Page 26 of When the Wicked Sing
“I know why you’re here. Shut your trap,” Dax growled in his face. “Now, be a good little puppet and run home to your master. I’ve got everything under control.”
Dropping the male to the ground, Dax watched him scramble away toward a huddle of horses.
As soon as the male’s form had disappeared through the trees and the clopping of the horse’s hooves went silent, Dax sighed.
Then, burning pain consumed him. He gasped and groaned. The toxin was spreading through him like wildfire, searing every vein and nerve until his knees gave out.
“Dax!” he heard Mari shout as his face collided with the dirt.
Chapter 13
Shekilledsomeone.Shekilled—
No. Stop.Mariana shook her head, trying to banish thoughts of the dead fae she’d left behind at the Crossing.There’s nothing you can do for him now. But you can still save this stupid, inconsiderate bastard, she told herself, huffing as she hauled Dax onto a cement slab, using it as a table.
She had followed the horses, which had bolted after the released fae galloped into the forest. They led her to an abandoned village, overrun with vines and decay. Only a few buildings remained standing, and this one, where she’d dragged Dax’s heavy body, seemed the least likely to collapse.
Mariana stared down at him, unsure what was wrong. She peeled his eyes open and saw that his pupils were completely dilated.That’s not good. She let his eyes drift shut again and tore open his shirt, exposing the still-bleeding wound.
He wasn’t healing. That wound should’ve been gone by now.
Leaning closer, she noticed the skin around the gash was turning an alarming shade of black.
She speared her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes, trying to think.
Astra had taught her how to treat infections that their bodies couldn’t heal on their own, but this … this was different. Fae poison. She had never flushed a fae’s body before—would it kill him?
Does it matter? He’s dying anyway.
Opening her eyes and dropping her hands, Mariana stared down at Dax, wondering why she was even considering saving his sorry ass. Her lips tightened, arms crossing over her chest.
He’d stolen her away from her family, ripped her from everything she loved. He expected her to just follow his orders, to be hisgood little siren?
“No,” she whispered darkly, turning away.
She made it all the way to the grazing horses before her conscience screamed at her to stop. To turn around. To save that ridiculous male.
She looked back, something deep inside tugging her toward him.This isn’t who you are,a small voice whispered. Her shoulders sagged.
With a groan of frustration, she stomped back toward Dax. The moment she got close, she slapped her hands over his bleeding wound and channeled her power.
Water from the air, droplets clinging to the vines, rushed up and out of her palm.
Dax screamed. His body convulsed, thrashing under her hands.
Mariana focused, steadying the water’s path.Careful. Keep it away from his heart.She focused her energy, guiding the water carefully through his veins.
The moment she sensed the sinister poison, the water wrapped around it and pulled.
Slowly, she lifted her hand, her breathing growing heavy as she coaxed the tainted water out of his body. Dax’s thrashing stilled. Her heart stuttered, fearing she’d killed him—but then his pulse fluttered weakly at his throat. He’d only passed out.
Hissing under her breath, Mariana yanked the last of the poison free, the blackened liquid dripping onto the ground at her feet. She stepped back, chest heaving.
She hadn’t practiced that technique enough to know if she’d gotten every last bit of it, but as she watched the wound slowly close, she let out a shaky breath.
“Thank the goddess,” she whispered.
She grabbed his pack from where she’d thrown it earlier, rifling through it until she found a pouch of medical supplies. Quickly, she patched the healing gash with gauze and tape.
