Not edited, but I knew you guys would want it anyway. LOL

Chapter dedicated to SamanthaEpley. THANKS so much for reading and smooching the Vote button!

Chapter 150 - The Power of Love - Raine's POV

"Don't let your head go beneath the water!" the command was barked out. I caught Felaern's penetrating gaze, his eyes glowing white. I understood what he meant. If I slipped back under the water, I wouldn't remember what I was doing. I kicked forward with my feet. I was getting closer to the bank.

Abruptly, Killian and Orian swooped into the air and hovered above me. Killian reached down and gripped Cage under his armpits. He lifted him out of my arms. I cried out, "Be careful! Lay him on his stomach!"

Killian gave me a hard nod and flew with Cage's body to the nearby grass. Orian was waiting for me next. I held my hands up. His sure grasp clasped mine. With a few beats of his wings, he pulled me from the water and I was dropped right next to Cage. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath. My lungs burned. They expanded and contracted painfully, as though the air felt foreign to them. I clutched Cage's lifeless hand, my fingers intertwined with his. His skin felt cold. I rubbed his skin briskly, trying to bring warmth back into his body.

Felaern sat on his knees across from me on the other side of Cage. His face was contorted, his brows knitted together, as he examined his wounds. Fear coursed through me. I didn't have to ask. I knew Cage's injuries were bad, and the look of dread in Felaern's eyes confirmed it.

He had already torn the remaining scraps of Cage's shirt completely off, so that his entire back lay exposed. His hands hovered over Cage's back. Brialle was at his side, also kneeling, her hands hovering over his wounds as well.

Minutes went by. Excruciatingly. Slowly. Felaern's head dropped low like it was too heavy to hold up, his shoulders hunched forward. Strange words fell from his lips, uttered in the air over Cage's ravaged flesh. Chanting. Commanding. Brialle echoing words of her own, not the same, but yet, they flowed together, synchronicity.

Everyone else was deathly silent. No movement, no sound. My eyes finally began to take in my surroundings. I noticed for the first time that Felaern wore different clothing than what I had seen him in before. My heart dropped. That meant I had been gone longer than a day. But how long?

Stroking Cage's flesh, not wanting to be separated from him for even a moment, my glance shot up to see Talon standing a few feet behind Felaern. I sucked in a deep breath, shocked by his appearance. His chest was bare. The muscles rippled with tension, his veins corded and protruding through his skin. His unwavering gaze held mine in its grip while silent tears fell down his cheeks. But what startled me the most was his face—he had grown a full beard!

No, no, no....

My stomach churned in a pit, fluttering with butterflies. It would have taken him weeks to grow his beard to that length! Was it possible I had been gone for several weeks or maybe even more? I couldn't refute it. The answer was undeniably yes. Again, I anguished over the question—how long had they waited for me? I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. As much as I wanted the answer, the question would have to wait for now.

I turned my head. Orian and Scynth both stood solemnly next to Killian who had his hands clenched into fists, tension radiating through his body. On my other side, I was surprised to find King Morenth and Ileana standing next to Tavian.

What were they doing here?

The King's body was angled toward Ileana. She faced away from him. Her posture was stiff, but her eyes were soft when they met mine. I couldn't speak.

My attention rested again on Cage. His head was turned in my direction, his cheek pressed into the soft earth. He wore the same clothing I had last seen him in.

Each minute of waiting, felt like an eternity. Felaern and Brialle continued to hold their hands over his spine and chant words I did not understand.

But there was still no improvement.

I leaned down, so that my lips were by his ear. "Cage, listen to me, I cannot lose you again! I need you to fight, please fight for me...fight for us!"

I glanced up to Felaern. His eyes were shut tight, his words getting stronger, more demanding, more forceful.

But nothing was happening.

I studied the wound in Cage's back, and had to fight the bile that rose to my throat, to see his body so devastated. He made no sound, no movement.

He looked dead.

My eyes blurred with tears. I shuddered hard. No, it was unacceptable for him to die. I gritted my teeth together. I simply wouldn't allow it! I whispered in his ear again, my words coming out haltingly, broken, "I love you, Cage... I need you! Please...please come back to me. Please open your eyes. I can't do this without you. I cannot...exist without you!"

But too much time had gone by.

He showed no improvement.

"Felaern...," Brialle rasped, barely holding back her tears.

"I know," he replied through clenched teeth.

I breathed, "What?"

What did he know?!

He ignored me. Instead, he responded to Brialle, "There's only one way. If I infuse him with a portion of my power, it should give him the strength he needs to fight this."

Brialle sucked in a hard breath, her eyes wide. "What will that do to you? Is it a temporary transfer?"

He shook his head, his lips set in a thin hard line. "No, whatever portion I give to him, he will keep and I will lose...permanently."

Adrenaline crashed through my veins, causing my skin to tingle with goosebumps. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? He planned to give Cage some of his own power...permanently? And at what cost to himself?

Felaern's expression refocused. He muttered, "I owe him that much."

"Okay," Brialle whispered. "I will help you however I can."

"You cannot help me now," Felaern replied grimly. He turned his head to look at me and ordered, "Slide back and do not touch him."

I did as I was told, scooting my body back in the grass, my hands in my lap, curled into fists, hating the absence of Cage's flesh against mine. My nails dug into my skin.

"You as well," he ordered Brialle. She did as he instructed, backing away. When we were both clear, Felaern repositioned himself higher on his knees, hovering over Cage's back. He held out his hands, palms down, facing Cage. I watched in stunned silence as his hands began to glow brightly, power sparking in his palms. He carefully lowered one hand to Cage's neck and the other to the base of his spine, directly over my royal mark.

