Chapter 39

Justice Is Served

The inside of the tree seemed different than Jayden expected. And larger. Candles adorned the curved walls, lighting the whole room and filling it with the scent of roses. Three pallets lined the walls, and one long table sat in the center of the room. A cabinet with a pitcher of water and wooden bowls rested against one wall.

Reliefs of unicorns and elegant women adorned the tree’s peach-­colored wood. Jayden caught herself staring at the designs. Many were of Healers laying hands on people, but some depicted Healers with daggers.

One picture showed a unicorn thrusting its horn through a black lion. Jayden shuddered. The black lion’s pained face was just above one of the candles on the wall, and the resonating light of the flickering flame distorted its gruesome face even more.

“Set him here.” Serena’s voice called Jayden back to the urgency at hand.

Ethan lowered Logan onto to the table.

She ripped his shirt, where it was already torn and bloody, and exposed the wounds. He flinched when she applied the water to the black, oozing punctures. “Awareness is a good sign.”

“You two must be exhausted. Please, rest.” Serena motioned to the pallets. “The other Healers will be here soon. I’m going to go with Miranda and make sure they’re aware of the urgency of the situation.”

Ethan moved toward Serena and stumbled.

She steadied him. “Easy there. I had to use quite a bit of your strength to heal you and Jayden.”

Jayden straightened her back. “You used his strength to heal me?”

Serena nodded. “You didn’t have enough of your own left. You almost didn’t make it. Both of you.” She looked into Ethan’s eyes.

“Thank you,” he said.

“I wasn’t going to let that happen.” She squeezed his arms once more before she left.

Jayden bit back her jealousy. It was stupid, really. This woman had just saved them. She should be feeling grateful. Happy. And she was. But too many emotions wanted to rise to the surface right now. She gravitated closer to Ethan.

He rubbed a finger against her arm. “Hey, I’m sure Logan will be fine.”

His emotions lapped against her. Push, pull, push, pull. They mirrored hers.

Everything from the black lion battle rushed back to her. He’d told her to run, but she hadn’t. His fear had spiked, and she’d ignored it.

She’d thought it weakness to let his fear in. To let her own fear—the thought of losing him—in.

He’d asked her to trust him and she hadn’t. Because of that, he’d been in the path of the lion and then it went after her. All because she didn’t want to lose him. Because she was afraid to let him protect her.

But it was his job—not hers. His choice. He’d taken over where her family could not.

If she kept trying to stop him from protecting her, it would only make things worse. It had made things worse, more than once. She needed to accept that this was what he’d do. That last thought pierced her heart like an icicle. But she’d have to accept it. Honor the fact that he’d taken an oath.

But losing him would crush her.

Yes. The emotions would cripple her, but only if she let them. They weren’t to be controlled, they were to be embraced. But how?

Perhaps the first step was to stop trying to become her idea of an emotionless warrior.

She looked into his eyes. “Thank you for protecting me.”

He stared at her, and his relief rushed into her like a dam breaking. It was as if he finally felt that she understood him.

He leaned in close, intensity deep in his eyes. “Anything for you.Anything.”

His soft smile melted her. His eyes searched her face. Her heartbeat quickened. He leaned closer. So close she could—

The door to the tree opened. Serena and Miranda, followed by two other women, slipped in. The first was a dark-haired, dark-eyed woman who looked much older than Serena, though not exactly old. The other woman had white hair.

“Lydia, Tabitha.” Serena introduced the newcomers.

These women also wore white, flowing gowns that rippled as they strode over to Logan. The white-haired woman jerked away from him. The dark-haired woman placed a hand over her mouth.

What did that mean? Was he beyond healing?

“We cannot heal this man,” the white-haired woman spoke.

Jayden’s heart clutched.

“What do you mean?” Ethan placed a hand on his sword hilt.

“This man”—the white-haired woman faced Ethan—“is a danger to Serena. We cannot heal him. Justice has been served.”

“Justice?” Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

“Yes.” She arched an eyebrow.

Ethan ripped a candle from the wall with his blood-stained arm and handed it to Jayden. “Jayden, take Scout and Aurora and find one of the plants. Westwind and I will bring Logan to you.” The wolves bounded to Ethan’s side, teeth revealed.

“We cannot allow this.” The two women barred Jayden’s way.

Ethan began to pull out his sword.

“Ethan, don’t.” Serena’s voice stopped him.

“Ethan?” Miranda’s wind-chime voice broke in. She looked at Serena. “This is your Ethan?”

“Yes. This is the Ethan I healed.” Serena’s eyes pleaded with the other women.

“We still cannot—” the white-haired woman began.

“How can you make this judgment, Tabitha?” The dark-haired woman interrupted her.

“He is evil, Lydia.”

A fire lit in Jayden’s chest. “He is no such thing.”

Tabitha glared at Jayden. “Are you bonded to unicorns, Child?”

She recoiled from the old woman’s cold stare.

Serena stepped closer to the older Healers. “It’s the evil of the venom you feel.”

“No, child,” Tabitha said to Serena. “He will try to take you. I cannot allow that.”

Serena’s eyes widened. “Logan? This is Logan?” Her voice came out as a whisper. Her hand pressed against her throat, and she staggered a step back.

Tears coursed down Jayden’s cheeks now. “If you won’t heal him, then let me save him. We’ll take him far from here, if you’re worried.”

Serena’s gaze met Jayden’s. “Do you trust him? Logan?”

“He’s like a father to me.”

Serena glanced at Ethan. “And you?”

He released his sword. “With my life.”

“Then I’ll heal him myself.” Serena rolled up her sleeves and placed both hands above Logan’s leg.

“Serena, no. You’re not strong enough.” Tabitha charged toward her.

Ethan blocked the white-haired Healer.

“She is,” Miranda whispered.

“Serena, the Hall will form a Circle if you decide you must heal this man,” Tabitha warned.

“Form your Circle. He has no time left.” Serena dropped her hands to Logan’s thigh.

“So be it.” Tabitha whirled around.

Lydia followed her out. The two women brushed by Miranda as if she wasn’t there.

Serena cried out as if in pain.

Ethan jumped toward her, but Miranda put her arm out to stop him. “You can go to her, but don’t touch her until she falls away. That will mean she is done.”

“Falls?”

“You must not break her concentration. She is absorbing the poison.”

“She’s absorbing it? Snare me. She’ll die.”

Miranda shook her head. “She is very strong.”

Serena swayed visibly. Sweat beaded her forehead. Ethan dashed over to her, hovering behind her.

Logan convulsed. His back arched and his whole body shook.

Jayden pressed her hands to her mouth. Ryan thrashing on Anna’s couch, the black lion’s poison in his veins, returned to her memory. The pounding from Logan’s thrashing mimicked Jayden’s erratic heartbeats. She dropped beside Westwind and touched his shoulder. He leaned into her, and she pulsed emotion into him: sorrow, love, and hope. He turned his eyes onto her for a brief moment, and in his gaze she felt his sincere gratitude.

At last Logan’s body fell against the bed with a lifeless thud.

Serena trembled. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed. The only thing to hit the floor was her golden hair as Ethan caught her still, limp body in his arms.