Page 43 of Empowering the Wolf's Heart

The noise of her nails grating on my ears was nearly as bad as her voice. “I have another mission for you.”

CHAPTER 14

Mage Stone

ALIA

It was bad. The first indicator was the wheeze. Anna only wheezes when her lungs were having trouble functioning. When her body was shutting down from the stress it was under.

“Curo, thank Source you’re here,” Rey said, pushing around the corner to give me a hug. His voice was a too loud. My sister flinched. She was sensitive to stimuli when like this. But Rey didn’t know. How could he?

“Hey, how is she?” I asked.

“She came to consciousness a moment ago, but her eyes couldn’t focus and she just screamed.”

I walked over to her, pushing strands of hair behind her ear, watching her flinch at my touch. She was awake. Thank goodness. But she was in so much pain—the healer was poking and prodding, Rey was talking to his cousin Graham much too loud, and everything was giving off energy. Nervous, anxious, worried energy.

“Everyone out,” I hissed. The healer looked up and nodded, immediately packing his things.

“I’ll stay,” Rey said. “I can rub her feet.”

I clenched my teeth, but nodded. He was her husband, after all. What right did I have to toss him out?

Graham came over. “If you need anything, I’ll be downstairs,” he whispered, his eyes filled with compassion. I gave a hasty nod.

Rey went to Anna’s feet, rubbing them. She tensed further and winced. “Gently,” I admonished.

He went slower and easier, and my sister slowly relaxed. She opened her eyes, and they were resigned. “Nuh-uh,” I whispered. “You aren’t giving up on me.”

They cleared just a hair, but the pain…Please, let me bear her pain,I thought to Source. But that was not my Gift. My Gift was knowing herneedand being unable to do a thing about it.

Herneedwas two-pronged. She needed peace and a safe place to rest. She needed something to balance and support the organs. I drew out my kit.

“Stay with me, sis. When you get well, where do you want to go?”

“Spec—” She began coughing.

Guilt curdled in my soul. I shouldn’t have asked. But now I knew.

“We’ll go there. We’ll watch the fairies tend to the bioluminescent mushrooms growing along the watershore. It’ll be such fun to watch the kiddos splash in the clear water, just as we used to. Remember? It was our favorite place as kids.” I spoke as I gathered my satchel, opening it to my remedy kit. “We’ll make hair ribbons of the pink water fronds and tie sunflowers to the end. The birds will call out to their families, singing of the beauty and wonder of the gentle waterfall at the far end of the crystal-clear waters. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll see the stag of the forest come to the edge for a drink, dipping his massive head to gently sip at the waters.”

I shook the remedy bottle, and Anna automatically opened her mouth. I popped the tincture beneath her tongue. She wasmore relaxed, but herneedsscreamed at me, pulsing against my soul like battering rams.

And although she relaxed and the peace came to her mind and that need cleared, her body was too far gone. It was shutting down; there were too many needs for me to keep up with.

I needed that mage stone.

Where are you, Ran?

The night waslong and fogged with needs. I attended to everything I could, but it wasn’t enough. Never enough.

Anna’s breathing slowed. She was no longer conscious to listen to what we would do when she felt better. I needed that mage stone. And I needed it now.

Ran?

I’m coming,she said.

I nearly collapsed then and there. I leaned against the wall outside my sister’s room, letting my body sag.

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