Page 48 of Bound In Stone, Claimed In Fire

I half-drag him down the last stretch of slope, stumbling across the scree. The cave mouth is no more than a dozen strides away. “Just… hold on,” I choke out, tears stinging my eyes. “We’re nearly there.”

We lurch the final distance, collapsing through the narrow opening. Inside, the cavern narrows into a small chamber, walls slick with moisture. A trickle of water drips from stalactites overhead. Dim light filters through an overhead fissure, barely enough to see by. But it’s cover—and maybe it’ll conceal us.If the gargoyles follow…

“Get back,” Kaelith rasps. He twists, forcing me behind him as if preparing to shield me from any immediate onslaught. My brand flares with frustration; he’s in no condition to fight, and I’m half-spent from days of running and fighting.

A thunderous shriek echoes outside, accompanied by the scrape of claws. I tense, gripping my staff, ready to hurl the last of my magic if they appear. For a moment, I imagine fangs and claws tearing through the darkness, but the lesser gargoyles halt at the cave mouth, sniffing. Maybe they sense the wards or the weird geometry of the cavern that makes it difficult for them to squeeze inside in large numbers. A hiss slices through the air, then recedes.

We wait, panting, for what feels like an eternity. My entire body trembles from adrenaline. My brand’s ache pulses with every labored breath. At last, the hissing and scrabbling fade. They’ve slunk away, perhaps waiting outside for an easier chance.We’re trapped.But at least we’ve gained a fleeting reprieve.

“Sariah…” Kaelith groans, voice dropping. His entire torso sags against the cold stone. My panic spikes. In the thin, gloomy light, I see blood pooling from his thigh wound, dripping a steady trickle onto the cavern floor. Another slash carves across his side, staining his leathers dark. My heart clenches.He’s losing too much blood.

I kneel beside him, staff forgotten. “Kaelith, hey, stay with me.” My voice trembles. I press a hand to the gash on his thigh, trying to stem the bleeding. He shudders, runes flickering weakly.This is bad.

He exhales, eyes fluttering. “Stone sleep… I need it,” he manages. Gargoyles can slip into stone sleep to heal, but that process makes them vulnerable, essentially immobile rock. If those lesser gargoyles break in while he’s petrified, they’ll tear him apart. Or if his injuries are too severe, even stone sleep might fail. My brand stings, as if echoing the threat.

Fear surges, tears pricking my eyes. “We can’t risk full stone sleep with them out there.” My mind races.Unless… I recall that synergy we’ve discovered. If I feed him purna magic while he’s partially sleeping, maybe we can accelerate his healing.My brand pulses, hinting at a more intimate approach. The memory of our last desperate union floods my mind—how merging our bodies and magic stabilized him for a while.It’s dangerous, but what choice do we have?

“I—” I swallow, adrenaline spiking. “We can do the synergy, like before. Skin-to-skin. I can funnel my power into you, help your stone sleep regenerate faster.” My cheeks burn, recalling the last time we tried anything like that, when we ended up crossing the boundary into fierce, overwhelming intimacy. This time, he’s far more gravely wounded. The magnitude of what we need might be double.And the tether has grown stronger.

He grimaces, eyes half-lidded with pain. “That… might kill you,” he warns, voice slurred. “Or twist your magic too far. But…” A tremor racks him. “I’m dying anyway. Better we try.”

A sob threatens to choke me.I can’t lose him.“We’ll be careful,” I promise, though my insides quake with uncertainty. The tether hums, urging me to save him, no matter the cost. “If things get too intense, I’ll pull back.”

He nods faintly, fresh blood leaking from the wound on his side. “Do it,” he breathes.

I force my panic down, focusing on what must be done. My brand stings like it’s been seared with hot iron.It’s now or never.Gently, I strip away the torn remnants of Kaelith’s leathers around his thigh and side, exposing the raw, ugly wounds. The sight makes my stomach twist. Bruises darken his obsidian skin, runes flickering erratically like a sputtering flame. A gargoyle’s normally robust vitality is draining away with each heartbeat.

“Sariah,” he murmurs, eyes meeting mine. They shine with a mixture of pain, trust, and desire.He’s letting me see him at his most vulnerable.My heart clenches.

