Page 57 of Resurrecting the Witch
I saw Lennox’s pink hair.
I saw Dominic’s large body positioned almost protectively by Gioia.
Gioia.
She was bigger than Lennox but somehow seemed like the smallest of the three.
“Oh goddess,” Anya muttered and kneeled by Gioia first. She checked for a pulse, and I swore time stopped.
“It’s faint. Patrick, get over here.” I didn’t question her and kneeled next to her and Gioia. Two wolves, one elder and one so young, looking so lifeless on the ground. “Cliona has been siphoning her power into you, and between hers and mine, we can do this.” Anya seemed to be talking more to herself than me, but she gripped my wrist with her bony fingers and then placed her hand on Gioia’s chest.
I felt power thrum through me, but it was different than Cliona’s. Where Cliona’s was earthy and full of static energy, Anya’s was like a douse of cool water. Her power was clean, like it wanted to heal every bone in my body even though it wasn’t broken.
“Focus on Gioia, Patrick,” the wolf elder ordered. I did. I looked at her tiny body and felt her heartbeat through Anya’s touch. It was faint but each second that passed it grew louder until a gasp of breath broke the silence and Gioia sat up coughing.
“Good girl, that’s it,” Anya said but wasted no time.
“Lennox next,” Guillermo said, even though Anya settled before Dom, who was closer, and made to touch him. “LENNOX. NEXT.”
We both froze and saw Guillermo’s chest heaving as he sat next to the tiny pink-haired body. “Okay, Guillermo,” Anya told him slowly, clearly unwilling to argue with him and moved next to Lennox.
“Dom? Dominic? Why are you like this?” Gioia seemed to realize what had happened and I saw out of the corner of my eye as she pulled Dom’s head into her lap. “You don’t get to leave me, so you better hold on.” She stroked his blue and white dreadlocks with her small, pale hands, but I couldn’t pay any more attention to what she was doing.
I didn’t cry, or feel weepy, but something broke in my chest at her small voice telling my dragon friend to stay with her.
Cliona.
My heart broke for Cliona.
I felt the cooling sensation from Anya again, the slowly building pitter-patter of Lennox’s heartbeat, and then heard Lennox cough as she gasped for air.
“One more,” Anya said. I noticed then her breathing had turned heavy. “You okay?” she asked me even though she looked about done herself.
“Let’s get it done.” I wasn’t going to tell her that I felt weaker than I had since I woke up in the dirt. Where Cliona’s magick felt rejuvenating, like I was being filled by her very essence, Anya was doing something different. She was taking from me to give to the others. I didn’t care, I would do anything to save my friends and save Cliona from the guilt she was obviously feeling thinking she’d killed them.
Anya ripped the top of Dom’s shirt open to reveal the deep brown expanse of tattooed muscle. The other two already had enough of their skin exposed to touch them, but Dom was wearing a button-up. Anya touched his pec, and I felt the familiar sensation again, this time it was even more draining. I felt like the air was being taken from my lungs. “Almost there,” Anya said, reassuring herself or me, I couldn’t be sure. And then, right as I felt my vision darkening with the need for rest, I heard Dom’s heartbeat return to normal before hearing his own breath of air.
Anya and I both collapsed on the pavement, catching our breath.
“What happened?” Lennox asked.
“We were hoping you could tell us, beautiful,” Guillermo said, still sitting beside her, stroking her hair as he held her to him. I hadn’t heard him call her that before, but I also hadn’t heard him bark at us how he had when Lennox was still passed out.
“We were walking out,” Lennox started and then took a deep breath like she was trying to recall the memory.
“Cliona fell to her knees and started clutching at her temple. I wasn’t fast enough to get them away,” Dom continued for her. I heard the regret in his tone, like he blamed himself.
“It felt like I got hit with a lightning bolt,” Gioia muttered, looking around for the first time. “Where is she? Cliona? Is she okay?”
I was still trying to catch my breath, but my body felt too weak. I didn’t know when I’d be able to get up and plan what to do to find my mate.
“She called me,” Anya said in between big breaths. “I found these two on the way.”
“We need to find her.” I tried to sound determined, but I still felt like I wasn’t fully settled in my body.
My phone rang in my pocket.
I grabbed it and saw her number and sighed in relief.
