18
CINDER
My hands scraped across stone, and my chin smacked the ground, rattling my teeth. I scrambled to my knees and crawled forward, my muscles trembling, my stomach heaving. My dinner splattered into the river and floated away.
“Is this water?” I reached for it, ready to scoop it into my arid mouth, but Discord caught my wrist.
“Unless you wish to forget who you are and why you’re here, you shouldn’t drink from the river Lethe,” he said. “Come. We must keep moving.”
I sat back on my heels and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “Give me a minute.”
“We don’t have a minute.” He hauled me to my feet.
My lungs burned, and my head throbbed. “I just had all the air sucked from my body. Excuse me if I’m not ready to take off in a sprint. Plus, you did your space-bendy thing, which you said could kill me. Thanks for risking my life.”
“You’d be dead if I hadn’t. Now, we must keep moving. That kind of magic leaves a trail. It won’t be long before they find us if we remain here.” He clutched my shoulders, sympathy softening his eyes. “I can carry you.”
I opened my mouth to protest, to remind him I wasn’t some damsel in distress, but the look in his eyes gave me pause. Real concern permeated his expression, and my body drifted toward him of its own accord. He’d saved my life. Again. Between that and the blood/soul bond, it was only natural for me to feel warm fuzzies for the man, right?
It didn’t mean I needed to act on it.
“I can walk.” I stepped backward, out of his embrace. “What’s the plan?”
He cleared his throat. “There’s a town just beyond that hill. We can catch a train to the Canyon of Cries and pay cash for a room. There, we will regroup, and you can use the seer’s supplies to scry for Hecate.”
“What’s the Canyon of Cries? Is it like the Grand Canyon of the Underworld?” I adjusted the straps of my backpack and headed in the direction he pointed. “Vacation Central for demons?”
“Something like that.” He winced and clutched his chest.
“Are you okay? Did Bedlam get you?” I moved his hand, expecting to find his shirt torn and claw marks on his skin, but it was unmarred.
“I’m afraid my powers grow weaker by the hour. That feat of space-bending magic taxed me more than anything I’ve felt before.” He continued walking, and I matched his pace.
“Do you think it’s because of Lucifer? From when he stripped your title?”
“It could be that, among other things.”
“What other things? Slow down. My legs aren’t as long as yours.” I grabbed his arm, and he slowed his pace.
“We’ve established that our bond weakens my immunity,” he said. “Both the Forest of Suffering Souls and Seraphine’s poisoned arrow proved the fact. It’s possible I’m feeling your reaction to space-bending travel.”
I nipped my bottom lip between my teeth, contemplating his words. “Maybe, but this time wasn’t nearly as bad as the first. I didn’t pass out.”
He glanced at me. “Perhaps our bond is strengthening you while weakening me.”
“Hmm. I’m not so sure.” I shook my head. “Back at the seer’s cave…when you refused to fight in your demon form…you weren’t being indignant, were you? You really couldn’t transform, just like you couldn’t disguise yourself when we got to your secret hideout.”
“Correct.”
“That had nothing to do with me.”
His mouth tightened. “I suppose not. I’m also no longer in possession of the amulet. Its magic strengthens the power of the bearer tenfold. Perhaps it also absorbs power, and that is why I feel weakened.”
The path inclined, and my lungs burned as we trekked uphill. “You think some of your power is trapped inside it?”
“It is a possibility.”
“That would explain why Hecate is so pissed. Maybe some of her power is trapped in it too.”
