Chapter Forty-Nine

"Let me in," Kierse said, pushing Maura aside to get to Ethan.

"What are you doing?" Maura demanded.

"Kierse?" Gen asked as if sensing the shift in her.

Without warning, she pressed her hands to Ethan's chest and closed her eyes. The magic was there. She just needed to find it, sense it, and feel the weight of it. She'd never done it before, but this wasn't practice. This was life or death.

So, she delved deeper and deeper. She pushed at the spaces of her awareness that she had never tapped into. All those moments she had been quicker, faster, stronger than others her age and older. When she should have been a small runt of a girl who died on the streets, but she had survived. It was those instincts that had kept her alive. It was her own magic and strength that had done that. She would need both for this to work.

Like a sudden awakening of her senses... it was there.

Soft at first. A gentle brush against her awareness. A yearning breeze that said winter was over and spring was coming. Kierse latched on to that feeling, the strange newness within her mind. She clung to it, calling it forth until it came fully into focus. A bright light in the darkness.

She'd been right.

Magic suffused Ethan's body. Head to toe, he was tainted with it. The vessel for Imani's powers, the heat and brush of her magic made manifest.

And still there was something more—flowers. She could smell flowers. Specifically lily flowers. She'd never been able to smell another warlock's magic before, but now she was certain that Imani's magic had the cloying, overpowering smell of lilies. Kierse nearly gagged on the taste and oppressive smell of it.

But she refused to lose focus, because next up was the tricky part. She had to absorb the wish magic from Ethan's body and draw it into hers. Kierse had never consciously absorbed magic before. Fear clogged her senses. Not the fear that she couldn't do it, but the fear that she could. That she would draw it into herself and drown in that magic again.

Would she survive this? Could she come out whole and strong again after what Imani's magic had reduced her to last time? Without even the antidote from Graves to stabilize her. She opened her mouth, wanting to tell them to call Graves. Please let someone else bear this burden.

But as she did it, the threads slipped. She almost lost Ethan, and he began to seize.

"Kierse!" Corey cried.

Maura tried to shoulder her way in, but Kierse held firm. She closed her eyes, reached for that cloying fragrance, and dug in again.

Graves couldn't help her right now. She was the one who had to figure this out and deal with whatever came after once she was through.

Her hands trembled against Ethan's chest, and for a second, it felt as if something clutched her around the middle. As if she were completely immobilized by that crushing ache. It felt like a ten-ton brick weighing down on her, overwhelming her from all sides and trying to sever the connection.

Then there was a hand on her arm. Just the faintest brush of Gen's fingers. And under that touch, she took in a breath and another. Kierse felt it then... Gen's own magic, of a sort. Not warlock magic. Just a light at the end of a long tunnel. The part of Gen that had always let her read tarot cards and made her medicines so potent. The part of Gen that collected broken strays and nursed them back to health. The part of Gen that was just... Gen.

Gen's touch said she was here. She believed in Kierse. That Kierse could do this. Gen didn't need to know what was happening to trust that Kierse could do it. It was what she needed. Gen always knew what she needed.

And as Kierse wrapped her magic around that kernel of Gen's powers and brought the combined weight down toward Ethan, she felt another flicker respond.

Ethan.

A different light than within Kierse or Gen. The part of Ethan that made his plants grow. The part of Ethan that kept him buoyant even in the dark times. The part of Ethan that was purely Ethan.

It pulsed to life at their touch and made a bridge to finish off their triangle. Threefold. A trinity. The beginning, middle, and end. Just enough to bind them together.

With a deep exhale, she held on to Gen and Ethan, knowing now that she could do this. On the next inhale, she breathed in as much air as she could, and with it came the magic.

The energy that had settled onto Ethan's body snaked its way up, up, up, out of him... and into her.

The magic didn't look like anything to anyone else in the room. Up until that moment, even Kierse hadn't been able to see it. But suddenly the smell and fire of the magic turned into a soft golden glow across his entire body. Her eyes widened at the new awareness. The sense of it all coming together, just as Graves had said.

As she reached out for that golden glow, she could feel the magic like a rising tide. The magic soaked into her skin and made its way through her body as lilies consumed her and the fire reached for her. Hello, old, familiar friend. It ached. Bit into her like it was trying to snap her bones and leave her in a million little pieces. The pain gripped her, tightened, and twisted. With it came agony and a deep look into the abyss. But she held on. Refused to let go.

There was more magic. So much more.

Kierse wanted to throw up, to empty her stomach and rid herself of this vile coating, but she couldn't move her hands. Not even if she'd wanted to. They were glued to Ethan's chest, soaking up every ounce of that golden glow and bringing it into her body. Her eyes burned. They had caught flame. Her hands shook, then her arms, and into her body. A buzzing settled into her ears, and everyone disappeared save for her, Gen, and Ethan.

Time held no meaning. Not in this realm where she was working. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear her friends. Colette had finally arrived. Others, too. Finn and Ronan. They were shouting and trying to hold down the other wolves.

But Kierse couldn't stop. Not until it was all out of Ethan's system. Not until he opened his eyes and looked up at her with his beautiful smile.

Not until he lived. Even if she died.

"Almost there," Gen said softly.

As if she knew how close Kierse was. Intuitive, beautiful Gen.

Then that last tendril of magic curled into Kierse's fingers. She cradled the bit like a small flame in her hand. Then it flew into her body, and she felt it burrow down deep.

But she wasn't done. She was suffused with power. It was overwhelming her system, and still there was so much more.

She reached her hand out and grasped Cara's paw. Kierse dragged the magic out of Cara. She was determined to drain it all into her. Then she could go slo-mo and drop Imani's magic. But she could only do it once she was completely and totally done. Because she wasn't sure she'd be able to hit this connection again so soon.

As she tugged on the energy around the wolf's body, something shifted in Cara. As if she were resisting. Cara thrashed around. Nate was shouting again, trying to get her to stop. Claws dug into her skin, and Kierse screamed.

The pain overwhelmed her. She tried to fight through it and drag more magic toward her. But the feeling wasn't just the pain from her now-bleeding arm. It was the magic. Her absorption was running out. She couldn't take anymore. She wasn't strong enough.

"No," she whispered, fighting the pain and the magic. "No."

"Kierse, please." Gen grasped her around the middle and hauled her backward.

When she lost her touch on Cara, the connection severed and Kierse crumpled against her friend.

Ethan no longer glowed, but Kierse burned as bright as the sun.

"She saved him," Gen breathed.

The world was spinning. Everyone was in shock, but she couldn't get any words out. She couldn't shift into slow motion. She could barely think Graves's name before the floor reached out for her, welcoming.

And then it all went blissfully dark.