Valiant Heart (17 page)

When she pulled her mouth away, she was smiling. “It's not back one hundred percent but it's there. I can feel it.”

“Good. Now do what you're good at.” He shifted his arm with a sigh and nodded.

Her smile widened. “You got it.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

What If?

Lance was sleeping. I was thinking. My back against a tree trunk, my mind a whirl of what ifs.

He groaned a little in his sleep, shifted positions, his arm draping over my legs. I ran my fingers through his hair, reluctantly liking the feel of his head on my thighs. He stopped groaning and let out a sigh. He'd healed his own injuries for the most part.

I glanced down at him again. The wounds from the beasts still looking angry and red, were closed at least. I'd managed to stop the bleeding; he'd attempted to close them up. It had taken a shitload of energy for him to do and I wished that I could have helped him more. But his kiss only gave me so much and I'd tapped out of juice pretty quickly. He'd fallen into an exhausted sleep right on my lap and I couldn't bear to move him.

Something was happening to me. I was feeling things. Like in my heart. For Lance.

Ugh.

And my powers weren't back completely, not by a long shot, but our kiss had sparked them. Like a flint against stone. No fire had caught yet but there'd been smoke with that kiss. A lot of smoke. Fuck again.

What if Artemis was right about Lance, about my Hunter? What if…no, no, those were dangerous thoughts.

I glanced to the pile of our stuff, the eyes of my beast staring at me. I shivered under its glassy dead stare. My beast. How in the hell had that happened? I'd killed it. I'd burned it. I'd scattered the ashes. Five fucking years ago. It had been complete. No mistakes. And yet, there the bastard was. Glaring at me. I snarled back. Daring it to come for me again.

It didn't make any sense and yet the truth of it was staring at me from a few feet away.

What if…?

I lifted my hand to my head, a headache blooming all of a sudden. What if someone was bringing the beasts back? Cat supposedly fell to the strike of her beast as well and now mine had ventured back from the dead. Lance had said that the wound he saw on the dead beast wasn't a direct hit, but what if it had been? What if the beasts were being reincarnated with a deadly purpose? Wouldn't Artemis have known? Wouldn't she have told me that?

I shook my head and groaned against the pounding that train of thought caused. Too much to think about when all I had was exhaustion and incomplete information. I closed my eyes. Willed myself to sleep if only for a few minutes.

“Ariana.”

I jolted awake. Looked down at Lance. Still asleep. Scanned the trees, the stream. Nothing. No movement.

“Ariana, concentrate.”

The voice was faint but urgent. I closed my eyes.
“Greer?”

“Yes, Greer, who the fuck…oh never mind.”
Her voice became somewhat clearer, words fading in and out as she spoke in a rush. I focused on pulling her through, clearing my mind, concentrating on what she was trying to say.

“We've been attacked. Where are you?”

I opened my eyes. Where the hell were we?

Frowning, I looked up. The stars were just starting to peek out, the sun having set not too long ago.

“Ariana? Answer me? Are you still at camp?”

I shook my head, refocusing on Greer.
“No, we're not, we're in the forest, we were on our way to you. We were attacked as well.”

“Injuries?”

“Lance was slashed. He's resting.”

“Can he walk? I need you here. Ella…”

Her words were garbled.
“Ella what?”
Dread pooled in my gut. If we'd lost another Huntress…

“Do you remember the camp we set up the last time we were here? The one with the giant oak?”

I nodded.
“Yes.”
I'd slept in that oak. I looked west, back toward the trail that I couldn't see. Probably about a five-hour walk, more with Lance in the condition he was in. If I remembered exactly where it was.

“We need you here, Ariana. Ella is hurt, bad.”

“Is she the only one?”

“Yes, the others only have some superficial wounds. Ella is going to die without your help.”

I shook my head. She was asking the impossible. I had no power to heal, not really.
“Greer, you shackled my powers, I can't help her. You can though; use what you siphoned from me.”

“I can't, I tried. The power I took from you is fading and I don't know how to harness it properly. I'll unshackle you. I'll give you your powers back.”