I nod, tears gathering. “I won’t let you die.” My voice shakes, but my resolve hardens. I push aside my cloak, fumbling with the fastenings of my tunic to expose more skin. The tether thrums at the prospect of close contact, recalling how our synergy soared last time.We have no time for embarrassment.

He tries to shift into a comfortable position, but pain contorts his face. “Hurry,” he rasps.

I settle beside him, leaning my torso against his, letting my bare arms press against the warm stone of his chest. Electricity crackles through the tether. The brand flares with a low, agonizing burn. I sense Kaelith’s breathing hitch. Our bodies align, skin to skin, a flush of heat blossoming where we touch. The tension in the cave thickens with a dangerous promise.We’re about to open ourselves to each other’s magic, intimately.

My pulse races, memories flicking of how we once unleashed this synergy in that desperate night. This time, the stakes are even higher. I close my eyes, willing the swirl of magic in my blood to flow outward. “Focus on your stone sleep,” I whisper. “I’ll channel what I can. Let me in.”

He exhales, trying to slip into the half-stone trance. I feel the telltale ripple under my palms as portions of his skin harden slightly, runes glowing. But he’s too weak to complete the transformation without a push. Gritting my teeth, I murmur a purna incantation that draws from the brand, funneling arcs of silver-blue energy into his chest, letting them seep into those flickering runes.

The sensation is raw, overwhelming. My brand sears, as if a spigot of power has opened. Kaelith’s body stiffens, wings twitching violently. A ragged groan escapes him, half-pain, half-relief. Stone creeps across his limbs, but the progress halts around the gashes, as though the injuries resist solidifying.

I grit my teeth, tears spilling. “Stay with me,” I gasp. My heart hammers so loud it drowns out the hiss of wind outside. Heat roars in my veins, reminiscent of a fever. The tether surges, and I know from our previous synergy how quickly this can tip from healing to something far more charged.But he’s still bleeding. He needs more.

“Sariah,” he groans, voice thick with desperation. “Gods… I feel your magic. It’s… intense.”

I swallow a sob. “It’s the only way.” My trembling hands slide over the jagged edges of his wounds, channeling a healing current. His runes glow, pulsing in time with my brand, forging a closed circuit of power. The searing sensation rips a cry from my throat—my entire body feels like it’s on fire, an excruciating ecstasy that threatens to consume me.

Adrenaline floods my system. Our hearts pound in unison, the tether bridging every boundary. Kaelith tilts his head, forcing himself to meet my eyes. The anguish there mingles with a fierce desire, the same desperate longing that flared between us once before. My magic swirls around him, seeking a deeper connection, and I realize with a dizzying jolt that we can’t half-do this. To heal him, I must embrace him fully—body, magic,soul.

My clothes hamper the contact, so I yank them aside, ignoring the protests of my battered limbs. Kaelith’s arms slip around my waist, pulling me against his chest with surprising strength, given his injuries. The moment our torsos align, my brand flares like molten silver, sending a shockwave of sensation through every nerve ending.We’re forging that synergy, the same that nearly overwhelmed us last time.

He gasps, runes blazing so bright they illuminate the cave. “Sariah,” he rasps, voice choked with pain and need. I feel a new wave of power swirl from him—his gargoyle essence merging with my purna magic. The synergy doubles, feeding on our closeness.We’re bridging life and stone, forging a healing conduit.

My breath comes in frenzied gasps, tears and sweat mingling. “I—hold on,” I manage. Then we crash into each other, lips meeting in a desperate kiss fueled by adrenaline and terror. It’s rough, searing, the taste of blood and tears on our tongues. I moan against him, part of me craving the solace of intimacy while the rest of me tries to remain calm enough to channel healing.

We tumble onto the cold cavern floor, limbs tangling. His wounded thigh presses against mine, prompting a hiss of pain from him. But the next moment, I pour more healing magic into that wound, letting it seep into the stone edges creeping across his skin. The tether flares, a flood of energy that makes me arch my back, a cry slipping from my lips.It’s so strong.

He groans, half delirious, lips trailing over my neck, across my collarbone. My brand ignites with a near-blinding glow that reflects in his runes, and I sense the life force we share swirling dangerously. Blood still trickles from his side, but I feel the wound’s edges knitting under the combined assault of stone sleep and purna magic. My heart leaps with hope.It’s working.

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