Page 70 of Cathmoir's Sons

I whip my head around to glare at her. “His heart’s stopped. He’s not breathing. I’m not going to let him die, Kellan. Evan’s not our enemy.”

Her eyes burn blue as she returns my stare.

“Kellan. Caileán,” I bark at her. “No.”

Her jaw flexes. Her hands curl, claws clacking. Finally, she nods at Luca.

He skids to his knees next to me, his hand clasping mine, his power wrapping around mine the way it has since he brought me back from the Mother.

I channel our strength into the unmoving chest beneath my hand, tugging on the immobile currents until they flow again.The movement’s sluggish at first, then rushing as Lords’ heart heaves. It thumps against my magic once, twice, thrice, before settling into a steady beat. Lords gasps. His hand wraps around my wrist.

“Take it easy for a moment,” I warn him. “Don’t try to sit up too fast.”

“What the fuck?”

Lords wheezes as he tries to take a deep breath. Luca reaches across and runs his hand over Lords’ face. I feel a tingle, so he’s probably filling Lords’ lungs with Air.

I look over my shoulder again at Kellan. She’s leaning against Law, her face buried in the collar of his coat. He presses his lips to her hair and whispers something I can’t hear.

By the Mother, this is not the reunion I’d imagined.

I rise slowly and walk toward her with my hands held at my sides, palms up. “Are you okay?”

She nods and tips her head so she can look at me. Her eyes are so pale they’re like ice, but at least they’re not burning.

“Why would you do that? You could have killed him. Evan’s a friend.”

“He put himself between me and the Oak King,” Kellan whispers without raising her head. Law lifts his face enough from her hair to glare at me.

“Fuck’s sake, Kells. Give him a chance. You barely explained anything before you took him down ... with what? Did you nearly kill him with a memory?”

She nods, shifting closer to Law. He rubs her back and I can see the tremble in her shoulders beneath his hand.

“Did you know that would happen?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “I keep telling everyone my power’s volatile. I don’t know what I can do until I do it and ... sometimes something awful happens.”

“Shh,” Law soothes. “This is the first time your power’s lashed out. And it didn’t hurt any of us. It struck an outsider, a human?—”

“Reality check, Law,” I grumble.

He lifts his upper lip to show me a sharp incisor. “I’m aware, human. But her power recognizes you even though you’re not fae. Other humans won’t get the same consideration. She’s aqueen of Faery. Faery doesn’t care about human lives.”

I run my hand through my hair, uncertain of what to say or do. I want to hold my arms out to Kellan. When she walked in, her expression was soft, loving. Her eyes were full of relief at seeing me. If Evan hadn’t been sitting beside me, I’m sure she would have run to me and told me how happy she was to see me recovered, how much she missed me. Luca told me this morning that yesterday went better than he and Law could have hoped for. He thought she was well on the way to forgiving us.

Now, I’m not sure who should be forgiving who.

I look back at Lords. He’s sitting up, one hand on the seat of his chair, the other gripping his forehead. I bet he has a hellacious headache. I move toward him to heal him again but he waves me away.

“A glass of water, if you’d be so kind,” he says.

Of course, he wants to connect with his Element. I rush to the fridge and get him a bottle of water.

Law urges Kellan to the table. He seats her at the opposite end from where Lords was sitting. He moves his own chair around so he’s next to her and curls his arm protectively around her shoulders.

Luca helps Lords back into his chair then moves to stand next to me. He looks as uncertain as I feel. What’s the polite thing to say after your girlfriend’s homicidal fit?

“Maybe I should make breakfast?” I suggest.

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