Burning Dawn (Angels of the Dark #3)(95)
Author: Gena Showalter

“Then another few minutes won’t hurt you, but I will,” Elin snapped, flames bursting from her hair.

She hissed, her face breaking out into a mass of blisters, and Bjorn dropped her.

As she straightened, the male at the front of the line backed away from her.

“We can’t use force,” Xerxes reminded her. “Whatever method we use will be visited upon us for the rest of eternity.”

Which wouldn’t help Thane. She wanted to scream!

A mental command caused her wings to dissipate—her control continued to shock and awe her. “Thane of the Three is dying,” she announced, lifting her chin. “He is a good man, and he is loved. Help us help him. Please.”

Annnd…no response. Everyone looked away. All the moment lacked was crickets singing in the background.

Her hands fisted. “Imagine yourself standing here, in my place. Imagine your spouse or your friend or your father or brother struggling to survive. Imagine there is a way to save him…but someone is standing in your way. How would you feel? What would you do?”

Again, there was no response. Until…

“Let them pass,” someone down the way shouted.

“Yeah,” another called. “Have a heart. He’s one of ours.”

“It’s not like you’ll be adding more than five minutes to your wait.”

“Fine,” the next in line grumbled. “You’re next.”

Her relief was tempered by concern as she took in Thane’s pale skin and blue-tinged lips. The first battle was won, but not the war.

Come on, come on, come the freak on. Finally, the iron gate opened, and as a female Sent One skipped out, smiling, Xerxes stalked past her, Thane still quiet and motionless in his arms. Bjorn and Elin followed closely behind.

This had to work. Failure wasn’t an option.

Xerxes didn’t stop at the River’s shore, but waded in deep. Bjorn and Elin, too. At the moment of contact, however, terrible pain consumed her and she jumped out. What was that about?

Bjorn looked back at her, understanding lighting his face. “I heard what the prince said to you. He infected you with Kendra’s poison and his own darkness.”

“Yes.”

“And now you hurt.”

“Yes,” she repeated, her gaze straying to Thane. He was still unconscious. Keep it together.

Bjorn tilted his head to the side, as if he was listening to a voice she couldn’t hear. “The Water is a cleansing agent,” he said. “The Most High has just informed me your defeat of the prince has earned a reward. Enter the River and be cleansed of the fallen angel’s darkness, as well as Kendra’s poison.”

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. “What about my immortality?” She had to keep it. For Thane. Because he would survive this. Nothing else was acceptable.

Again Bjorn’s head tilted to the side. “You will lose only the evil that came with it.”

Have the good, discard the bad? Thank you wasn’t good enough. Steeling herself against what was to come, she dived in and swallowed a mouthful. The pain was immediate and intense, and she broke the surface screaming, but within a few minutes, a sweet sense of peace took its place.

The moment she was able to, she swam to Xerxes and Thane. The water was the perfect temperature. Not too warm, not too cold, and it sparkled against her skin, pleasant now. Shaking, she scooped the liquid into Thane’s mouth, handful after handful, forcing him to swallow.

Still, there was no change.

She fed him even more liquid, desperation trying to choke her. She pressed her fingers into his neck, searching for a pulse. Nothing. Near-crippling anguish joined the desperation, and she gasped for breath.

“He helped me,” she cried out, hoping the Most High could hear her. “He helped me defeat the prince. I couldn’t have done it without him. Reward him. Please.”

Again, there was no change.

“Thane,” she rasped. “Please. Don’t do this. You made me love you. You gave me a purpose. Now…give me a future. Please.”

Bjorn and Xerxes exchanged a look teeming with grief.

She continued. “This isn’t a debate. I told you heal, and so you’ll heal. Do you hear me?”

Finally—finally!—he coughed, blood gurgling from the corners of his mouth.

She froze. Bjorn and Xerxes froze.

“Did that just happen?” she demanded.

“More. Give him more,” Xerxes rushed out, and she began scooping more and more water into Thane’s mouth, practically drowning him.

Another cough rang out, and there was a starburst of joy inside her.

“It’s working!”

“Elin?”

Steady. Don’t attack him. Not yet. But she could hardly contain herself, was jumping up and down, water sloshing around her. “I’m here, baby. I’m here.”

Thane raised his arms to wipe his face—his hands had completely regenerated, she noted. He looked around, saw that he was cradled in Xerxes’s arms like a baby, and frowned. “Where am I?”

Steady. “The River of Life.”

Xerxes released him. “Elin decided you needed a bath.” Guttural emotion thickened his voice.

“And she was right,” Bjorn said, his voice just as thick.

Steady— Oh, screw it. She threw herself against Thane. “I love you. I love you so much, and I’ve been cleansed of Kendra’s poison. You don’t have to worry—”

“I wasn’t worried. You were alive, and that was all that mattered to me.” His arms tightened around her. “I want you however I can have you.”

“I love you.” She peppered his face with kisses. “I’m so sorry I doubted you when I saw you with the girl. I—”

“Kendra,” he said, cupping her cheeks. “That was Kendra, pretending to be you. But I recognized the differences, and wanted only to talk to her before you walked in. But Ricker came in and incapacitated me. Then the prince showed up and killed both Kendra and Ricker, and they did not regenerate.”

“Good. That means the only enemy you have left is Ardeo.”

“No.” He buried his face in the hollow of her neck and breathed her in. “What he did, he did out of sorrow. Losing you…I understand, and I forgive. I’m done with that war. My weeds are gone.”

Elin peppered him with more kisses, then looked, misty-eyed, at Bjorn and Xerxes. “Don’t just stand there, guys. Get in on this. It’s group-hug time!”

To her delight, they obeyed.