Beloved. Heart of mine. I know you are weary. Forgive me. I cannot let you go. There is no other for me. You can do this-for me. For us. Fight for us, beloved.
Fen glanced at Tatijana. Skyler hadn't actually seen Dimitri's horrific wounds and yet she was already fully aware of what they faced. He heard the raw love. The softest of intimate whispers only true lifemates could establish between them. He feared once she saw the wounds, the daunting sight would shake her confidence.
Still, Dimitri responded more to that soft little confession and flow of pure love washing through his mind, than anything else Fen had tried so far. Fen felt a small portion of that darkness and cold recede.
Please.
This time, she had found her way into his mind without any assistance at all. Skyler poured into his mind and nearly instantly found his connection to Tatijana-was well aware she was there as well.
I greet you as sister-kin, though I am more than your aunt, Tatijana identified herself. I am lifemate to Fen.
Yet unclaimed, as am I, Skyler said. Thank you for your aid.
He felt Tatijana wince just a little that Skyler should find her unclaimed when her lifemate was right there, yet there had been no accusation in Skyler's voice. In fact, he felt it helped her identify with Tatijana and make her more comfortable.
A flood of reassurance washed over him. He glanced at Tatijana kneeling across from him, there in the soil, her hands already moving into Dimitri's horrendous wounds. He placed his hands there as well when she flashed him a very small, reassuring smile.
Look at his wounds.
Slowly, reluctantly, he allowed Skyler to "see" through his eyes. He focused his vision wholly on the extent of Dimitri's wounds. She understood instantly. The pain went far beyond what any physical body could tolerate, human, Lycan or Carpathian. Now there was no denying what she was dealing with.
Skyler showed no hesitation. I am in the library of the university where I am studying. I will need my friend to come to me. When we are done here, I will no longer be able to maintain my own body. Give me just one second to contact Josef. I am fortunate that he came to visit me this evening. I didn't even know he was in town.
There was a moment's pause. He will come to me right away.
She joined closely with Tatijana and Fen. He felt her take a deep breath.
We call upon the power of the Earth-she who creates us all.
Tatijana and Fen answered. Fen, only because he knew the words through his lifemate. Hear our call, Mother.
We beg you for clear sight, the ability to be seen, that which seeks not to be seen.
Guide us, Mother, take our hands, make them your own.
Use them as your tools to mend that which has been broken and torn.
Guide us, Mother. Provide rest and healing to a tortured soul.
Skyler's voice nearly cracked, but she took another deep breath and continued. Embrace him as your own, Mother. Heal him of all injuries. Guide him, Mother.
Her voice did waver, and Fen heard her tears for the first time. He felt her terrible growing sorrow even as she tried desperately to hold herself together. He couldn't imagine her all alone in the college library, yet not alone. She had to be surrounded by human students studying. She couldn't portray emotion, or her draining strength to anyone. The distance was nearly incomprehensible, and yet she persisted.
We three, your daughters and son, call upon the higher power. Use us as your vessel. See through our eyes.
Look into our souls. Use us as your tools. Guard him, great one. Take him fully into your care. Nurture him as you would your child, this great gift we bring even as we humbly beg your service. He will serve you as we do and rise once again to fight. Guide us with your knowledge.
Around him, the soil began to move on its own. So rich the loam looked as if it was ebony in color, Fen could see minerals glittering throughout, like gems. Before he could identify any of the properties, the soil rose to cover Dimitri, pouring into him.
Fen's hands moved of their own accord. He nearly jumped out of his skin. Nothing possessed him. He knew possession. Skyler hadn't taken over their bodies, but the loam itself pushed their hands and fingers in the directions needed.
The soil began to churn and tiny shoots broke through the surface. Fascinated, he tried to figure out if it was Skyler who fed that churning soil with all of the energy from Tatijana and him as well as what she could provide from such great a distance. He couldn't distract either of the two women by asking questions so he let the power and strength of his body flow into his brother and focused wholly on the artistry of the healing.
The tiny shoots came from every direction and moved into his brother, as if burrowing into the gaping wounds-arteries-he realized, providing some kind of much-needed nutrition. More soil poured in and around his brother's body.
Give him blood. One at a time. As much as either of you can spare, Skyler directed.
By every right she should have collapsed long ago, but her voice held steady and the warm flow of energy never ceased in that continuous current. The movement of Tatijana's wrist toward Dimitri's mouth caught his attention.
Beloved. Take this gift offered so generously and freely from my sister-kin. It is strong, ancient blood of the Dragonseeker lineage. Hear me, Dimitri. Do this thing for me.
Fen was no longer even astonished that Dimitri managed to move his mouth against Tatijana's wrist. He helped his brother take in the life-giving sustenance. All around them the soil continued moving and churning. The sprouts and veins twisting through Dimitri's body reached for the nutrients so old and ancient and pure from Tatijana's lineage and pushed them through his brother's unresponsive organs.
Fen counted the minutes slowly, fearful that in her effort to save Dimitri, Skyler might forget that they were vulnerable there in the forest and couldn't be drained to the point of weakness. He shouldn't have been. For a human child, she certainly understood the needs and ways and dangers of the Carpathian life.
Enough, beloved. Rest before you take from your brother. Allow our Mother Earth to guide you. Do not fear her. She is granting a tremendous favor and has accepted both you and your brother as her sons. Just sleep and let her repair your body.
Again, that soft tone was so intimate, Fen almost felt as if he'd slipped into a private encounter between Dimitri and his astonishing lifemate. She gave of herself so freely, and yet he could feel her energy beginning to wane. She did then have her limits. She must have been afraid that she would not complete this healing in time before she gave out, but if she did feel that way, she didn't betray herself.
Tatijana closed the wound on her wrist herself, with a single swipe of her tongue. She glanced up at Fen, her eyes meeting his. His breath caught in his throat. Her eyes nearly glowed, changing color until they were such a deep shade of green he felt the very coolness of the forest blowing over him.