Dark Prince Rising

Two

Just when Cira was nearly unconscious, the man's grip loosened on her throat. She fell to her knees, gasping for air like she'd never used it before. As quickly as she could, she rolled over into a crouch to face Dreyan.

The old man was clutching at his chest with fingers curled into claws, his face twisted in a silent scream. He slowly sank to his knees, then face-planted onto the cobblestones. Behind him, silhouetted by the lamplight from the street, stood Aelon. Golden spirals danced just under his skin, tracing glowing pathways from his fingertips up his arms and under his tunic. He looks like a god.

"Aelon!" Cira gasped, her hands flying to her throat as the world spun out from beneath her.

Aelon rushed forward, catching her as she fell forward. "Oh gods... Cira, can you hear me?"

His arms were strong and solid, holding her up from the cold ground. The world was still spinning, but she managed to nod.

"Just hold on. Stay with me, Cira." His voice sounded like it was bouncing through a tunnel, miles and miles away from her. He carefully laid her down, but she struggled feebly to stay in his arms. She just wanted to sleep against him, where it was warm...

He placed one hand on her throat and the other on her chest and closed his eyes. Cira watched in distant fascination as the glowing golden swirls reappeared, this time moving down his arms and into her.

Slowly, the world stopped spinning. It was a wonderful feeling, like being filled with liquid sunshine. The warmth circled her throat, everywhere the cord had cut into her flesh. She could feel the skin mending together, the bruises vanishing.

When he finished, she lay still on the ground for a moment, the memory of that incredible warmth fading as her body healed completely.

"Cira, are you with me?" Concern filled Aelon's voice.

Grudgingly, Cira pushed herself to her feet. "I'm fine," she said, her muddled mind returning to normal. "But she's not."

The woman cried out in her fevered sleep, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. Without a word, Aelon set his jaw and knelt before her, preparing to heal. But as soon as he laid his hands on her chest, he flinched back as if she was burning to the touch.

"What's wrong?" Cira knelt beside him, peering into the woman's face. She would be fairly pretty if her face wasn't so bruised.

Aelon turned to her, and the look of horror on his face made Cira freeze. "She's... With child."

Cira felt her own eyes widen. "Oh." What did the Followers need a pregnant woman for? She had been kidnapped, after all. They sat in silence as the woman thrashed and called out for someone. "Can you still heal her?"

He slowly shook his head. "I don't know. I've never tried to heal two people at once before."

"Well, you'll never know unless you try. She'll die without your help, along with her baby. Even if you can only save one of them, I think it's worth a shot."

Aelon looked to her, still unsure, and Cira nodded firmly. "You should be strong enough. You just took the life of that man. Even though he was elderly, that should be enough power to heal a few cuts and bruises."

His mouth twitched into a smile, even though his eyes were still filled with worry. "A few cuts and bruises," he repeated. "I can heal that."

He placed his hands on the woman again, this time one on her stomach and one on her chest. Cira watched in amazement as he worked his magic, the golden swirls mending the woman's bruises and cuts like water mends dry, cracked earth.