He smirked, some life returning to his eyes. “I am. And here’s what is going to happen. You are going to listen to me when I tell you this.”
I nodded, staring at Xander. “Okay,” I whispered. “I’m listening.”
“Aileana, I willalwayscome for you. There will never be a moment where I don’t follow you.”
“But our figh—”
“Shh.” He shook his head. “Not yet. I’m not done. People fight. We will fight. Goddess knows, fighting with you is the most amusing pastime I have ever had in my life. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t come for you. Aileana, I—”
He coughed, his words getting lost as a trickle of blood came out of his mouth. I gasped, shoving his hand away from my mouth.
“You’re bleeding,” I said accusingly.
His lips tilted up into a wry smile as he blinked. “Very astute of you to notice, Sunshine. Did you see the dead elf, too?”
Yes. I had, in fact, seen the burnt body that was no more than ten feet away from us. I glanced over my shoulder, but it was still there.
“This isn’t a moment for joking,” I snapped. “You need help.”
As I said the words, I realized just how difficult that was going to be. We were stranded in the middle of a deserted road.
Despite the fact that Xander appeared to be able to heal at an incredibly rapid rate—something I would definitely be requiring a lot more information about in the future—he was bleeding.
Even I, with my limited medical knowledge, knew that continued blood loss wasnotconducive to survival.
“Okay.” He nodded. “Give me your necklace.”
It was my turn to blink at him. “Excuse me?”
“Your necklace, Sunshine. The golden one from Nonna. If you’d take it off for a moment?”
Wondering what exactly my necklace had to do with anything, I paused. Xander caught my gaze, his tone softening. “Please, Aileana. Trust me.”
I wasn’t sure which of his words caught me more off guard.
Please.
Trust me.
Either way, something within me seemed to knit itself back together again as he spoke.
I whispered, “I do trust you, Elyxander.”
He sucked in a deep breath but didn’t move. Under his watchful gaze, I tilted my head and reached underneath my hair. It was a tangled mess after the past few days on the road, but I moved it aside quickly.
My hands were steady as I undid the clasp. The necklace slipped off my neck, the tiny chain light as I pulled it off my chest. Placing the necklace in Xander’s outstretched palm, I sat back. “What are you going to do with that?”
“Call for help,” he replied.
A hundred questions flitted through my mind, but before I could ask them, Xander pressed the locket against his bloody palm. Instantly, a radiant pulse of blue light came from the piece of jewelry.
I blinked, covering my eyes for a moment against the onslaught of light. When I uncovered my eyes, I saw not one, but two people before me.
“Hello, young ones,” Nonna said. She held a bundle in her hands as she smiled in our direction. “You called?”
I stared at the elderly witch, who stood before me. “Nonna?”
In reply, she leaned forward and grabbed my arm and Xander’s. Whispering something under her breath, everything around us blurred.