It only grew as the day wore on.
Teas, poultices, potions, elixirs, even the magic of the Emvola. They all made marginal differences at most, and the majority seemed to do absolutely nothing to improve her state. Maybe her superficial wounds were healed. Perhaps even a bone or two was set. But if she never woke up, what did it matter?
Keaton tried everything. He even pulled the pallet right next to the crystal and lifted her hand to touch it, hoping she might draw strength from it. There was a brief moment where he thought that might work, her hand glowing with a soft red light, yet it faded and left her looking paler than before.
“Please. Just wake up, Adriana,” he said softly, stroking her face. “You shouldn’t be the one to pay for my mistakes.”
“That is often the way of things, isn’t it?”
That familiar, ethereal voice sent chills down his spine. Keaton’s face contorted into a near snarl before he managed to control himself.
“Stay the hell away from me.”
His minions had been in and out of the Crystal Chamber all day, but Keaton didn’t care if they heard him.
The daemon clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “So testy.”
“Forgive me if my temper is short when someone I care about is dying,” he grated out.
“I can help with that, you know.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the daemon’s golden figure. For once she didn’t seem interested in lewd displays. She was just hovering nearby. “She’ll need more than you can currently give her.”
“I don’t want your help,” Keaton said, lifting his gaze to the creature. “Your help is what got me into this mess in the first place.”
“Mm, no. I believe your inability to think with your brain instead of your cock is what got you into this mess.”
“Get the fuck out of here!” Keaton yelled, loud enough to shake the walls.
Somewhere in the distance, a drone squeaked and scampered away.
“If that is what you truly wish—”
“That’s what I wish. I’ll figure it out on my own, and if I can’t…”
Then Adriana would die. That was all there was to it. He would have failed her, but at least he wouldn’t further disrespect her by allowing a daemon to have something over her, too.
Gritting his teeth, Keaton squeezed his eyes shut and drew in a deep breath. When he opened them again, the daemon was gone, leaving him alone with a still-dying Adriana.
And leaving him no closer to a solution for how to save her.
26
Keaton had never been one to easily despair, but as the hours slipped by, he came closer and closer.
Everything he’d tried, he tried again, just to be sure. The only thing that seemed to have any effect now was making her touch the crystal, but that faded so quickly it might as well have done nothing. It did give him one last, desperate thought, though.
He’d asked her before if it would hurt her for him to draw energy from the crystal to increase his power. While she’d said it wasn’t a large draw on the resources she needed to survive, what if he could somehow reverse that process? What if he could give part of his own energy, his own life force? What if he could use the crystal to channel it into Adriana.
It was certainly worth a try.
Interfacing with the crystal, he ordered the drones to come help him. Two were positioned beneath her arms, one cradling her head while the leader awaited his signal to give them the go-ahead. They were supposed to lift both of Adriana’s hands to the crystal once Keaton started the process, and not remove her from it until… well, until it worked, ideally.
Or until Keaton passed out.
He was distantly aware of the fact that this could strip him of his new powers, but that didn’t matter. It would be more than a fair trade to get Adriana back. He’d only known her for a short while, yes, but he felt deeply responsible for her. He wanted her to be happy and healthy; he wanted to hear that sweet laugh of hers again.
And he wasn’t going to get that by sitting around and moping.
So he placed both hands to the crystal, ignoring the usual interface in favor of creating his own within his mind. He imagined an empty vessel; a decorative pot sitting at the center of a table. Then he imagined pushing energy out of his body as though he were pushing the tides away from himself.
He felt it flow outward, saw it manifest as a brilliant aura. Then he pushed it toward the vessel, manipulating it so it would fit inside. Only as he did so was Keaton able to understand that this was Anima, too. Every source of energy, every life force, it was all the same thing. His ability to control it now shouldn’t have surprised him, and yet it absolutely did.
It was a humbling experience, too. Shaping this energy in his hands, moving it from one place to another, Keaton could feel the sheer weight of what he was doing. He was rewriting fate, in a way, and that was never something he would forget.
The vessel glowed brightly, and in some distant space, Keaton gave the signal to his drones. Out of the corner of his consciousness he saw them lift Adriana’s hands to the crystal. As soon as her palms touched it, Keaton sent a surge of Anima toward the vessel; one last offering. He watched as the vessel exploded in a brilliant burst of light, the feeling of warmth expanding through his body and then suddenly being sucked away. He was left shivering, but Keaton held on, not breaking his concentration.
A gasp shattered the stillness, Keaton’s eyes flying open. He scrambled to see, pulling his attention toward Adriana, not prepared for the worst.
And he didn’t have to be.
She was sputtering, a small trickle of blood making its way from the corner of her lip before stopping. Her more human skin was a healthy pink, and her scales were radiant again, shimmering in their natural silver. When she opened her eyes, two golden orbs trying to process the space around her.
She saw the drones first and yelped, flinging the nearest off of her like she’d just noticed a spider on her hand.
“Wh-what are you—!”
She wasn’t given time to finish. Keaton was on his knees beside her, throwing his arms around her and hugging her tight.
“…Oh,” she said after a long silence.
He could feel the warmth in her body, the strength that was present again, and he’d never experienced such relief in all his life. But there was also something else. He had a better sense of her; could feel her surprise, then an emotional warmth to join the physical one as she wrapped her arms around him in return.
“I thought I’d lost you,” Keaton said, his voice muffled, his face practically buried against her neck.
He breathed in the scent of quicksilver, the earthy undertones a comfort to him now. Some distant part of his mind was kicking him for becoming so attached, so fast — he’d done that with Elena, after all — but this felt different. It felt natural, as if this was the way things were supposed to be.
Awareness prickled in the back of his consciousness, and for a moment he felt something similar to when he’d undergone the ritual with Cassia. Instead of an unquenchable lust, though, he felt the need to be as close to this woman as possible; to never let her go for fear of what might happen if he did.
“What happened?” she asked, her own voice muffled against his shoulder. “I am not complaining, but…”
He supposed he did need to explain. Reluctantly, Keaton drew back, though he didn’t let her go. His eyes met hers, searching for any sign that she knew what he was about to say. There was a spark of fear in those golden depths, but it was snuffed out by the same warmth he’d felt flowing between them.