Page 13 of Elven Throne

She’d grown so used to the woman’s beady black eyes constantly squinting from within her wrinkled face that the sight of them now made her stop.

The black no longer existed. Now, in its place, the piercing white blaze of Zida’s magic had completely taken over, forming blindingly bright orbs of pure white. The light surged not only from her eyes but out of her sockets in bright twin streams, as if the healer had abandoned her physical form and no longer possessed eyes at all.

As if she’d turned herself into a fucking star, and that star was now on the edge of burning up all her lighter density before going supernova and imploding.

That wasexactlywhat was happening.

The stark realization was monumental. Historical, even, under any other circumstances.

Rebecca would have given herself a moment to let the full implication of what she now saw fully sink in. But there simply wasn’t time.

Then, as if she’d known all along this would eventually happen, Zida turned her pure-white eyes onto Rebecca and let out a soft, wry chuckle.

Even her voice didn’t sound like a voice anymore. Just raw, unbridled power transformed into sound and the words they created.

“You look like shit, kid.”

Despite the remnant burns she’d sustained still blazing across her skin, not fully healed, hearing Zida speak to her now like this sent a frigid shudder clawing down Rebecca’s spine.

She shrugged. “I’m getting used to it.”

With another staggering step toward the center of this peaceful inner ring, she couldn’t stop staring, awed by the immense magic this woman possessed and how willing Zida had been and still was to use it.

Now, she used it a last resort. For Shade.

Even though she had to know doing so would end her when the last of her control burned up and her power had nothing left to keep it in line.

“Why are you here?” Zida asked, her voice trembling with the effort of what would otherwise have been a casual conversation while attempting to sustain this storm of her magic.

Rebecca took the chance and stumbled forward another few steps. The gentle patter of something dripping to the ground beside her seemed disproportionately loud in this place, but it made her pause.

She looked down at her side, found an open wound that must have come from one of those lightning bolts or a griybreki’s lucky slash Rebecca hadn’t even felt. She hovered a palm over the heavily bleeding gash beneath her ribs and only gave herself two seconds to heal the worst of it, gritting her teeth against the next flare of pain.

More like an annoying tickle after having pushed her way through the layers of this vortex to get here.

She stared numbly at the hole in her shirt through which she healed herself—a jagged ring lined in charred cloth.

It had to have been one of those lightning bolts, then.

With a weary chuckle of her own, she plucked at the hole in her shirt so the old daraku could see it. “Someone’sgotta reimburse me for new clothes. Now I know exactly where to send the bill.”

Zida’s wheezing cackle filled the silent stillness. Its rhythm and cadencesoundedlike her despite the unnatural timber changed by her magic.

The worst part was her mouth didn’t even move to make the sound.

Rebecca realized it never had.

By the Blood, this woman was one insanely powerful daraku. More so than Rebecca had ever assumed. Definitely more than she’d given the healer credit for.

Then a heavy, trembling sigh escaped the old woman’s motionless mouth. “You should’ve stayed out there. You should’ve gotten everyone else out and run for the fucking hills.”

Rebecca took another step toward her, battling between the urgency to do what had to be done and her growing concern. If she made any sudden moves or upset the healer in any way, she might set off this inevitable magical bomb before she could do anything about it.

“That would mean leavingyoubehind,” she replied, gazing into those off-putting eyes of pure light and white-hot fire. “And where the hell am I gonna find another healer from the old world who can patch me upandcall my bullshit at the same time?”

“Ha! Not in Chicago, that’s for damn sure.”

Rebecca couldn’t help but share a worn, haggard laugh with the old woman in front of her burning herself up from the inside. They both knew what this was. How much time they didn’t have left.

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