“Faela creatures take their promises seriously,” I said quietly.
Hiro nodded absentmindedly.
Rebe said, “My people are the protectors of this spring, did you know that? Only a lucky few have ever been brought down here and offered the chance to take a sip”— they glanced at me—“or a bite.” They smirked.
I snorted, but cut it off when Rasha asked, “Do kelpies drink it?”
Rebe lifted a shoulder. “Some do, but we mostly use it to help injured creatures out in the sea. If it’s rubbed on the outside rather than ingested, it still maintains a healing quality, but it doesn’t make the creatures immortal that way.”
Hiro asked, “Are kelpies immortal because they drink this stuff?”
Rebe pursed their lips. “I… don’t know the answer to that question. I would say no, that’s how we’re born, but to be honest, I’m unsure whether any of us has ever not drunk from the spring. So that begs the question, are we immortal before we drink or only after?”
Hiro didn’t seem bothered by the non-answer he received since he said, “I’ll drink first, Rasha, just to be safe.”
Rasha seemed nervous, so I walked over to her and sat on my ass, then pulled the little girl next to me. She leaned into me, and since she still seemed scared, I pulled her onto my lap. Hiro smiled at me, then kissed the top of my head and the top of Rasha’s. Before he walked to the spring, he met Rebe’s eyes and said, “I’m not sure why you’re doin’ this for us, but I want you to know I’m grateful, and… if this works, I’ll be forever indebted to you.”
Rebe smiled. “You don’t need to repay me for a thing. It’s my pleasure to help you and your daughter.”
Hiro nodded, then knelt beside the spring. He scooped some in his hand, muttered, “Here goes nothin’,” and drank it. His nose wrinkled in disgust as I watched his throat swallow.
I held my breath, waiting for something to happen, and when nothing did after a few seconds, Hiro turned to offer a small smile. He opened his mouth to speak, but before any words came out, his entire body locked up as if he was frozen. Panic gripped me, and I stood to go to him, but Rebe grabbed my arm to hold me back.
“Hold on, he’s alright,” Rebe whispered.
“Basil,” Rasha said, so I scooped her back into my arms, and she held on tight, shaking in fear.
A strangled sound came out of my throat as purple and pink waves rippled across Hiro’s skin, and a purple and pink glow surrounded him. Hiro made a choking noise as he closed his eyes and began trembling. The glow brightened and brightened to the point that I had to shut my eyes and turn away before a small blast of energy shot out of him. It wasn’t hard enough to knock me back, but it did feel like a strong wind hit me in the chest. Just as suddenly as it came, it disappeared and I was able to stare at my viramore again. Hiro grabbed his chest and took a few deep breaths with his eyes closed before he opened them and stared at me with wide eyes.
I began approaching him, but Rebe held my arm tighter, saying, “Give him a minute. He needs to readjust to his senses.”
“What?”
“He’ll likely have better sight, sense of smell, and hearing.”
“You left that part out,” I murmured.
“I didn’t think about the fact that he and Rasha are human. We don’t have humans here, so I didn’t remember until now. I’m sorry.”
I nodded, only half paying attention to them.
Hiro blew out a shaky breath before his expression changed, and I knew he needed us. I shook off Rebe’s hand and rushed over to Hiro with Rasha still in my arms. Stopping in front of him, I tilted my head back to make eye contact, and without a word, Hiro engulfed us both in his arms. He tucked his face against my neck, breathing deeply as he rubbed Rasha’s back and held us close. After a few seconds, I realized he was sniffing me, and I wrinkled my nose, but didn’t say anything because of the whole new senses thing. Figured it’d be rude to point out that he was smelling me like a dog.
He snorted. “I’m not a fuckin’ dog.”
“Daddy, you said a bad word,” Rasha said.
He chuckled. “Sorry, peanut.”
“Are you okay?” I whispered.
“Yeah. I feel weird, but also… healthy? I dunno.”
“Do you need anything?”
“No, love, I’m okay.” He lifted his head to rest our temples together for a few seconds before he kissed the side of my head, then pulled Rasha out of my arms, saying, “You still want to do this?”
She nodded. “Did it hurt?”
“A little, but it was over quickly. It felt kinda tingly more than anything.”
“Okay.”
Hiro glanced over at Rebe and asked, “Can she sit in my lap while she drinks it?”
“Sure.” Rebe gave him a nod.
Hiro stepped closer to the edge of the water-sludge hole, and I took a step back toward Rebe, but my viramore grabbed my wrist and pulled me over with them. As he sat down, he pulled me down beside him, so I scooted close. Rasha stared at the water with a frown.
After several seconds, she nodded to herself, dipped her hand into it, then scooped some into her mouth. “Ulgh,” she muttered in disgust, but still swallowed it down.
Hiro hugged her tight and whispered, “Don’t be scared. I’m right here, and so is Basil.”
Watching Rasha freeze and tense, and seeing her skin ripple with pink and purple waves was even harder to watch than it had been with Hiro. The glow around her kept getting brighter and brighter until I had to hold my arm in front of my eyes to prevent being blinded by it. When it dimmed again, Rasha was breathing heavily, and Hiro was whispering encouraging words to her, but all I could do was stare at her with wide eyes.
Her skin had taken on a shimmery tone, not entirely unlike Rebe’s, only Rasha’s wasn’t as glittery. She was sweating and shaking, but had the biggest smile I’d ever seen on her face.
“I can breathe,” she said in awe. “It doesn’t hurt, Daddy.”
A noise came out of Hiro’s throat as he squeezed her and tucked his head down onto her shoulder.
Rasha stared at me and whispered, “Am I really fixed?” The hopefulness in her voice almost broke my heart, and all I could do was pray that this had worked.
“I’m going to check, okay?” I placed my hand on her forehead and released my magic. As soon as it touched her, I gasped. She felt like a fae, like her body was thrumming with magic, like it ran through her very cells. Quickly, I used my shadow magic to scan her, searching for any issues in her lungs or anywhere else, and all I could feel was healthy organs, healthy everything. A huge smile spread across my lips as I whispered, “You feel healthy. I don’t detect any of the hex.”
She grinned at me, but it was Hiro’s reaction that caught my attention. He was hugging and rocking her, his eyes squeezed tight, but I didn’t miss the tears running down his cheeks. He was trying to stay quiet, probably so Rasha wouldn’t worry, but his tears of happiness and relief and all those years of stress were making my own eyes want to leak.
I got up on my knees and hugged them both to me, whispering, “I hope you know this means you’re never getting rid of me.”