dress made of red feathers that marked her body. Her hair was long and red, waving around her as if they were wild strands of crackling fire.

“My dearest. We can talk at last.” The voice of the winged female was ancient and young, grave and friendly.

Hope blinked. “Who are you? Am I dead or am I dying?” her voice was soft. She didn’t feel the air coming through her throat. Maybe they were speaking mind to mind. Maybe she was imagining it all.

“You are neither dead nor dying. We have met many times before, but never in this form. I am the Core Cardinal.” Her smile was gentle, caring.

“What is this place?” Hope looked around, but the complete whiteness surrounding her was blinding. She would rather fix her stare on the red Cardinal in front of her.

“It’s nowhere, and it’s everywhere. The world is waiting for you when you are ready. You will do many great things in your life, Hope Nevada. Your life is barely starting now. I hope that you enjoy your magic as much as my sisters and me did.”

“The other Cardinals were your sisters?” she asked, blinking again.

“The North, West, South and East Cardinals are my sisters.”

Hope smiled. It would be nice to not be completely alone in the world, to have someone else to rely upon.

She felt something touch her head, but when she lifted a hand, there was nothing other than her hair. She felt a familiar voice wanting to enter the whiteness, but somehow the message didn’t reach her.

The whiteness had a few dancing sparks floating around, and Hope followed them with her eyes. They were beautiful.

She lifted a hand in front of her and wished for sparks to appear. A shoot of red sparks floated through the whiteness, whirling around and interacting with the dark green ones. Hope grinned. Beautiful indeed.

“I came to greet you, now that you can use their four magics. I came to warn you, too.” Her voice was so peaceful, even if the Cardinal’s face was grave.

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