The ground beneath me rumbles and begins to split open just as I conjure my second beam, throwing the golden light wide. A tree groans and crashes to the ground just as I do, the churning earth threatening to swallow me up as Leon’s terrial magic shakes it apart. I drag myself out of the collapsing hole, focusing on the fallen tree now in my eyeline.
Think of freedom. Think of the thing you yearn for most.
I find the pull of my desire and use it to summon my orbital magic.
The fae shout, and Etusca screams as the tree goes hurtling across the clearing. And yet somehow, it misses Leon. He’s so quick that I lose track of him whenever I so much as blink, but I do my best to aim for him as I release the tree with a deafening crack. It hits another trunk, splitting in two.
When I see him, he has his sword drawn, and he’s stalking toward me.
I try to scramble to my feet, but the ground is still shaking beneath me, making it impossible to get my balance. I attempt another sun beam, but I’ve blown through my magical reserves,and it’s harder to draw the heat from my blood now. It comes out in a weak flicker Leon easily sidesteps.
I’m exhausted, and he’s barely out of breath.
When he’s only a few feet from me and I can’t summon enough magic to hold him back, panic sets in. I need to keep him away, to buy myself a few more moments, because once he’s beside me I know it’s over. I grab my knife from its sheath and hurl it.
My aim is good even without my orbital magic, and the blade hurtles toward Leon. In a blur of motion, he raises his sword and knocks it off course without even breaking his stride.
I’m out of time. He’s on top of me in seconds, shoving me down with a knee to my chest, pulling my hands above me and pinning them to ground.
I start to thrash, desperately trying to escape. But he’s so strong, and all the power seems to have been drained from me.
I know he’s chosen this position deliberately. We both remember the last time Leon pinned my hands like this. Back then, we were in bed, and I was his plaything, begging for him to touch me. Gods, it’s awful to be taken back there now, and I hate him for it.
“Getoff me,” I bark, even though I know it’s a useless request.
“Do you surrender?” he asks.
“No!” Even if I’m unable to move an inch beneath him, I can’t bring myself to yield. Even though I know I’ve failed. I never had a chance to begin with. But I can’t bear to say the words—to admit that I’ve let Tira down and kissed my chance of escape goodbye.
“Very well,” Leon says and lowers his sword above my head. I feel a sting on my arm, a sharp twinge that makes me draw in breath, and then he releases me.
I wrench my arms down, only to see a tiny scratch just below the crook of my elbow. A bead of crimson collects along the angry, pink skin.
“First blood,” he says, pulling his knee away.
I climb to my feet as fast as possible, my face burning. I’m humiliated and ashamed, and looking into his smug face, I know that’s precisely what he wanted out of this.
“This wasn’t about a deal. You just wanted to teach me a lesson,” I say.
He smirks. “Perceptive.”
I hold back all the pointless expletives threatening to spill out of my mouth. I lost, and I’m going to have to find a way to accept that in the days ahead. But I let my eyes do the talking, burning into him as I wipe the drop of blood from my arm. I turn, walking straight past our audience toward the camp, refusing to look back.
“I’m sorry,” I say to Tira when I reach her side. “I should’ve done better. I should’veknownbetter.” She squeezes my hand.
“I thought you looked pretty badass,” she says.
“Really?”
“Well, until he squashed you like a bug.” She winks.
“Seeing as we’re all up anyway, let’s move out,” Leon calls through the camp, and the fae start to collect their things. It takes Damia several hard slaps to wake Stratton—a job sheenjoys a little too much—and by the time the confused fae is up and walking, we’re ready to leave.
Despite Tira’s joking, my mood doesn’t improve much as we push on through the lush woodland. Every time I catch a glimpse of Leon up ahead, the rush of humiliation comes back to me. Not just because of the fight. It’s all of it: the fact that I ever trusted this man with my mind and with my body, only for him to betray me so easily.
I thought before that Leon was just like Etusca and the others who raised me. Now it occurs to me that he’s worse. Because unlike them, he made me believe I was strong before he tore me down.
And I’ll never forgive him for that.
