“These things can take their time,” Cameron says.
“I find it astounding that the best Shamans in the worlds are here, ones whose crafts are nearly unparalleled, and yet both Jonah and Kellan are still asleep, thanks to their injuries.”
Only, Kellan was more than injured. He died. And the thought of his eyes, wide open, and his chest with its hole makes me want to destroy something again.
“We are all frustrated, yes,” Astrid says calmly as she picks her yarn back up, “but you know as well as I it is not like any of our crafts are without limit. Their bodies are healed, sweetling. As I’m sure you know, the Shamans probably could pull them both out of whatever,”—she swallows hard—“comas they’re in, but if they’re still asleep, it’s probably because their bodies need it.”
Another bit of déjà vu.
Would it matter if Kate knew what really happened with Kellan? Would that change her prognosis? And, if that’s the case, why is Jonah not waking up? Had he died, too, and they’re just not telling me?
I wander into Kellan’s room; Will is dozing in a chair on the far side of the room while Callie plays on her phone. Unlike me, she’s refused to listen to her mother and give knitting a try as we wait it out in the hospital. Although I’m certain I know the answer, I ask, “Any change?”
A click precedes her phone being tucked into her pocket. “No. What about with J?”
I run a hand through my hair; I really ought to brush it. “Not yet.”
She stands up and stretches, long limbs lean behind the thin cotton of her dress. And then she comes over and hugs me. “It feels like it was just yesterday that we were waiting for you to wake up.”
I slap back all the hysteria threatening me once more. I tell her shakily, “I think I’m ready for things to calm down. It might be really nice to be bored, you know?”
She chuckles softly. “I’ll remind you that you said this when you feel otherwise.”
“Do you happen to know how Raul Mesaverde is?” I feel awful having to ask her, as I should know the answer to this myself. Raul risked his life to save me; the least I could do is go check on him.
She bites her lip. Looks away. “Coma. Most of his life force had been stripped away.”
My heart sinks. Cora. I should call my Cousin, see how she is. “What about Maccon Lighntingriver? Do you know if he’s okay? He was ... he was with us in Karnach.”
She says gently, “He’s dead, Chloe. He didn’t make it. Very few people were pulled out of Karnach alive.”
Double punch, right to the chest. Karnach was destroyed by my grief and rage. Ah, Mac, I think. I’m so, so sorry, friend.
I will my feet to move me over to the bed; Kellan’s chest rises up and down, even and soft. My hand hovers over where his heart lies. Please gods, please let me have not messed this up.
Oh so gently, I trail my fingers across the fabric of his scrubs until I feel the steady thump of muscle in his chest. Wake up, I think.
Callie leans her cheek against my shoulder, her arms crossed. “He felt J, you know. Felt what they did to him.”
What?
“Wherever he was, he felt it and immediately came back to Annar to find J. I thought Mom was going to get the Shamans to tranquilize him, he was so ...” A soft sigh of exasperation mixed with loving amusement with a tinge of sadness escapes her. “Well, I’m sure you can guess what he was like.”
My words are barely voiced. “Did he?”
“Find him? Yes. Karnach was ...” She twists the tips of her ponytail together. “It’s gone. Completely destroyed, like it was bombed. Rescuers were shifting through the rubble, but it was painstaking.” She glances down at Kellan. “But he found J. He got him out. I think he’s the reason J’s still here. He wouldn’t let his brother go. Wouldn’t let him give in, no matter what. I think he willed his brother to keep on fighting through their link the whole time. J’s pulse was close to nonexistent when Kel found him. Luckily, there were a few Shamans nearby, helping with the few survivors they could find, so Kel got him help quickly.”
I’m sick to my stomach. “Cameron said something about a Shaman being with Jonah?”
She brushes hair back off of her forehead. “Yeah. I guess there was a Shaman down in the Great Hall who was injured and trying to get out. He found J before the building came down.” She takes a shaky breath. “He saved his life, Chloe. Triaged enough to keep J holding on until Kellan arrived.”