From Chapter 30 of Dolor and Shadow
A second ripple shook the web and, just as Aaric felt his foot leave the floor, he pulled on the Seidr around him, throwing up a shield with it. The ripple became a solid pulse that struck the floor, throwing everything in the corridor to the air moments before Aaric wrapped his Seidr around Kallan, himself, and Rune. The pulse ejected them from the corridor into the stables, where they struck the stone hard.
And then there was silence. Shaking off the stun that accompanied the blow, Aaric pulled himself to his knees and froze when his eyes found Kallan. On the ground beside Rune, she lay unmoving. Already, the Ljosalfr was up, trying to raise her from the ground. A bit of blood seeped where her head had struck the stone and Aaric lunged, dropping a hand to her brow. Her Seidr was strong, and he could heal her easily enough, but he couldn’t afford to wake her. Not yet.
She won’t comply. She must stay asleep until she’s gone.
“Take her,” Aaric said, not bothering to look up at Rune although he could feel the questions he didn’t ask. “She lives. She’s fine.” This time, Aaric did look at Rune. “But you must get her out of here.”
“Why—”
“There is no time.” He was nearly done. Her wounds were closing fast, but the Ljosalfar king made no attempt to move from Kallan’s side. “Take her horse,” Aaric said. “The brown destrier. He rides faster than the others.”
He could feel the moments slipping away.
“B—
“I’m giving her to you now go or you’ll both be dead!” Aaric cried.
“She’s Seidkona. When she wakes…” Rune shook his head. “I won’t be able to hold her.”
Aaric read the questions clear on Rune’s face and stared back with a look that asserted his warning. There was no time, no choice.
Clasping his hand to Rune’s wrist, Aaric poured his Seidr to the threads that slept within the Ljosalfr. There, where the energy coursed, Aaric linked his Seidr to Rune’s and pushed the lines, coaxing them awake, forcing them through until he reversed the flow of Rune’s Seidr.
The Ljosalfr gasped and fell, catching himself on his palm so as to not fall on Kallan. Taking him by the shoulder, Aaric shook Rune to attention.
“It’s from the shock,” Aaric said. “You’ll get used to it. Now go.”
“What did you do to me?” Rune asked.
I tethered your sleeping Seidr to the Shadow that lies in the bottom-most depths of the abyss far below Under Earth. His heart will be pounding like a state of berserk. His strength won’t ebb. If anything, he’ll have a constant surge of adrenaline without end.
“Saved your life,” Aaric said. “Now get.”
End excerpt
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