(Dyn)

  repced the brief relief on Nathan’s face. “Where are Zepperlin and Ramone?”

  “I couldn’t find them.” Meekan shook her head. “But I’ll keep looking.” She bolted back down the hallway without waiting for a reply.

  “Meekan said you needed me?” Le’pard strode into the infirmary, sing the room.

  “Dy Le’pard. Le’pard, this is Dyn.” Nathan’s introdu was quid distracted.

  Dyn reed in the chair, eyes half-shut. He held up a hand and wiggled it in what he hoped was Le’pard’s dire. “Hi.”

  “We o keep him alive.” Nathaured toward Dyn, moving swiftly to the et to retrieve three blue vials.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Le’pard asked, his eyes trailing Nathan as he dashed around the room. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Restore his health whe drops, and use this when your mana runs low.” Nathan pressed a blue vial into Le’pard’s cwed hand.

  “A mana potion?” Le’pard eyed the vial, etched across his face. “How long do we o keep healing him?”

  “Until an elf appears in that er.” Nathaured toward the glowing rune on the wall. The healing river inside Dyn ebbed, only for the prismatic elf to replenish it with another spell.

  Nathan locked eyes with Le’pard. “Dyn’s running on a deyed-release healing potion, but I’m boosting it with an ability. It’s wearing off soon, and I’m not sure the two of us keep him alive.”

  Le’pard’s practiced eye sed Dyn and the situation, pieg everything together with ease. “Hootions has he taken?”

  “Two. He o take this poison se in…” Nathan’s voice trailed off as he g the clock, exhaling through his nose. “I didn’t check wheook the st one, but it should be safe in five minutes.”

  Le’pard tilted his head, his gaze narrowing on Nathan. “You didn’t check?”

  “He was too busy suffog me,” Dyn replied.

  Le’pard blinked, fusion flickering across his faathan crossed the room and leaned out the door, sing both ends of the hallway.

  The prismatic elf turned around. “He tried coughing it up.” He folded his arms, fixing Dyn with a stare.

  Le’pard gave a slow, uanding nod.

  Dyn crossed his arms, mirr Nathan. “And that was because he tried to drowh it first…”

  Le’pard’s brow furrowed, fusiourning to his features.

  “You were slipping in and out of sciousness because you were dying.” Nathan said ftly.

  The healing river inside him dried up, shadows creeping ba. Dyn no longer cared who won the argument. “I think it’s worn off.”

  “Are you sure?” Nathan g the clock again, his voice tight with .

  “Yep.” Dyn winced. “I feel like shit again.”

  Le’pard studied Dyn with a raised brow. “Iing description.”

  Nathan sighed. “His culture’s full of idioms.” He stepped back, giving Le’pard room to work. “I’ve done what I . It’s your turn now.”

  Le’pard strode to the sink, filled a mug, and took a long gulp. He cleared his throat twice, then drew a deep breath. The drai began with a low rumble, his voiing through the room and reverberating down the hallways. Dyn’s ears felt the song as much as heard it.

  ‘He’s a bard,’ Dyn thought as he listeo the wordless baritohe deep, powerful notes resohrough the air, soothing his mind as much as his body.

  Le’pard shaped his voito sounds of wonder, sustenance, ay. Dyn had never been to the opera, but he was certain this was far better.

  Tears welled in Dyn’s eyes—not just from relief, but from the sheer beauty of Le’pard’s voice. The harmonic drai’s song carried no disible message, only raw, emotional healing.

  Verse after verse, Le’pard paused only to sip water. Meanwhile, Nathan administered the poison se potion as the harmonic drai’s magic fought to keep Dyn alive.

  Fifteen minutes had passed since Le’pard began, aopped again—this time to down his seana potion.

  Le’pard shot Nathan a worried gnathan, still stationed by the door, shook his head, sing the hall for any sign of Meekan or another mender.

  Flushed and weary from each verse, Le’pard’s breath came heavier, and the strai into his voice. Eaote felt heavier tha, his throat tightening as fatigue set in, but he refused to let it falter. His muscles ached from holding steady, every verse pulled from a dwindling reserve of strength. Yet he pressed on, knowing that stopping now wasn’t an option.

  The pain surged back, sharper and fiercer than before, crashing through Dyn like a tidal wave. He curled onto his side, his arms hugging his midse as if brag against the onsught. Each breath hitched, ragged and shallow, as he fought to stifle his cries—but the sounds escaped anyway, low and broken, slipping past ched teeth.

  ‘It’s been too long,’ Dyn thought, panic bubblih the surface. ‘If I die, I’ll just end up back here. I don’t want to go like that. “Deathloop Dyn” sounds like a terrible way to go.’

  Le’pard drew another deep breath and began again. The notes dulled the pain, but only slightly; this was a losing battle. Dyn’s health dropped faster than Le’pard’s magic could restore. Curled on his side, eyes shut tight, Dyn g to the beauty of his voice.

  Four mier, Le’pard fihe final verse and colpsed into his chair, elbows braced on his knees, gasping for breath.

  “That’s it.” Le’pard sucked in another breath. “I’m spent. How long until the potion?” He didn’t even have the strength to lift his head.

  “About a minute,” Nathan said, his voice dropping. “But we ’t use a healing potion.”

  “Why the Infernal not?” Le’pard snapped, still catg his breath.

  Nathan bit his lip, gng at Dyn, who was curled on the chair, writhing in pain. “He might need one more poison se potion.”

  Le’pard g Dyn, then dropped his gaze to the floor. Dyn y with his back to them, muffling his whimpers.

  The harmonic drai stood, filled his mug to the brim, and dumped it over his overheated head. “Give me another.” He held out his hand, water streaming down his face.

