Page 103 of Shadows of Light
And now came the tricky part. Kaylia had cast the spell that saved Lexi’s life, but she could break it.
Sahira had heard Kaylia’s words for the spell, and that was all she needed to break Lexi’s heart of stone. But she had to make sure Lexi swallowed the potion as soon as she woke, or the noxus’s poison would kill her before she could counteract it.
Waving her hands over Lexi’s body, Sahira repeated Kaylia’s spell. “Heart of stone, heart of stone, I weave thee a heart of stone.”
When Sahira finished repeating the spell, she took a deep breath before uttering the words to wake her niece… and possibly kill her.
CHAPTERSEVENTY-NINE
“Heart of stone,heart of stone, I break your heart of stone.”
Sahira clamped her hand over Lexi’s mouth and nose while she used her other hand to shove her chin up. Lexi’s fingers dug into the nest and tore away pieces.
Her feet kicked as her body twitched from the poison. Behind her closed lids, her eyes rolled as her back arched off the nest.
“Swallow!” Sahira shouted at her. “You must swallow the potion, Lexi!”
She hadn’t needed to yell at her as Lexi had no other option but to drink the antidote if she was going to breathe. When Sahira saw her niece’s mouth and throat work, she released her hold on Lexi.
She pried her mouth open again as Lexi continued to seize and her heels kicked against the sticks that created the nest. Once she had Lexi’s mouth open enough to get more potion in there, Sahira poured it inside.
When some of the precious drink spilled out of the corners of Lexi’s mouth, Sahira shut it again. Despite the small trickle, more liquid went down her throat when Lexi swallowed.
Her fingers tore out chunks of feathers and cloth from the nest as her head thrashed. The dragons edged closer as Sahira cradled Lexi’s head while her body flopped.
Bending over her niece, tears streamed down Sahira’s face as she whispered, “Please come back to us.”
Lexi flopped a few more times before her back bowed off the ground until only her head and feet touched the nest. Time stood still for Sahira as her heart stopped, and ice seeped through her veins until it permeatedeverypart of her.
Then Lexi hit the ground with a thud before going completely still. Sahira watched for any sign of life as Alina’s warm breath billowed over her.
Please, Hecate, please let her live.
So many lives rested on Lexi’s shoulders, and now, Sahira’s. If she messed this up, countless humans and immortals would die when the realms inevitably fell into chaos at the hands of another monster whose mind would rot on that throne.
Not only that, but she would have killed her niece. A woman she’d helped raise since birth and someone she loved deeply. A fracturing started in her iced heart as tears spilled onto Lexi’s cool cheeks.
“Lexi,” she breathed, the word little more than a croak. “Please.”
She’d never be able to live with herself if she failed and killed one of the two immortals she loved most. She’d never be able to look at her brother, Cole, or anyone else again.
And that wasifCole survived. Without Lexi’s healing ability, there was a good chance he’d die too. Which meant her failure could condemn two immortals to death. And if Cole lived, but Lexi didn’t, she could be condemning countless others to death.
She should have waited for Kaylia to give Lexi the potion, but she had no idea when the crone would return orifshe would.Doomed Valley wasn’t a place many escaped. And if she’d waited, they might have had to watch while Cole worsened and died.
She had no other choice.
A sob rose and lodged in her chest as she stroked Lexi’s cheeks and wiped her tears away. When she leaned over to kiss Lexi’s forehead, her niece’s eyes flew open. Lexi sat up so fast, her head nearly smashed off Sahira’s, but she jerked back in time to avoid the collision.
For a second, Lexi sat in the cave, her hands planted behind her as her eyes darted around the walls, and the baby red dragon leapt into her lap. Too stunned by the abrupt change in events, Sahira could only sit and gawk.
And then, with a relieved cry, Sahira threw her arms around Lexi and crushed her niece against her chest. “Oh, thank Hecate.”
Lexi trembled as her hand gripped Sahira’s arm. “What happened?”
“Something horrible, but you’re okay.” Sahira brushed the hair back from Lexi’s face as she leaned back to take in her niece. She remained pale, and her eyes were haunted and shadowed, but she would survive. “I’ll fill you in while you work.”
“Work?” Lexi croaked.
