All Things Wild and Beautiful

54. Otherworldly Messages

The artwork above is not mine.

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A metallic taste coated his tongue. Blood ran out the corners of his mouth. Fenrys clutched at his throat weakly, desperately trying to staunch the blood flow long enough to let his healing magic take effect. Sticky warmth clung to his fingers. Faces blurred above his own. Voices filtered in and out of his ears.

He tried to speak. Tried to call for help. For Nascha. The only sounds he could make were strangled grunts. Blood bubbled in his throat and flew from his mouth as he coughed. Fenrys sucked down air, but it wasn't enough.

"Keep him breathing," someone was saying. "I'll try to..." All sounds faded momentarily.

He pried a hand away from his neck, searching for someone to hold onto. His vision was growing dim. He needed an anchor. Needed to stay awake. Needed Nascha. Needed his mate. Guilt and despair washed over the Mating Bond, but that was all he felt from her.

Fenrys gasped for breath, still searching for someone. Anyone. A pair of hands leveled over his face and air flooded his lungs, carrying a hint of pine and snow. Rowan. Rowan's wind. Blood sprayed as Fenrys convulsed, the air leaving his lungs as fast as it had arrived. A moment later, it was there again.

"Breath, Pup," Rowan urged.

Fenrys tried to reply, but choked on blood. Tears dripped down his cheeks and his limbs were wracked with shudders. Black spots flooded his vision. Air swirled in his lungs once more, but blood continued to gush from his throat.

"Now!" Lorcan ordered. "Now or he will die!"

"I'm trying!" The voice was Aelin's. She was the one who'd given the order to keep him breathing. She was next to him doing...something. He didn't know what.

Fenrys managed to turn his head, ignoring the pain that splintered down his neck and through his shoulder. Aelin was hunched over him, sobbing as she tried to heal him. Fenrys blinked four times. I am with you.

Aelin blinked seven times. She'd never done that before. He wasn't certain what it meant. Aelin repeated the pattern. She gritted her teeth, shoulders shaking as she worked. She blinked again, seven times.

Fenrys gasped as a command echoed across the blood oath. Aelin was pulling on it painfully. The pain grounded him. Kept him aware of himself. The pain rippled on, and Aelin's command became audible. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me.

He was trying. He was trying to hold on. He was struggling to keep his eyes open. To keep breathing as Rowan filled his lungs with air. Aelin kept blinking seven times. Her command continued to repeat. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me.

Where was Nascha? Fenrys couldn't see her. He could barely make out the faces that surrounded him. Aelin was the closest and even her features were blurry. Rowan was just a tan blob capped with white. The others were nothing but dark shapes. Where was Nascha? Blood spilled from his lips. His strength was waning. Where was his mate?

"Aelin, now!" Another voice pleaded. A dark head bent over him. A hand found his flailing one. Fenrys gave a weak cry as pain stabbed through him.

"I'm trying," his Queen sobbed. "I'm trying!"

A familiar scent reached his nose. Fenrys groaned softly, not even trying to breathe now. Rowan continued to force air into his lungs. He focused on the familiar scent. One he hadn't smelled in a very long time. Dew, foliage, and cedar.

"Con," Fenrys mouthed.

The dark head was still leaning over him. Was it his brother? Or was it Lorcan? Maybe it was Elide. No, the hand in his own felt too large to be Elide's. Its grip was too tight, too frantic, to be Lorcan's. But it was bigger than his own too, and Connall's hand had been the same size as his.