Oblivion (Lux 1.5)

Screaming, she let it go.

Climbing to my feet, I stared in awe as it smacked into Baruck’s chest. The air pulled tight and snapped. Intense light flared, and I threw my arm up, shielding my eyes. When it receded, Baruck was gone and Kat…

Oh, God.

“Kat?”

She was on her back and her chest…it barely moved. The scent of death was in the air. I shot to her side, dropping to my knees. She let out a rattling breath and raw panic exploded in my gut.

All of this… We came this far—I saved her and she took everything I’d given her, and instead of getting the hell out of there, she used it to save us.

She scarified herself for us.

I didn’t deserve that. No way did I deserve this from her.

I pulled her into my arms, and she felt as light as a breath, as if a part of her that made her whole was already gone. “Kat, say something insulting. Come on.”

Dee stirred and rose to her feet, panic filling her voice. I didn’t take my eyes off Kat. Moving my fingers along her face, wiping away the traces of blood…but there was so much. Under her nose, the corners of her lips, her ears…and even pooling under her eyes.

This wasn’t right.

I knew what I had to do. “Dee, go back to the house now.”

“I don’t want to leave,” Dee protested, wrapping her arms around her waist as she stumbled closer. “She’s bleeding! We have to get her to a hospital.”

Kat’s eyes fixed on me, but she didn’t move. Horror climbed through my chest, digging in with claws.

“Go back to the house now!” I yelled, and then forced myself to take it down a notch. Dee couldn’t know what I was about to do again. “ Please . Leave us. Go. She’s okay. She…she just needs a minute.”

I turned my back on Dee, pushing the tangled waves of hair out of Kat’s face. When I was sure Dee was gone, I let out a ragged breath. “Kat, you’re not going to die. Don’t move or do anything. Just relax and trust me. Don’t fight what’s about to happen.”

There was no sign she’d heard me, but I wasn’t giving up. No way. Lowering my head, I pressed my forehead against hers. My body faded out, and I slipped into my true form. Heat coursed from me into her.

Hold on. Don’t let go . I knew she was beyond hearing me, but I kept talking as I cradled her head. Just hold on.

Focusing on her, I felt myself slip inside her. Then I could see it all: bones knitting, cuts healing closed, torn muscles repairing, and blood flowing through her veins fast, but flowing without obstruction. She had been a mess, and it killed me to know what kind of pain she had endured.

I felt something click inside me . For a moment, I felt a strange feeling—a fluttering in my chest, next to my own heart, like our hearts were one, beating in sync, but then…then something else was happening. There was a tearing inside me, a rendering of my being—splitting into halves.

Her lips brushed mine. Colors swirled around me—bright reds and whites. It was like there wasn’t me or her …it was us, only us. And I could feel an indiscernible pull toward her, a give and take. This was forbidden—healing her as many times I had, but this…this was more, because she had been on the verge of the unknown, teetering into oblivion and I’d pulled her back.

What am I doing? If they find out what I’ve done…but I can’t lose her. I can’t. Please. Please. I can’t lose you. Please open your eyes. Please don’t leave me.

I’m here , she said, but not out loud, and opened her eyes. I’m here.

Shocked, I jerked back, the light fading out of her. But something…something had been left behind. I could feel it. I didn’t know what exactly, and I didn’t care right then. She was alive. We all were alive, and that was what mattered.

“Kat,” I whispered, and she shivered in my arms. I sat back, nestling her close to my chest and holding her up.

Her eyes were filled with wonder and a dose of confusion. “Daemon, what did you do?”

“You need to rest.” I paused, bone-tired, weary to my core. Even I had my physical limits, and I’d blown past them tonight. “You’re not a hundred percent. It will take a couple of minutes. I think. I haven’t healed anyone on this level before.”

“You did at the library,” she murmured, spreading her hands up my arms. Like it was the first time she’d ever touched me. “And at the car…”

I smiled tiredly. “That was just to help with a sprain and bruises. That was nothing like this.”

Kat turned her head, staring over my shoulder. Her cheek brushed mine slightly, but it felt like a thousand soft-as-silk touches to me. I felt her stiffen.

“How did I do that?” she whispered. “I don’t understand.”

Good question. I buried my head in her neck, breathing in her vanilla and peach scent, committing it to memory. “I must’ve done something to you when I healed you. I don’t know what. It doesn’t make sense, but something happened when our energies joined. It shouldn’t have affected you—you’re human.”

My words didn’t seem to calm her. No shit. They weren’t calming me much, either. My hand shook as I smoothed a strand of hair from her face. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay. Sleepy. You?”

“The same.” But I felt amazing in a weird way. I ran my thumb over her chin and then her lower lip. I kind of felt like a kid going to Disney World for the first time and that was odd, because I’d never been to the land of mouse ears. Never wanted to go.