I had once loved Kiyo and had a connection to him. That was a hard thing to overcome, but I daresay he’d done plenty to make it possible.

These thoughts flashed through my mind in the blink of an eye. Before I could act, Pagiel fell to the ground, eyes wide. The magic supporting mine abruptly stopped. Pagiel clasped his neck, gasping for air. For a moment, all I could think was that air magic was suffocating him ... except, there was no one who could wield it here except me and him.

“Pagiel!” Jasmine hurried to his side, where he was twitching and flailing on the ground. Still keeping my hold on Kiyo, I joined her and fell to my knees. Pagiel was no longer making a sound, which was a bad sign. He was clearly still desperate for breath, and I could see now that his face and throat were swelling, like some sort of anaphylactic shock.

I tried to steady him, frantically wondering what I could do. But I possessed no healing magic, no modern EpiPen. His face was turning a weird purplish-pinkish color, and I knew we were losing him.

“Dorian?” I asked. He had joined us and looked down at Pagiel, anguish all over his face.

“This is beyond me,” said Dorian. He lifted his head and gazed around the clearing. “There’s someone else here.” He got back on his feet and began to make the ground ripple and shake, in the hopes of scaring out whomever we couldn’t see.

But despite his efforts, it was a little too late. Pagiel had stopped struggling for air. Pagiel had stopped struggling altogether.

Storm King’s heir was dead.

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

“No!” screamed Jasmine. Tears ran down her face as she shook him. “Can’t we do CPR or something? Use the air! Give him some!”

I stared mournfully down at the boy. His face and neck were so swollen now that I knew there was no way I could force air into him, not when all the passages leading to his lungs were so blocked. I couldn’t control the body.

A smooth voice suddenly came from the woods. “I’m right here, Dorian. You might as well stop with the showmanship.”

Maiwenn appeared, gliding forward in a silvery blue dress that seemed out of place in this scene. Her golden hair cascaded down her back, and she looked like the California girl I always thought of her as. Dorian did stop the earthquake, but I could tell from his rigid stance that he held his magic at the ready. She released a tree she’d been holding onto.

“How did you do that?” I asked. “Your magic ... it’s healing magic.”

She gave a small shrug. “It’s all part of the same system. My magic understands the way the body works. It’s as easy to hurt as to heal.”