The instant his hands touched Cage's flesh, bright white sparks shot out of his fingertips into Cage's flesh. I watched as the glowing embers coursed through Cage's veins, under his skin, lighting up his back in an intricate pattern of blood vessels.

Cage's body convulsed like he had been shocked with electricity, contracting painfully and landing flat again with a thud.

Still he remained unconscious.

I felt the shockwave of power that radiated out of Felaern. It had been tangible. Even the air around their bodies shimmered with unrealized force. I understood now why he had wanted us to move away. Behind me, Killian drew in a deep breath and mumbled, "Fuck."

Felaern lifted his hands, so that they no longer touched Cage's skin, but hovered in the air above him once again. His back was hunched over. He ground out another command to Brialle, "Join me!"

Instantly, she moved back into position next to him, her hands placed similar to his. I stared at Cage's back which continued to appear as if he had a glowing spider web of veins beneath the surface of his skin. Even the fine black lines of his mark glowed.

Nothing happened for another minute, but then I could have sworn, I saw a bit of his flesh move! I held my breath and watched intently.

There it was again!

The edges of the gaping hole in his back began to stretch forward and knit back together. Felaern's head snapped up, his gaze piercing into mine. "Touch him. Speak to him," he ordered.

Gladly!

He didn't have to tell me twice. I scooted forward and grabbed Cage's hand, stroking his arm. My lips fell to his cheek and grazed along the side of his face and his ear as I whispered words of love.

His skin felt warmer!

Several more minutes passed. I glanced to his back again, and was elated to find the wound was more than half healed! Adrenaline pounded through my body. Abruptly, Cage sucked in a deep breath of air and then sputtered, coughing out water from his lungs.

Tears streamed down my cheeks. He was going to make it!  I could feel it. Our mate bond was healing along with him. The pain was just about gone from my body. My gasps of happiness mixed with my tears, as I continued to murmur, "I love you, Cage. You're almost there...just a little bit more now."

He had stopped coughing, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. It was strong.

"That's it," I praised him. "You are doing wonderfully. Just breathe...in and out. I'm here for you. Please wake up for me."

Another glance at his back and I couldn't help my cry of joy and relief. The wound was closed! I watched in awe as the glow remained and then slowly faded from his veins.

What power had Felaern given him?

He said it was a permanent transfer. What did this mean for Cage now? My chaotic thoughts tumbled through my head. Felaern interrupted my crazed internal musings. He ordered, "We need to roll him over."

I leaned out of the way, and let Felaern manipulate Cage, so that he lay on his back. Cage groaned deeply. Never, had I heard a sweeter sound.

I stroked his face and kissed his cheeks.

Suddenly, his eyes opened!

He stared up at me. Silver, the color of moonlight, with dark mercury flecks. My favorite color. His voice was hoarse but he got the word out, "Tigru..."

"Yes!" I laughed, barely able to see through my tears. "I'm here...I'm right here. I love you so much! You came back to me."

His mouth curled into a smile as he whispered, "Always." The same word I had told him when Armand brought me back from the brink of death so many months ago now.

"He should recover quickly," Felaern explained. "Now that the wound in his back is repaired. My power irradiated any remaining silver left in his system. We won't know to what extent, but it is possible silver will no longer affect him."

"What?" I gasped.

Felaern didn't elaborate. Instead, he pulled Cage up into a sitting position. I pressed myself into his side, supporting his weight. He looked around the landscape in confusion, eying King Morenth and Tavian, and muttered, "What the fuck happened?"

"You were hurt," I explained slowly. "Do you remember that?"

He nodded, his features turning hard, as he snarled, "That bitch."

Felaern flinched.

I stroked Cage's arm to soothe him and explained, "That bitch was actually Fee, Felaern's long lost love."

Cage's eyes snapped to Felaern, his shock evident in his face.

I continued, "She knew we had a connection to him, so she used our mate-bond sort of as a road map. She tapped into your side of the bond. When I saw you...die..." I halted, unable to speak for a moment. Cage's arm tightened around me. I snuggled into him closer. I realized I was no longer holding him up. He was supporting all of his weight, and mine too now.

I swallowed thickly and began again, "When I saw you die...you didn't really die. Instead, Lady Sofielle used an illusion to make it appear as if she burned your body, when in reality, she transported you through a portal, into that lake." I pointed at the blue-green water. He looked at the Pool and then back at me, as if I had three heads.

I nodded and whispered,  "Yes, you were there for three months, until I found you."

His mouth dropped open, but no words came out.

Brialle interjected softly, "Actually, you were there for five months."

Five months?! I stared at her in shock. That meant I had been beneath the surface for two months! Tears filled my eyes again. I had made them wait for me for two months, never knowing if I would resurface.

Brialle's gaze softened. "Shh...it's okay, sweet girl. You are both back now. That's all that matters."

Cage reached up to brush my tears from my cheeks with his fingertips. I leaned my head into his palm, loving the way his skin felt against my flesh. Without warning, he lifted me and cradled me in his lap, pulling me close. Our bond flexed and tightened around us. I could feel it in my veins, in my very being.  I was home. Because home would be wherever Cage was.

I wrapped both of my arms around his lean torso and held him like I would never let go. Never. Never again would we be separated. Cage's lips came down to my forehead. He spoke against my skin, "It sounds like we have much to catch up on."

"Yes," I breathed. "Yes, we do..."

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So, the next chapter will be in Cage's POV! Yeah!