  Nathan shot Le’pard a fused look. “You ’t—your cooldown isn’t up.” His eyes shifted back to yellow as realization dawned.

  The harmonic drai kept his hand steady. “I won’t die if I take another potion.” He oward Dyn. “But your friend will, if I don’t. Now hahe infernal mana potion.”

  Nathaated, his grip tightening around the blue vial. He kly what it would do to his fellow mender, and the weight of that choichored him in pce for a heartbeat too long. With a relut sigh, he extehe st mana potion. Le’pard took it, holding it up to the light, iing it with a frown.

  “What was your friend’s name again?” Le’pard stared at the blue vial, turning it slowly in his hand.

  “Dyn.”

  “Well, Dyn.” Le’pard twisted the top off, raising the vial in a mock toast. “If you survive this, you owe me one.” He dowhe potion in a single gulp, and they both waited for it to take effect.

  Le’pard patted his stomach, gng around. “Hmm, maybe—” A sed ter, he doubled over, dropping the empty vial. “Ugh, there it is. Sacred Mother, that stings.” He slumped bato his seat.

  “Your elf friend has three, maybe four, verses to get here.” Le’pard opened his mouth and unched into the first verse.

  Dyn’s rigid body eased, his thoughts drifting. ‘Where are you, Charles?’

  Le’pard sang until he could sing no more—and then he pushed past that. No one ted the minutes he bought them. Exhausted and trembling, barely upright in his chair, his voice finally gave out. Dyn’s whimpers and Le’pard’s ragged breaths hung heavy in the silence.

  The harmonic drai rasped through a parched throat, “Give him the potion.”

  Natha his gaze fixed down the hall, avoiding both of them. “I ’t.”

  Dyn y motionless on the reed chair, his chest barely rising and falling. His miered on the edge of sciousness.

  “You… ’t?” Le’pard let out a dry ugh. “I’ve given him everything I’ve got—and then some.” His eyes stayed shut, his trembling elbows braced on his knees.

  “There’s still time. If I give him a healing potion now, and we don’t have enough status gummies te the poison, he’ll die anyway.” Nathan swallowed hard, f himself to stick with the pn.

  “What difference does it make? Give—” Le’pard broke off as Charles materialized beside Dyn, a gss jar tucked under one arm and a feed loaves uhe other.

  Charles strode over, setting the jar and loaves on the tertop by the sink. “Apologies for the dey. I was arrested.”

  “Arrested?!” Nathan upehe jar onto the tertop, quickly s out the green ones.

  Charles stepped toward Le’pard, who remained slumped over. From his pocket, he pulled the severed hand of an elf and held it under Le’pard’s nose. “Get this to the hospital. Immediately.”

  Le’pard straightened, horror dawning in his eyes. “Are those… teeth marks?”

  Charles ighe questioing the hand drop into Le’pard’s p before turning back to Nathan.

  “When you’re done saving Dyn, send your best theropod handler and a corruptor with crowd-trol expertise to your office.”

  “To my office? Why?” Nathan gnced up, still s the status gummies.

  “Please, don’t put her down.” Charles swung his bow off his shoulder and propped it against the wall by the doorway.

  “What do you mean, arrested?” Nathan resumed pig out the green status gummies.

  “We assaulted an officer.” Charles slid both daggers from their holsters and tossed them beside the bow.

  Le’pard stared at the severed hand, his voice rising. “Did you kill them?!”

  Charles shook his head. “No. We were close enough to the hospital; he should still be alive.” He drew both swords at ohe bdes cttering to the ground beside the other ons as he tinued disarming.

  The rugged elf unfastehe quiver from his thigh and propped it in the er between the floor et and the wall.

  “This hand was… chewed on.” Le’pard grimaced, holding it out to Charles.

  “Once Dyn and Vera are safe, I’d take it as a personal favor if you stopped by the stabury.” Charles turned and made for the hallway.

  “And where are you going?” Nathan called after him.

  Charles paused in the doorway. “To turn myself in.” And with that, he was gone.

  “Get that on ice.” Nathan oward the hand.

  A slightly winded Meekan reappeared in the doorway. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t find them. They might be in town or at the hospital—I’m not sure. How’s he doing?” Her gaze shifted to Dyn, shadowing her features.

  Nathan propped Dyn up, guiding the poison se potion to his lips. “Alive, for now.”

  Meekan peered around Nathan at Dyn, biting her lip. “What else I do to help?”

  “Grab the tainer from Le’pard a to the hospital—fast,” Nathan instructed.

  “How’s that supposed to help Dyn?” Meekan tilted her head, frowning.

  “It doesn’t. There’s a hand ihat o be reattached to an officer at the hospital. I don’t know what happened, but we o hurry.” Nathan held up six green status gummies.

  Meekan snatched the box and sprioward the hospital.

  “Dyn, you hear me?” Nathan’s voice was steady but urgent.

  Dy out a weak grunt.

  “We don’t have time to do this o a time,” Nathan said.

  Dyn gave another low grunt.

  “Sorry, but this is about to be the worst ten minutes of your life.” He shoved all six green status gummies into Dyn’s mouth.

  Nathan readied the bucket and adjusted Dyn’s chair upright. Dyn chewed, swallowed—and, as promised, ehe worst ten minutes of his life. Just whehought there was nothi, another wave of nausea hit him hard.

  After the ten terrible minutes, Nathan wiped Dyn’s mouth and with a damp cloth before taking the bucket. “Thank the Mother we didn’t use the st healing potion.”

  “Thank you,” Dyn muttered, the words barely esg before exhaustion cimed him.