Time stopped.
The whole world stopped spinning, and her mouth dropped open. Her throat was taut with her scream, but her ears were ringing too loudly for her to hear. Dragging herself across the floor, she clutched at him to see if he was still breathing.
He was. But it was shallow.
“Serves you right, you meddling little bitch!”
As she gaped up at him, paralyzed with horror, Paul threw something onto the floor, which simultaneously exploded in shower of sparks and opened a portal. He was about to vanish to who knew where. Taking one last look at the woman sobbing in his entryway, the hateful bastard pulled a crooked smile. If Aurora could have killed him on the spot, she would have, but she was far more intent on keeping Dane alive. Coiling up for his escape, Paul dove for the portal, only to be knocked aside from it by some unseen force.
“Nobody calls my sister a bitch.” Onyx stepped into the hallway from somewhere deep in the house.
“What the fuck?” Paul was hunkered back, bewildered by the black-clad stranger.
“Your back door was unlocked.”
Just then, the front door burst open, the outside of it glittering like a steel porcupine. On the other side stood Rhys and Lock, glowering like the apocalypse. Moving as one, they rushed into the space, Lock kneeling beside his sister when he saw what had happened.
“Holy shit. This is bad.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Dane said through gritted teeth.
“Show me your warrant,” Keenan bellowed. “You can’t just storm into someone’s house!”
“You can’t just go slitting people’s throats, asshole,” Rhys spat back at him. “I think we’re in the right on this one.”
“Sorry I’m late,” Duval said, stepping up behind Onyx and patting him on the shoulder. “Thanks for leaving the door open.”
Lock stood and the four brothers moved as one, surrounding the criminal in their midst. He let out a snarl bordering on a roar, hinting at the tiger lurking just beneath the surface. His skin began to pucker, but nothing happened. Paul looked wildly, and his eyes ultimately came to rest on Rhys.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“I’m casting a prevention spell. You can’t shift while I’ve got you bound.”
Paul hissed through his teeth, spinning like a caged animal. Making to leap for his portal again, the four necromancers shot out their hands and locked him in place. Paul howled in frustration, but that was all he could do.
Aurora barely registered any of it. On her little patch of floor, it was as if hell were opening up beneath her and she was in danger of toppling in forever. Dane had put himself between her and danger, and now he lay there paying the price. He had lost consciousness and was growing very pale.
His chest continued to rise and fall in short bursts, but the cruel daggers buried in his torso were making each pant an effort. She pressed her hands to him and could almost feel the life ebbing out of him. Aurora was blind with misery. If Dane slipped away from her, despair would swallow her and never spit her out.
Twenty-Two
“Tell me it’s working.”
“Let me concentrate.” Tiffany had been frantically casting spells since Aurora had apparated Dane back to Hollow House. The dark stains on his shirt looked wildly out of place against the summery yellow of Aurora’s sheets. But thanks to her roommate’s magic, the last of the daggers had come out cleanly.
He was still ashen, but his breathing was less ragged. Thankfully, the blades had missed his heart, but there had been some pretty nasty damage.
“At least they were steel,” Tiffany murmured. “If just one of those daggers had been silver, we’d be singing a different song right now.”
The very thought made Aurora shake so hard she had to sit down. Still, the events of the night had taught her a lot about gratitude.
For Dane and all the faith he had in her.
For her brothers, who’d dropped everything to help her.
And for her roommate, whose powers Aurora had always underestimated.
Most of the time, Tiffany conjured up puppies and other cuddly little critters, but that was just the superficial side of what she could do. In truth, the petite goth witch was a powerful healer. And that’s exactly what was needed to pull Dane back from the brink.
“Aurora, run downstairs and see if we have any yarrow. It should help with the bleeding. And my medium cauldron.” There was a metallic thunk, and the very cauldron she was after landed next to the bed. “Thanks, H!”
In response, the house let sprigs of yarrow flowers rain from the ceiling onto the bed.
Even Hollow House apparently had a vested interest in keeping Dane alive. Grabbing a fistful, Aurora dropped them into the cauldron and cast a fireproofing spell on the floor before starting heat under it.
“What else?” she asked, her heart in her throat.
“Gim leaf, some water of Albion, and three drops of blood. He’s lost a lot, so we’ll need to infuse the elixir with it.”
Aurora set to work. She had some gim leaf in her cupboard, and just enough water of Albion to coat the bottom of the cauldron. Mixing the ingredients together, she took up one of the daggers that lay on the floor. It was still flecked in places with Dane’s blood. With the point of it, she pricked the back of her hand, milking three drops into the pot.
When the last one hit, the liquid began to foam and turn a rich golden color. Tiffany heard the sizzle and looked down.
“Perfect. Get some on your fingers.” Aurora did, and rose to stand next to her friend. Tiffany was busy brushing at Dane’s wounds with the yarrow, her focus intent on her work. “Brush his lips with it.”
“But you’re the one casting.”
“Maybe, but you’re the one he loves. It has to come from you. He needs to feel the call.”
As she was told, Aurora ran her fingers across his lips. Nothing.
“Again,” Tiffany said, her voice tense.
Aurora followed her instructions, and on the seventh anointing, Dane’s tongue flicked out and tasted his lower lip. Then, his chest heaved its first full breath since he’d crumpled to the floor in Paul’s entryway.
“That tastes good.” His eyes cracked open and immediately sought Aurora. When he saw her, he broke out into the most radiant, if weak, smile she could imagine. “Hey, babe.”
“Hey.” She took him by the shoulders and bent down to kiss him, holding back tears of joy.
“This stuff’s not bad, right?”
“It’s pretty good,” she said with a relieved laugh. He looked at her as if he would walk the earth to hear her laugh like that. “Want another taste?”
“Yes, please.” She bent and kissed him again, deeper this time.
He was going to live. But he’d been close enough to death to let Aurora know exactly how she felt. To lose him would be to lose herself as well.
“Okay, buster. Get up.” Tiffany stood with her hands on her hips, looking as official as her tiny frame would allow.
“What?”
“You gotta get up. The sooner you move, the sooner you’ll feel better.” Sitting up with Aurora’s help, Dane was clearly still sore from his brush with death.
“Man,” he said as they got him to his unsteady feet. “I feel like I’ve been stabbed in the chest.”