Branches of Life

Artemis

Fucking shit! My panic rose, nearly overwhelming me. "Take me to her, now."

Not saying another word, he took off with Harmony and me following him down street after street. The whole time, my mind kept conjuring horrible what-if scenarios. Eventually, we stopped at the mouth of an alley. Ander inclined his head toward the alley, letting us know she was down that way. Instantly I knew there was something wrong. "Not only is it way too quiet, but I smell water."

Ander looked at me like I was stupid. "No shit. It just rained."

The urge to punch him flashed through me. "No smartass, it doesn't smell like rainwater. It smells like the ocean."

Harmony opened her mouth but was interrupted by the sudden wave of noise flooding from within the alley.

"Is she okay?"

"Stay with me baby, stay awake."

Without another thought, I took off down the alley, splashing through the deep puddles of salt water.

Starling was pacing back and forth, glancing at her brother periodically. Koa was kneeling in a puddle of water, with Jade in his arms, frantically speaking to her. My stomach sank at the sight.

Saltwater soaked her clothes and hair. She shook, even though it wasn't cold enough to warrant it. Her normally golden skin was pale, and her lips were tinted blue. I stumbled when I noticed her formally blue shirt, now stained with her blood. With Koa's hand in the way, I was unable to see the extent of the damage. Please be okay.

"What happened?" My broken voice was barely above a whisper as my legs gave out. I would've splashed knees first into a puddle if it weren't for Ander's arms wrapping around me, and pulling me back up.

Starlings' wide and almost wild eyes met mine. "I don't know. It isolated her with some kind of wall made out of water. Not even my fire could break through. A couple of minutes later, this wolf spirit familiar pulled her out of the water."

I immediately found Rowan, sitting a few feet away, intently watching Jade. I've never been more grateful that my sister was the exception to the rule. "Thank you, Rowan," I whispered, my voice barely audible, but she heard me anyway and inclined her head.

Starling was still taken aback by her, but she managed to shake her head and continue. "The wall of water disappeared after that, along with the creature. Jade's near hypothermic, but nothing we've tried has helped speed up her healing."

A rumbling growl from Koa, sounding inhuman, pulled my attention back to him. A tactic used to try and force a reaction from someone else's spirit animal. Case and point, my own wanted to respond to his growl with one of my own. An instinct I easily ignored. Jade also didn't respond, but it wasn't due to her amazing control. Her wolf was too weak to respond. Fuck. It was difficult to think with all my chaotic thoughts, as I tried to remember all the ways to aid in the healing process.

Ander and I spun around at the splashing behind us, relaxing at the sight of Harmony. In her hands was her bag, one she didn't bring with her to the bathroom. "I figured we may need it if Jade is hurt," she panted. I hadn't even considered that. My only concern had been getting to my sister.

Harmony gasped as soon as she caught sight of Jade. Her steps picked up, water flying through the air when she dropped to her knees beside Jade. Koa's head snapped up, with a furious and almost crazed look in his eyes, and a rumbling growl vibrating his chest. Neither of which scared off Harmony. "Unless you want her to die, you'll knock that shit off."

Koa's body stiffened and I could tell he wanted to do the exact opposite, but a glance down at Jade had him reluctantly relenting. Harmony wasted no time holding her hand over Jade's shaking body. Even though I wanted nothing more than to try and help, I knew better than to get in her way and forced myself to stay off to the side.

After making sure I could stand on my own, Ander sliced his forearm using his ring, while walking toward them. Koa's body locked up even more, shaking with the barely restrained growl, watching Ander kneel beside Harmony. Knowing Ander, I knew that if Koa wasn't holding Jade, he would've already punched him in the face.

With practiced efficiency, Ander painted sigils on Jade's stomach, using his blood. He then dipped his fingers into her pooling blood and drew more sigils on his left forearm.

The marks on both his arm and her stomach sank into their sink, and the blood seeping out of her wound slowed down. Ander gave Koa a lingering look, one I was unable to see but knew was nothing short of murderous. He rejoined me off to the side, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. I rested my head on his shoulder, unable to take my eyes off the scene in front of us. His soothing presence and scent wrapped around me, but were unable to ease the fear and my pounding pulse.

I bit down on my lip when I realized it was taking longer than normal to dry her clothes.

"Why's this taking so long?" Koa snarled.

Harmony exhaled a loud and strained breath. "It's enchanted water, and it's fighting against me every step of the way. I've never dealt with anything like this before, so back off."

"I hate those two fuckers, none of this would be happening if not for them," Ander rumbled from beside me, not bothering to drop his voice. He wasn't wrong, the creature was after Starling's necklace. And Jade was only out here because she was following Koa.

Starling slightly stumbled a step in her pacing, but other than that, she showed no other reaction.

I don't think Koa was even paying attention to anything other than Jade. Gently cupping her face and stroking her cheek with his thumb. "Wake up, Jade." The gentle way he cradled her face, and the way he was watching her—as if she was all he saw—wasn't the way someone would act toward a virtual stranger. And based on what I'd seen from him, was completely out of character.

There was no stifling my gasp at my shocking realization. Ander's arm tightened around me in response. I snuck a peek up at him, wondering if he also figured it out, but he was too busy shooting murderous glances at Koa and Starling. He hadn't noticed. Probably for the best, for now.