Artemis…ugh, there was too much to tell her, too much to explain.
“Greer…I…”

A flash of light ignited the darkening sky for a brief moment.

“Did you see that?” Greer said.

“Yes.”
They were farther north than I thought.

“I'm going to send Harper to you but you need to give me some kind of marker. She'll be traveling blind, might take her a few tries.”

“We're situated just at the stem of the stream. Barely a current flowing. Maybe a foot wide, if that.”

“Okay, she'll follow the stream. Get yourselves ready.”

I shook Lance gently but urgently, eager to get him up so we could pack up the bags and be ready for Harper when she arrived.

He groaned again, his arms coming around my waist and latching on.

“Lance.” I shook him again. “You have to wake up. Greer needs us.”

He opened his eyes, confusion evident as he tried to focus on what I was saying. “Greer?”

I shifted his arms away, trying to detach myself without hurting him. He grunted when I helped him to sit, swapping spots as I propped him against the tree.

“Ugh, I'm dizzy and thirsty.” He reached for one of the packs but I jumped up and swatted his hands away. I pulled out a water bottle and opened it before handing it to him with a frustrated look.

“You've lost a lot of blood. You need to conserve your energy.”

He examined his arm, rotating it to look at all of the lacerations, cringing as he did. “It doesn't look great.”

No, it doesn't.
I sucked in a deep breath, realizing with sinking guilt what Greer needed me for, knowing I wouldn't be able to deliver. Failing my Huntresses once again.

“What's going on?” Lance was frowning. “Don't even try to lie, Ariana. Something is very wrong. I can see it all over your face.”

“Greer says they were attacked, that Ella is injured really bad.”

“Is Kelly okay?”

I felt a jolt of jealousy and tried to tamp it down. Kelly, again. Always Kelly first to his mind.

“No, just Ella,” I snapped.

“It bothers you that I care about her, doesn't it?” His tone wasn't the usual teasing kind. This time it was laced with pity.

Like he felt sorry for me because he loved another woman.

I wanted to rid that woman from his heart. And what a thought that was. For someone I didn't want a future with.

Ugh!

Fuck him. And fuck his feelings for Kelly.

“We don't have time for this.” I shook my head, no way I wanted to have this conversation…ever. “Ella is hurt and I can't help her.”

He opened his mouth and I cut him off.

“No amount of kissing is going to give me what I need. My powers are not there for me to save lives. How the hell can I be a leader when I don't have the ability to take care of my own tribe?”

“Greer shackled you. She's the reason you're like this.”

My frustration flared. He was right. Fine. But I was responsible for my punishment. If I hadn't—

“The more I get to know you, the more I can read when you're traveling down a path of self-criticism.” He pushed himself forward, pity still shining strong in his eyes. “You beat yourself up when you're not to blame. What Greer did was barbaric.”

“She did her duty to our Queen and her tribe.”

“That's horseshit.” Lance snorted. “Fuck, Ariana, you're so brainwashed it isn't funny. And you think the Order is bad.”

Conversation over.

“Harper is on her way to us.” My tone was cold, words measured as I readjusted the sword on my back.

“Harper again?” He groaned and slumped back. “I can't travel that way.”

I smiled, taking some pleasure in the idea of him barfing, despite the fact that I'd be in the same boat.

“Trying to find their camp in the dark would be impossible and you're in no shape to walk for hours.” I pulled everything into my pack and zipped it up.

He grunted in response.

“It's a good thing you haven't eaten in a while. It'll make things less messy.”

Harper found us within the hour. She was covered in blood and unsteady on her feet when she appeared out of the air.

“For the love of…oh fuck, I'm so happy I found you two.” She stumbled to the ground, panting as she wiped her brow.

I handed her a water bottle, which she guzzled in a minute flat.

“Been bouncing around all over this stream. You know it motherfucking forks, right?”

I shook my head. “How bad is Ella?”

Harper's shoulders slumped even more. “Bad. She got attacked by a beast claiming to be her mate. You know, as in a mate we killed six months ago.”

