“It’s all right,” Hettie said. “He’s an old friend.”
Walker gave a low groan. Hettie had never heard a sweeter sound.
Ling helped Walker off the horse and laid him on the ground. His eyelids were swollen and red, and tears leaked from them. “He should be dead,” Ling murmured, glancing back at the train and the bodies around it. “The magic he borrowed from Javier Punta must have left its mark. He was a vessel for so long, he was able to absorb the magic that did hit him.”
“My deflection barrier might’ve helped,” Lena said.
Ling nodded. His palms flooded with light, and he placed them over Walker’s forehead and eyes. Lena crossed herself and muttered something as she looked away from Ling’s ether magic. Hettie found it strange that a high-level sorcerer like Lena would be so superstitiou