"Finally," Harmony whispered with a relieved sigh. Jade's clothes and hair were now completely dry. Harmony shoved Koa's hand away from her midsection and took a minute to study to wound.

While digging through her bag, she said, "Whoever made this wound knew what they were doing. They used silver and stabbed her in a way, that would do enough damage to slow her and her healing down. But not enough to kill, or even seriously injure her. If it weren't for the effects from the water, she'd have already begun healing." She retrieved several jars and lined them up on the ground.

"I don't see any poison, so we just need to help the healing along. After I clean her wound, we need to get her to the house, and get her warm and comfortable." Harmony slathered some sort of herbal salve on Jade's stomach.

"That's not happening," Koa said. Harmony paused her movements, gaping at him.

"This is all your fault, you don't get to decide what's best for her," I said.

His golden eyes met mine, a fire burning in their depths. My lips kept trying to pull into a smile, at having goaded him into losing enough control to finally reveal his dragon. I'd been beginning to wonder if I was wrong with my realization, but with this small slip of control, I knew I was right. "The whole reason we didn't go there in the first place was because we don't know who we can trust. It's not safe."

Koa and Starling had a silent conversation, ending with Staring saying, "I'll take care of it." She straightened out her wet clothes, and hurried down the alleyway, not bothering to look at us.

"What is she taking care of?" I asked, only to be ignored.

Ander turned me around to face him, whispering, "I'm going with her to keep an eye on her. I need you to stay here and be on the lookout. Okay?" At my stiff nod, he squeezed my arms once, before turning and following Starling down the alley.

Heaving a sigh, I turned back to Harmony, who was bent over Jade applying more salves. I leaned back against the brick wall, switching between scanning our surroundings and watching Harmony work on Jade. After several minutes, Harmony leaned back. "That's all I can do for her. The rest is up to her."

While she was stuffing the jars back in her bag, a car entered the alley. I shoved off the wall, rushing over to them. I doubted a creature would announce its presence with a car, but it was better to be on the safe side.

This mission had just begun, and already it had gone off the rails.

"It's okay, it's just Star." Koa climbed to his feet, keeping Jade in his arms and pressed against his chest. His chin rested on the top of her head. I wanted to insist on him handing her to me, just to see how fast I could rile him up. I would've done so if I wasn't too busy worrying about Jade.

The van driving down the alley, slowed down to a stop in front of us. And sure enough, Starling hopped out of the driver's side and Ander stepped out of the passenger side. I whipped around to face Koa. "We're driving with Jade in this condition? Are you insane?"

Koa pushed past me to the van. "We're not safe here anymore, and we have no idea what that thing wanted. If Harmony is wrong and Jade was poisoned, we may need a sorcerer to help us."

"We don't even know if we can trust him," I practically shrieked.

At the same time, Harmony asked, "Are you doubting my judgment?"

"We're going, end of discussion." Koa climbed into the backseat of the van, and Harmony and I just stared at him in shock. We turned to Ander, waiting for him to back us up. He shook his head, exhaling sharply. "I already tried." Exhaustion wore on his voice and expression as he turned and climbed back into the passenger seat.

"Stupid fucking, cryptic ass dragons," I muttered to myself, climbing into the second row of seats. Harmony joined me and dropped her bag in the area between our seats, reminding me we left our bags at the pub. When I brought this up, Starling shook her head and told us they were in the trunk, speeding out of the alley and into the street.

Starling had the heat cranked up as high as it could go, heating the car in minutes. Making it so hot I had to remove my jacket. Koa had retrieved Jade's bag and switched out her bloody shirt with a new one. I watched him the whole time in my peripheral vision. His motions were careful but efficient. Not once did his hands or focus drift. An act I appreciated, and thawed me even more toward the dragon. Once she was fully covered, he wrapped a blanket around her, tucking her body against his chest.

I didn't bother asking where we were headed, knowing they'd ignore me. Instead, I leaned back and tried to relax.

We drove in silence for the next half hour, the only sounds were the quiet engine, and Jade's deep breaths. The whole time, my brain refused to stop picturing Jade lying in that alley, freezing and bleeding. Nor could I stop thinking about the powers the creature displayed. They had knocked out nearly everyone with a song, summoned enchanted water, and blocked out the noise. They could do all that, but when it came to fighting Jade, they chose to stab her.

One thing I knew for certain, was Jade wasn't thrown into the water. I knew her, and one thing she hated was being trapped. There wasn't a single doubt in my mind that she jumped into the water, in the desperate hope of escaping.

Jade moaned from the back seat, yanking me from my reverie. I ripped off my seat belt and threw myself between the seats, not even caring that the car was still in motion. Color had returned to her face, and her lips were no longer blue. Her eyelids fluttered open, blinking several times. A low and pained groan shortly followed. Koa's arms tightened around her on reflex, until she groaned again, making him loosen his grip.

"Jade," I whispered, brushing my hand across her cheek, fully aware of Koa's watchful gaze.

"Why am I a burrito?" She rasped, blue-green eyes meeting mine.

I let out a small and relieved laugh. "Do you remember what happened? You almost drowned."