Page 138 of Heart Cradle
“It will protect the realm,” Vaelwyn said. “Even from you.”
That landed like stone in water, but Callix said gently, “It doesn’t think you’ll fail, or it wouldn’t have stayed with you once it returned. It would have allowed you to feel as if you could return it to the vault.”
Maeve’s voice was quiet. “So, what happens next?”
Vaelwyn’s gaze turned distant. “I believe it will keep evolving, as you keep growing and the Chain will meet you wherever your intention leads.”
“Together,” Callix added, “you could become something the realm hasn’t seen in millennia, maybe ever.”
Maeve exhaled slowly, fingers brushing the metal at her wrist. “If I lose control?”
“You won’t.” Vaelwyn said. “The Chain doesn’t just carry power. It carries memory, and now… it carries you.”
Chapter Sixty-Three – Burn the Sky
The sky stretched mercilessly around them, Soren gripped Calen’s limp body tight, arms locked around his chest as Brontis flew with brutal speed. The saddle beneath them was covered in blood, and each gust of wind dragged them closer to the edge of disaster. He could feel Calen slipping, too pale, too still.
“Stay with me,” Soren muttered, trying to keep his voice steady. “You don’t get to fucking die on me. Not like this.”
He worked the leather straps across Calen’s waist, his fingers slick with blood. The first harness was secure, but the second was tangled under Calen’s bulk. Soren gritted his teeth and wrestled it into place, strapping his brother down against the curve of the saddle with a jerk.
“Secure him tighter,” Brontis ordered through the link, low and clipped. “Winds are shifting. I’ll hold the pitch, but only for ten seconds.”
“I know, I know,” Soren’s thoughts hissed, wild with fear. “He’s dead weight and there’s too much fucking blood.”
“Then move faster,”Brontis snapped. “I can’t keep him in the sky if you don’t strap him down.”
Soren yanked the final strap into place, hands shaking. Magic shimmered faintly over the wound, battlefield intention, nothing more. Enough to slow the bleeding, not enough to fix it, perhaps not enough to save him.
“Fucking hells,” Soren whispered, pressing a palm hard against Calen’s ribs. “Don’t do this. Don’t you dare fucking leave me, Cal!”
“We have to decide,”Venleo cut in, voice tight and strained. “If we stop to find a working transport stone, we lose time, altitude, and probably Calen.”
“We can’t risk it,”Brontis growled.“The transport and relay stones are down. You know that.”
“Fuck,” Soren bit out.
“It will save lives,” Venleo added. “Just not his. I can’t pick up anyone from the thunder, we’re too far out of range.”
Soren’s knuckles went white. “Fuck.”
“You can’t break down now, Soren.”Brontis said, firm and unrelenting.“You get him home. That’s the only thing that matters.”
Soren bent his head against Calen’s, forehead to sweat-damp hair. “You stubborn bastard,” he whispered. “You better be fighting, you better not leave me holding your bones.”
“We stay airborne,”Brontis decided“Stones are a gamble. I can fly faster than the stones can coordinate a healer. We must burn the sky.”
“And if you’re wrong?”Soren asked, his thought sounded like ground glass.
“Then we fall together, but I’m not wrong.”Brontis chided.
Venleo snorted faintly. “Make the call, Soren. We’re losing altitude and options.”
Soren exhaled through his teeth.“Fine. We fly. You push harder and I’ll keep him alive.”
“Good, we’ll head to Elanthir, I don’t know the whereabouts of the healers for definite.”Brontis angled his wings into a sharper climb.“I’ll tear the wind apart if I have to.”
Ten minutes passed excruciatingly slowly, Soren pressed his hands on Calen, willing the bleeding to slow, to stop.
