“You were carrying her.”
“I had to use my power to keep myself from freezing.”
“How does your plant magic help?”
I shrugged. “It’s also a life power. And this freezing is a little bit like death. So I think it was keeping it at bay.”
Mac frowned, her gaze flicking between Cordelia and me. “She could still be alive.”
“I think she is.” I rested a hand on her belly. “I can feel the life in her.”
“What happened?” Carrow’s frantic voice sounded from behind me, and I spun around. She lunged across the taproom, her blonde hair wild and windblown around her face and her eyes dark with worry. Beatrix, her best friend, followed behind her.
“I think she’s still alive,” I said.
Carrow stepped up to the bar and stared down at Cordelia. She stroked the raccoon’s furry little face, her eyes glinting with tears.
I snatched her hand back.
“Hey!” Carrow glared at me.
“We don’t know if it’s safe. You could freeze.”
Carrow looked at her hand. “I’m not frozen.”
“That’s good enough for me.” Mac pressed her hand lightly to Cordelia’s belly and closed her eyes. Her magic flared on the air, and I gripped Mac’s hand, trying to feed my support into her.
Mac had a seer’s power, and I prayed she could figure out what was wrong with Cordelia.
After a few moments, Mac opened her eyes. “It’s Chronos.”
Shock lanced me. “What?”
“This is Chronos’s doing.”
“Shit.” I dragged a hand through my hair, my mind racing. “How?”
“This is the natural result of him being on Earth. It’s his power, somehow. Like he’s freezing time. Kind of. I’m not entirely sure, but I do know it’s him.”
I looked at Carrow. “I’m so sorry.”
She shook her head. “Not your fault.” She looked at Mac. “Can we revive Cordelia?”
“I don’t know.” Mac frowned and closed her eyes tightly, focusing hard as she rested a hand on Cordelia, using her as a conduit for her seer power. “If you defeat Chronos and send him back to Tartarus, I think that could do it.”
Shit, shit, shit.
That was my plan, but I still didn’t know how. And the books were frozen inside the tower.
I drew in an unsteady breath and opened my eyes. “Let me try.”
“What?” Carrow said. “How?”
“With my magic. I managed to keep the ice from hurting me by counteracting it with my life magic. Maybe I can help Cordelia.”
Carrow nodded, hope shining in her eyes. I rested my hand on Cordelia’s belly and called upon my magic, remembering the training sessions with Hades. I still wasn’t as strong as I could be—I needed to find out who had bound my magic and unbind it in order to reach my full potential—but I was a lot more skilled than I had been.
I shoved away thoughts of the god who haunted my dreams and focused on my magic, calling it to the surface. It bloomed inside me, warming me, so pure and bright that it almost made me giddy. I forced that magic into Cordelia, focusing on driving away the ice that froze her solid.
After a few moments, Carrow whispered, “I think it’s working.”
I opened my eyes, but Cordelia still looked the same. I tried harder, growing woozy as I poured more of my magic into the raccoon. Gradually, I could feel it drive the icy grip of death away from her, but it was slow going. I leaned against the bar for support, determined not to give up.
My vision went blurry as I worked, putting everything I had into it. When Cordelia’s head twitched, hope flared. I worked harder, ignoring the weakness that pulled at my limbs.
Finally, Cordelia’s entire head looked normal again. Her black eyes, which had been dull from the frost, brightened, and I could see the bright orange cheese powder still coating her whiskers. Her little tongue snuck out and licked them clean, and Carrow laughed, tears in the sound.
But the rest of Cordelia’s body was still frozen.
I drew in a shuddery breath and fed the rest of my power into her, watching through darkening vision as her limbs twitched, and her chest rose and fell with her breaths. Finally, she rolled over and clambered to her feet.
It was the last thing I saw before the weakness took me. I’d fed nearly all my power into Cordelia, and I felt like I’d run a marathon. My knees gave out, and I sank to the floor, blackness obscuring my vision.
Somewhere far away, I heard Carrow calling my name. A horrific scent filled my nose, and I choked, gasping.
“She’s up!” Carrow said.
I blinked, my vision foggy, and dragged a hand through my hair. My voice was weak when I asked. “What’s going on?”
“You revived Cordelia, but it weakened you so much that you passed out,” Carrow said.
Her face swam into focus, and I looked around, catching sight of Mac, Eve, and Quinn staring at me. The big shifter’s face was creased with worry, and his auburn hair looked like he’d dragged his hand through it a million times.
“When did you get here?” I asked.
“Just in time to see you hit the ground like you’d had six tequila shots.”
I swallowed hard and straightened myself.
“Here, drink this.” Mac shoved a full pint of beer at me.
“Beer?”
She nodded. “You look like you could use it.”
I felt like it, too. Quickly, I gulped a few sips and sighed. The magic was slowly returning to me, but it would be a while before I was at full strength again. Cordelia pushed her way between Carrow and Mac and put a tiny hand on my knee. Her black eyes met mine.
“She says thank you.” Carrow rubbed her head. “You saved her from being a raccoonsicle.”
I laughed. “Anytime, pal. Will you share your Cheetos with me now?”
Cordelia took a moment, clearly debating, then nodded. She looked a bit begrudging, and I smiled.
Carrow’s phone rang, and she dug into her pocket. She looked at the screen, then up at us. “It’s Grey. He must have news about the tower.”
She accepted the call and pressed the speaker phone button. “Hey, Grey. I’ve got you on speaker.”
“Good.” His voice sounded even more clipped than normal, as if something were wrong and he just wanted to get it out.
Shit.
“The curse is spreading,” he said. “Fairly quickly. It’s through the Shadow Guild Courtyard and has hit some of the buildings nearby. There are several frozen people inside.”
My heart thudded. “Get away from it.”
“I’m keeping my distance. But the people—”
“They’re not dead. Not yet.”
“But you don’t have the strength to revive them,” Carrow said. “Not now, at least. Not so many of them.”
I didn’t. Bringing Cordelia back had drained me. I’d require at least a day’s recovery before I was at full strength again.
“There are twenty of them, at least,” Grey said. “You need to evacuate the town. I’m going to arrange for the rest of the citizens to leave as well.”
Shit, shit, shit.
“We’re at the Haunted Hound,” Carrow said. “Come join us.”