Page 107 of Bound in Blood

No! What’s happening? The spell was working.

Darkness falls over the quad like a hand reaching out to cover the moon. The air is filled with the bitter taste of despair and hatred.

Another shriek, loud and terrifying.

And then another scream, but this time it’s from Enora. Her face twists with terror as her hair is pulled from her scalp by an invisible force, her skin being peeled from her skull like someone has doused her in acid. Nazeel continues to clasp her friend’s hand and goes on chanting the ancient words.

It grows darker, and the sense of anguish is crushing, bearing down on us like the weight of the mountain behind us.

The wraith is here.

Enora takes her last breath and falls.

Nazeel goes on chanting, but there are tears running down her face, and the pentagram has melted into liquid gold.

The ground rumbles. A crashing sound comes from somewhere, followed by the most pained cry I have ever heard another creature make in my life. An unholy, unnatural sound. A roar and a scream and a wail all bound up in a cacophony of pain. It is Anikêtos.

Nazeel stops chanting and slumps to the ground.

The battle on the quad rages on, the horde advancing without Ani’s and Elpis’s fire to hold them back.

I spin around, and the sight that meets me drops me to my knees. I thought dragons were indestructible, but Elpis lies on her side, her huge frame having crushed the whole west wing of Zeus Hall.

“Ani, what happened to her?”

The wraith. I have never encountered one so powerful.

Alexandros’s words come back to me—a wraith is the only creature that can kill a dragon.

My heart gallops erratically. The dark shadows grow closer, as do the remaining vampires and warlocks from Giorgios’s army. “Will she be okay? What can I do?”

You must heal her, Ophelia.

I start to move in her direction, but Nazeel’s hand grips my ankle. “If you heal a dragon, Ophelia, it will deplete your own healing energy too much. We cannot take such a risk.”

“I c-can’t let her die.”

Nazeel stares at me, her eyes brimming with tears. “You must.”

I shake my head. “No way.”

You swore me an oath, Ophelia Hart.Ani’s booming voice vibrates through my bones.I am calling in my debt.

Nazeel makes another attempt to convince me. “Alexandros would tell you to let her die, child.”

“And Alexandros knows I would tell him to go to hell.” I look up at Ani.Hold them back while I heal her.

I stand beside Elpis’s head, and I can just reach the tip of her nose.I’ve got you, Elpis. I won’t let you die.

It will deplete your power, child.Her voice is weak inside my head.

Yeah, but it won’t kill me, right? And whatever doesn’t kill you…I expect her to finish the adage for me, and when she doesn’t, it occurs to me that dragons who’ve lived in another realm for over a thousand years probably aren’t up to date on the latest human sayings.

With my arms outstretched as far as possible, I rest both my palms flat on her snout and close my eyes, blocking out the noise around us, confident Anikêtos will protect us both while I heal her. Channeling my earth line, I pull energy from as deep as I can burrow—from the mountain behind us, the trees in the surrounding forest, and the core of the earth itself. Every drop of healing energy I can muster, I feed into the magnificent creaturebefore me. And I keep going until my fingers are numb and my knees are buckling and there is nothing left for me to give. I have no idea how much time has passed when I stagger back and fall flat on my ass. I blink up at her and hope I gave enough.

Did it work, Ani?Please, please tell me it worked.

It worked, Dragon Healer. And I am now forever in your debt.

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