Page 39 of Pints & Potions

She’d have snorted if she was capable, but her pain was too great and now spreading throughout her entire upper body. “Cian,” she croaked. “Worse… get-ting… dizzy.”

His countenance blanked but from what she could see of his eyes, they looked wild and on the verge of panic.

She closed hers. If he lost it, she might give in to the desire to freak out, too. Struggling to focus, she magically probed the area of her chest. If she had to guess, she’d say she’d broken at least two ribs, one of which had the tip impaled in her right lung. There was no way she had the concentration to move and mend the rib or save herself with a teleport. Even if she could, the landscape where they’d been standing was most likely altered now from the earthquake.

“Cian… go for… help.”

He looked at her as if she’d lost her damned mind. “I can’t leave you, Piper, even if I could climb out. Can’t you zap us out of here?”

“Can’t… teleport.”

“I don’t know how or I would in a hot second.” Ragged and raw, his voice told her it was killing him not to be her hero.

Inhaling as deeply as she dared, she said, “Picture the… pathway by… the falls.” She gulped air. “Ground beneath… feet.” Sucking in another flimsy breath, she finished with, “What it… looked like… when… we arrived.”

“I can’t leave you alone.”

The nagging fatigue got the best of her, and she succumbed with a small shiver and a shallow exhale.

Cian kneltbeside Piper and felt for a pulse. Her skin had quickly lost all color and currently resembled the palest parchment. Whipping off his coat, he covered her in an attempt to keep shock at bay. As clammy as her neck was, he figured he was too late. Waiting for rescue was no longer an option despite his violent objection to abandoning her down here to get help. If he didn’t act soon, she’d die.

What had she said about teleporting? He struggled to recall word for word.

“Picture the pathway by the falls. Ground beneath feet. What it looked like when we arrived.”

He’d just closed his lids when he heard the horrifying sound of continuous thunder. The ground grumbled and released another shudder. Eyes wide and straining, he searched for the source, but the shadows were too heavy and refused to reveal their secrets.

From above, loose dirt and handfuls of small stones rained down upon them. The knees of his jeans absorbed the first small trickle of frigid water. The second rippling wave soaked the material halfway up his thighs.

Left with no choice, he prayed to the gods that he wouldn’t cause Piper more injury as he scooped her up. Right as he geared himself up to attempt a teleport, Knox appeared next to him. Cian wanted to weep like a wee babe, so strong was his relief.

“Keep a firm grip on her. I’m going to get you both out.”

Before he could manage a nod, they were back at his home and strong arms were reaching to take Piper from him.

“You are going to get a horrible reputation and likely sign your death warrant with Alastair if you keep showing up with her unconscious like this,” Ryker said as he helped lay Piper on the dining room table.

Ignoring him, Cian addressed GiGi. “She’s having a rough go of it. If I had to guess, I’d say collapsed or punctured lung. I didn’t find any other injuries when I examined her after the drop.”

GiGi nodded as she held her hands in the air a few inches above Piper’s chest. “Yes. Definitely her lungs.” Sparks of purple-hued light traveled from her palms and were absorbed by Piper’s body.

“Her lips are blue, sweetheart,” Ryker warned with a sharp look at his wife. “Work quickly.”

She gave a barely discernible nod.

Spring forcefully shoved Cian aside and took the place across from GiGi. “What do you want me to do, Aunt G?”

“I’m concentrating on her lungs. Do a magical scan of her body and check that we aren’t missing anything.”

As Cian anxiously observed, Spring used her hands to trace Piper’s outline, and like GiGi, she didn’t lay a finger on her, instead manipulating energy for a tool. When Spring reached Piper’s feet, she gave a small shake of her head. “All clear. Just the ribs and lungs.”

“As I thought,” GiGi said grimly. “It’s odd, though. It’s like something or someone is trying to prevent me from healing her. I’m getting major resistance.”

“What? Who the bloody hell would do that?” Cian snapped out the questions.

Ryker gripped Cian’s shoulder. “Let’s do a search of the area. You start upstairs and I’ll take the property.”

Knox stepped forward. “It’ll be faster if I help.”

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