A Court of Stars and Memories

84. Blood Shed and Spilled

    Mitsi hit the ground with a hard crunch and let out a shriek of pain as she twisted onto her side. Ebner barreled towards her, but was intercepted by Mina and Micah. Together, they held him back long enough for Mitsi to push herself to her feet.

    She managed to hold onto her dagger, but when she tried to raise her arm, blazing pain rippled down her spine and black dots flashed before her eyes. "I'm growing tired of this!" Ebner spat, knocking Mina backwards and socking Micah in the gut.

    "Julian will have killed Hollis by now and Eliana won't be far behind. You should just give up. Give us what we want, what we deserve, and we can put all of this behind us."

    "What you deserve is an unmarked grave," Mina hissed, and threw herself at their father. Ebner let out a furious growl as their daggers clashed once more.

    Mitsi panted for breath while Micah dashed over to her. "Are you hurt?"

    "I...I don't know. I can't lift my arm." Mitsi attempted it again, then let out a sharp hiss and braced a hand on Micah's shoulder to steady herself.

    "Has Lysander said anything yet?"

    "They found Lia, but he's said nothing since." The only thing she'd felt from him was a sudden spike of pain, and though she'd been trying not to think about it, she couldn't help but worry that something terrible had happened. "We just have to keep fighting until help arrives. Come on."

    Ignoring her pain, she rushed at her father while Mina pushed him away and dodged out of reach. Ebner brought up his dagger in time to catch Mitsi's blow, but he was too slow to block her kick aimed at his exposed side.

    Ebner went staggering backwards and Micah's fist collided with his jaw, knocking him to the ground. Mitsi advanced a few steps before catching sight of something above the treetops. A dark figure was hurtling towards them, the light of his siphons flickering weakly.

    Lysander managed to slow his descent enough to land on his feet, but dropped to his knees the next instant and Eliana let go of his neck, falling on the snow beside him. "Lys!" Mitsi exclaimed, already running towards him.

    His features were pinched with pain though he managed to stay upright on his hands and knees. Mitsi skidded to the ground beside him, barely aware of Mina and Micah engaging Ebner once again. "What is it? What's wrong?"

    "Faebane," he grunted, sucking down measured breaths while reaching a hand towards his side.

    A faint gasp escaped him as he pried a knife loose and tossed it aside. He clapped a hand over the wound, chest heaving unevenly. "I won't bleed out immediately but the wound won't heal until the faebane wears off. My magic is already gone."

    "What do you need?" She could barely keep the fear from her voice, noticing how pale his face had gone.

    "Something to staunch the blood flow. Fabric or fire. Fire would be better."

    "Fire?" Mitsi repeated.

    Lysander's head dropped and a few ragged breaths escaped him. "I need to seal the wound."

    "That will trap the faebane inside you."

    "It's already in my bloodstream, Owl. It's too late to worry about that. It's a small dose anyway, but I have to stop the bleeding."

    "I thought you said you wouldn't bleed out."

    Lysander shot her an exasperated look, sweat beading on his brow. "Not immediately, but if it doesn't stop soon, I will."