Page 50 of To Sway a Prince
Vaguely I heard the battle continuing within the tower itself. Had a dragon broken in? Zephyrus's snarling bellows filled my ears. But the terror from the omenfang pressed in upon my consciousness.
Caein called out, shouting to Ramiel about something. Some ward or sigil to activate. It was garbled.
The omenfang loomed over me in my mind's eye. I forced my eyes open to make it vanish, the heaviness in my body present. Ramiel summoned the shadow creature to battle. He cut runes into the air. The light around his heart burned. The loosening had worked. For now. Not enough to free him entirely, but enough to strengthen him and allow him to fight.
And the omenfang—it wasn't paying attention to him now. It had found me.
The omenfang leaned back on its tail.
I struggled to push up, my hands shaking as I tried to summon my shield. My right arm no longer even felt as if it was there.
Black and violet static erupted over me. All the air vanished from my lungs. I—I couldn't breathe. Could barely move. My fingertips froze.
Then everything went still and silver light exploded.
As my vision cleared, Ramiel leaned over me, his arms wrapping tight around me as he brought me to his chest. "No, not like this. Please. Not like this. No. She doesn't deserve this. Astraia, please. Astraia, answer me! Don't die! Don't. Please! Hold fast, gnat. Hold fast!" His voice echoed in my thoughts as well as my ears, the pendant connecting us.
He put me back on the couch. I must have fallen off before. Had I? I—I couldn't remember. It was blurring.
Cold paint sloshed over me as he struggled to paint the runes on my chest.
"No, please. Please," he said, his voice shaking. Tears struck my cheek. Not mine. His?
I tried to lift my head, but all was blurred.
He pressed his forehead against mine. "I love you, Astraia. I love you so much. Please don't die. Please. I won't give up on you."
My heart swelled in response. Tears pricked my eyes. More than anything I wanted to say that I felt the same. Because I did. I felt as if I had always known him, and what I wanted now as much as I wanted to keep Zephyrus safe was to have a life with him. All the pieces snapped into place in this moment.
But the exhaustion kept me from speaking, and then…
20
REGRETS
Iwoke with sunlight streaming over my face and something fussing at the blankets. Caein loomed over me, the air shifting and shimmering in response to his presence. "You're awake. Oh, thank all that is good. We thought we'd lost you."
My eyelids fluttered. The brightness stung my eyes. My body protested, abnormally stiff and sluggish, my fingers and toes cold. Slowly I sat up and began to massage my fingers, then my feet. "I think you almost did. The omenfang, but also?—"
"The chasm wraith." Caein sighed. His voice drew closer to my face. "Yes, I know. You need to rest. After a brush with chasm wraiths, your spirit will be especially raw and worn. Another encounter might let them sever you entirely and drag you into one of the liminal realms where you would be trapped until the end of time itself. The same holds true with the omenfang. You nearly died."
"I need to find Ramiel." I pressed myself out of the bed slowly, my head spinning with the movement. My insides clenched and my knees threatened to buckle as I remembered how he had protected and cradled me—how he had said he loved me. My breaths tightened. I had to tell him.
"I don't recommend it. Not right now. He is?—"
"What's wrong?" My attention snapped up to the ceiling. Caein didn't usually sound this nervous. "Was someone hurt? Is Zephyrus all right?"
"Nothing is wrong," Caein started.
Darkness moved in the corner of the room. Another odd chill pulsed through me. That shadowy tentacle creature. It vanished almost as soon as I spotted it. I raised an eyebrow. Why did the energy in this room feel so off right now?
Caein sighed. "He knows you're awake."
"Is that a bad thing?" My stomach flip-flopped when I remembered what he'd said to me. Now I could say it back. As I slipped out of the bed, I noticed how different everything felt physically as well as emotionally. The soft, magical hum was gone. I'd barely noticed it until it was gone.
"He's worried. You should know he doesn't do well when he's worried, but he wants to speak with you. He wanted me to send you down as soon as you woke."
"Well, I want to see him too." I opened the wardrobe. To my surprise, only my original clothing was present. My aura confirmed that the magic of the wardrobe was…gone. The garments were clean and fully mended though. "You're sure nothing is wrong?"