I snapped my gaze to Lance, whose eyebrows were sky high as well.

“What the hell is going on?” Lance stood, gripping one of the backpacks in his good hand.

I gathered up my sickles, quickly slipping the holster over my shoulder then snatched up the other pack. “I have my suspicions. I need to speak with Greer. Let's go.”

Harper blew out a long breath and stood. “Hang on tight.”

I left Lance on his hands and knees, dry heaving and bitching about Harper. I wasn't feeling too hot myself but I battled it back, intent on getting to Greer.

“She's over there,” Greer said as she rounded the corner of the large oak marking the small enclosed camp.

“I can't help her.” I put my packs down and motioned for Greer to follow me away from any curious ears.

“I told you I'd unshackle your powers. There's no time to talk now, Ariana.”

I grabbed Greer's arm as she tried to turn away from me. “My powers are already unshackled, but they aren't working.”

Greer froze, turned toward me, eyes sparking with confusion, anger, even helplessness. She yanked her arm from my grasp. “What?”

I motioned again for her to walk away from the camp and this time she did.

“While I was unconscious, Artemis came to me.” I pulled my sword from its sheath on my back and showed it to her. “She unshackled my powers and gave me this. It amplifies the Huntress poison.” I pointed to the bronzed side. “It also will sever the Huntress/Hunter bond without injury to either. For those of us who want out.”

Greer took the sword, her eyes wide. “It's powerful, I can feel it.”

“It is?” I frowned. I hadn't felt any power from it. Not at all.

Greer nodded, awe clear on her face. “It's humming, don't you hear that?” She took a swipe, bringing the sword down in an arc.

I shook my head. No, I didn't hear a damn thing. “That's what I mean, Greer, I'm unshackled but my powers haven't returned. Not really. Not enough to heal Ella.”

As if my words were just sinking in, Greer frowned. “She'll die.”

Helplessness crashed through me. “I—”

“Greer, Ariana, come,” Harper shouted.

We rushed to follow, running into the camp, seeing Ella, blood everywhere, unconscious. Lance was kneeling next to her, hands moving over her wounds, healing her right before our eyes.

No, he couldn't. He wasn't strong enough. But even though that thought raced through my head, I didn't step forward to stop him. Not when he was saving a life that I couldn't. He, a Hunter, with no reason to do this. Especially after the way I'd treated him.

Minutes seemed to take forever but with each one that passed, Ella's skin began to look less pale. The blood flowing from her wounds slowed, maybe even stopped.

Lance, on the other hand, didn't look too great. His body was slumping, like he could barely hold himself up. But he didn't pause. Not until the worst of Ella's injury was mended. Not until her breathing seemed less labored, her eyelids fluttering as if in sleep, her lips changing from blue to pink.

Lance opened his eyes and speared me with a look of utter and complete exhaustion.

And my heart…my heart felt like it was going to burst.

“She'll live,” he said before collapsing in a heap on the ground, no energy left to brace himself for impact.

“Lance!” I jumped to his side, heaving him off the ground and onto my lap. He'd used up too much of his powers. Given what he needed for himself. His own wounds had reopened, blood seeping once again. What he'd given to Ella had cost him. “I need bandages.”

“Your Hunter sacrificed himself for one of ours.” Greer stood over me, her expression shuttered as usual, all trace of her awe, worry, confusion gone. The sword from Artemis was still in her hand.

For a minute I felt vulnerable, knowing what it did, knowing even though she couldn't sever my bond to Lance, she wanted to. She didn't understand the sacrifice that came with the sword—that a Huntress had to give up her mate, which Greer had already done many years ago. She had nothing to sacrifice in order to claim the weapon as her own. But a sword like that, well, it was the ultimate boon for Greer. With it in her hand, she could decide the fate of Hunter and Huntress alike. Power like she had never known.

But it wasn't hers to wield. She hadn't been chosen. And yet, she still held the sword like she owned it. Like she expected me to give it to her.

Ten minutes ago, I would have accepted that possibility as her law over me. I would have let her keep it and helped her find a way to claim it. But things had changed.