Jovari the Blue

Chapter 30: A New Tradition

Ashvale

Talon felt as though his insides were on fire, but it was worth it. Every spider bite was worth the sight of his mate's magic and memories returned. The brush of her mind against his. The love filling the depths of her gaze.

He was only vaguely aware of his feet as he lost feeling in them. Numbness traveled inwards from his extremities. He wanted to lift his hand, to brush his fingers against Claire's soft skin, to push her hair back from her face to better see her, but he couldn't lift his arm.

Her eyes turned frantic, looking over him. The panic seeped from her mind and into his. He should have been more concerned; perhaps he was dying as a result of the poison. Yet, he couldn't seem to summon anything beyond joy at seeing his mate returned to him.

"Talon," she breathed, pulling at his clothes, then swearing when she saw more of the bites. In her mind, the bites had ripped through his tunic, his pants. Here, in the real world, they were hidden beneath the fabric, but they were no less present. The spiders must have been carrying Kane's poison, whatever he'd used to chain her. Yet, his memories were intact. Perhaps it was manifesting differently, because he'd been bitten.

He couldn't seem to summon the nerve to worry over it. She would make it right. His mate would fix this.

"But, I don't know how!" she was saying. He blinked, struggling to focus on her words, so he stared at her face. Her eyes were the only thing he wanted to lose himself in. He could forget about everything else.

His only disappointment was that he no longer had the strength to hug her, to wrap her in his arms. Gods, he didn't even have the strength to feel alarmed as tears began pouring down her cheeks.

A string of choked words fell from her lips. He should have known what they meant, but even his ears had stopped working. Her body glowed. Her lips continued to move, and he lost himself in the cadence of her voice, rising and falling as her hands swept over him. He began to feel again—warmth in all the places her skin touched him.

A sigh of relief fell from his lips. The feel of her against him, even while he was in pain, was bliss. The pain began to fade. Moment by moment, his mind sharpened. His arms and legs prickled, as if stabbed by thousands of needles. Then—

He surged into a seated position, dragging Claire into his arms. She sprawled across his lap, then rearranged herself until she was straddling his hips, her hands roving his face. "It worked," she breathed. "It worked—"

He captured her mouth in his, tasting the salt of her tears on her lips as he claimed her. "Mine," he told her. "You are mine."

"Yours," she repeated against his mind, caressing his tongue. He groaned.

"Well then, it appears my concoction worked." Lixiss's voice interrupted them. He'd forgotten about the spriten woman. Claire broke away, a slow smile spreading across her lips. Their eyes held a moment longer before she detached herself and stood.

"Shalaya, Lixiss. Aya sahha mik." Thank you, Lixiss. You saved me.

"Oh, you saved yourself, Your Majesty. I only gave you the means to do it," Lixiss answered in turn.

Talon exhaled. Now that their minds were linked again, he could understand the spriten language in its entirety, not just the few words he'd memorized on his own.

"Still, I owe you a debt." Claire's gratitude filled the shared space of their minds.

"As do I," he found himself saying to Lixiss. "For helping return my mate to me."