Page 391 of Elemental Becoming

“How did you get me out? What had me? What was that? I thought I was drowning in this thick black water,”I ask Thane through the bond, my voice weak and barely more than a whisper in my mind. Speaking aloud feels like far too much effort.

“It was a nasty poison. Your ability to heal. Yourself and others. That’s how.”

As he answers, I feel the brush of his fingers against my cheek. The touch is gentle, carrying relief, wonder, and an endless well of love.

“Yes, but how exactly?”I ask, still slumped against his chest as Xaroth carries us north.“Every other time I healed myself, I was conscious. I willed it.”

He is quiet for a moment, considering the question.

When he finally answers, his voice is low and thoughtful, carrying something gentler than certainty.

“Valen once said the Spiritborn didn’t just channel the Elements. He said they are the Elements.”His fingers brush my cheek again, absent and gentle, as though he still needs the reassurance that I’m really here.“Maybe healing isn’t something you do anymore. Maybe it’s something you are.”

He rests his cheek against the top of my head. He doesn’t need to watch the sky ahead. The battle is over, and Xaroth knows the way home.

When he speaks again, his voice is softer.

“Rowena and I placed our hands over your heart and your head, the way the healers do. We were calling to you.”

A long, quiet breath passes between us.

“And then you started glowing.”

He hesitates, almost shy. Just enough for me to feel it through the bond.

“The way, you know . . . the way you glow when you and I . . . ”

A tired smile tugs at my mouth.

“I know,” I whisper.

“And I could feel you coming back to me.”His voice in my mind is no longer frantic, though the raw edges are still there.“I kept reaching through the bond. Again and again. But it was like you were asleep. Like you couldn’t hear me.”

He swallows, his arms tightening around me.

“The bond was still there, but it felt distant. Thin.”His voice grows quieter.“And then suddenly I heard you. I felt you. It was as though you were real again. Here. Just like you are now, in my arms.”

A faint smile touches my lips.

“Then you opened your eyes and started coughing.”

The relief that washes through the bond at the memory is almost enough to make my chest ache.

“I think you healed yourself. But . . . ”His chin rests lightly against the top of my head.“I think that because of the bond, you stayed tethered.”

His arms tighten around me again.

“To this world.”

A beat passes.

“To me.”

I nestle deeper into Thane, the bond between us quiet now as though it’s as relieved and exhausted as we are. Bone-deep fatigue and the lingering effects of the poison pull at me, urging me toward sleep.

And beneath it all, the deep ache in my arm.

My eyes begin to close, but I force them open one last time.