Page 57 of The Heart of Moonlight Falls

“I know.” Sebastian tightened his grip on James, who held Sebastian through another intense rocking of the earth. They didn’t have much time.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, this still isn’t going to be easy.”

Sebastian pulled back, looking down at James. “Cutting off a finger is going to be easier than dying,” he said, summoning strength he wasn’t sure he actually possessed.

James grimaced. “I wouldn’t say any of this is easy.”

Sebastian knew that but was trying not to think about it. “Come on.” He pulled James back through the trees. “We need an axe or something.”

Walking through the woods was even more surreal this time. Sebastian was overwhelmed with relief and a growing dread. He’d imagined jumping into the vein intersection to be painless—whether that was true or not—but this wouldn’t be. He tried to detach himself from the situation completely. He couldn’t think about what a blood-and-bone sacrifice meant. Instead, he focused on the fact that James wasn’t walking unnecessarily to his death.

James had saved Sebastian again. Saved him from making a colossal mistake when they still had one last thing to try, and Sebastian was beyond grateful.

Maybe the world wasn’t completely unfair and Sebastian wasn’t doomed. He was still so used to feeling unworthy that he’d let it cloud his judgment. It had made accepting his doomed fate feel right when it wasn’t.

Sebastian was destined for good things. He was a fighter. He’d fought for himself most of his life and wasn’t stopping now. Not when he and James had a whole future to spend together.

In the barn, Sebastian grabbed a hatchet. Behind him, James made a strangled sound.

“Let’s not stop to think.” Sebastian turned on his heel and exited the barn in a hurry.

James hastened after. “Okay, but we have to be careful how we do this.” James took hold of Sebastian’s hand like he couldn’t stand being parted. “If you lose too much blood, we’ll be in trouble.”

Sebastian’s stomach twisted and a helpless whimper escaped him.

“It’ll be all right. I’ll look after you,” James murmured soothingly. The ground lurched beneath their feet, doing its best to contradict him.

Sebastian focused on the love and admiration in James’s eyes and steeled himself. “I think we’re running out of time.”

James nodded, and they hurried back the way they’d come.

The clearing was brighter, the sickening lights pulsing more rapidly. The hole was a deep, impenetrable black that seemed to flicker and contract at the center, the motions rippling through the ground, shaking the forest.

“Think this is what it looked like when Sullivan and Nelson created the imbalance?” James asked.

“Maybe.” Sebastian had to squint against the flashing lights, which weren’t helping his headache. He tore his eyes away and focused on the man he loved. “Thank you for being here with me.”

James smiled so delicately that Sebastian’s heart cracked. “Of course, Sebastian. I’ll do anything for you.”

Fuck if they weren’t putting that to the test.

“How are we going to do this?” Sebastian asked nervously.

James held his hand out for the hatchet.

Sebastian hesitated. “I’m not asking you to cut off my finger. I can do it. I just… What about the bleeding?”

James took the hatchet from Sebastian. “I’ll have to cauterize the wound. We’re too far from medical help, and the spell I used to stop your bleeding during the unbinding ritual won’t work on an injury like this.” James swallowed. “If I heat the hatchet with magically enhanced fire, I can use the hot metal to stop the bleeding.”

Sebastian wished he hadn’t eaten that half an apple. “Okay. Once that’s done, we’ll give my finger to the veins, and hopefully, it will put everything right.”

Fear flashed across James’s face. “It’s a plan. Let me try and sterilize this first.” He conjured a floating ball of flame, a more costly spell than conjuring sparks. James ran the blade of the hatchet through it. It was the best they could do under the circumstances.

Sebastian figured infection was a worry for another day. If they lived that long.

James let the flame go out and handed the hatchet back to Sebastian. “You should brace against a tree or a rock or something.”

Sebastian spotted a fallen tree not far away, just beyond the edge of the clearing. He knelt and pressed his nondominant hand to it, curling all his fingers out of the way except for his pinky. “Fuck this is going to hurt.”

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