Page 128 of Unveiled
“I can fix it,” Adrian choked out. “Trust me. Hold me steady.”
Connor wrapped both arms around him, anchoring him.
Adrian inhaled. The shadow’s arm pulsed.
And then the fissure closed. Slowly. Groaning. Fighting. Then sealed shut like stone knitting itself together.
Adrian collapsed into Connor’s chest.
Connor held him, breathing hard. “Easy. Easy. Adrian, stay with me.”
Adrian’s eyelashes fluttered. “Did it work?”
Xiathen was pale. “You sealed a fault line. Alone.”
Adrian blinked. “No. Not alone.”
Xiathen approached, kneeling beside him.
“The Wood gave you the Resonant Shadow,” they said softly. “A bridge. A limb of the land itself. A thread between your body and the valley’s wounds.”
Connor frowned. “Is it safe?”
Xiathen exhaled. “Rarely do such gifts come without cost.”
Connor’s jaw tightened. “What fucking cost?”
Adrian answered before Xiathen could.
“A little pain, but nothing we can’t handle.”
Xiathen bowed their head. “You can heal the valley. You can mend the cracks the Council opens.” Their voice lowered. “But your shadow will take the pain first.”
Adrian shivered. “It’s alive?”
“Yes,” Xiathen said. “And tied to you until death.”
Connor snarled. “They gave him a weapon that hurts him.”
“They gave him a power that can save the valley,” Xiathen corrected gently. “Only Adrian can wield it.”
Adrian leaned into Connor. “Jesus, my head is ringing. I need an aspirin.”
Connor steadied him. “I think we’re done for today.”
Xiathen nodded. “Bring him home to rest. The Gift has awakened. It will be unstable for a time.”
Connor didn’t wait. They walked back toward the castle as the ridge settled into uneasy quiet.
Back in Connor’s room, Adrian sat on the bed, pressing his fingers to his temple.
Connor knelt in front of him.
“Tell me everything.”
Adrian sighed. “It felt like the valley was inside me. Like its pain was my pain. The shadow, my shadow, pulled the fracture together, but the strain… Connor, it felt like I was being split.”
“Then we don’t use it again,” Connor said grimly.
