“You cannot.”
“Then at least untie me.”
He stood. “No.”
My temper snapped. “You’ve taken everything from me—my freedom, my plans, my mind! And you won’t even let me sit without feeling like a prisoner?!”
He reached for me. “Calm yourself. I told you, I won’t harm?—”
The moment his hand touched mine, somethingignited.
A spark. A pulse of gold and white fire, so hot it burned through the shadow like a comet through a storm cloud.
Jarrik cried out and jerked back, his hand smoking.
He stared at me in stunned disbelief. Then he snarled and reached for the blade at his belt.
“Enough of this.”
A wicked-looking dagger glinted in the firelight, etched with runes that slithered across the steel like living things.
I backed away. “What are you?—”
“You’re not bonded yet. Your power is resisting. I’ll break it.”
“No—stop?—”
Magic coiled in the air like a thunderstorm about to break.
And then?—
The forest exploded.
Darkness surged. Not like Jarrik’s, cold and calculating. This waswild. Raw. Pure fury.
The campfire went out with a hiss.
Wind slammed into the clearing, scattering sparks. The horse screamed and bolted.
And a voice—that voice—growled from the shadows.
“Step away from her.”
My heart stopped.
He emerged like death made flesh—tall, cloaked in midnight, blue hair whipping in the wind, eyes glowing silver with a rage so pure it felt holy.
The mage from the city.
He’d found me.
I didn’t know whether to cry in relief—or run like hell.
Jarrick grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me to my feet, dragging me backward. “Devin, she’s mine. My betrothed. Leave us or escort us back to The Spire.”
Flashing silver eyes met mine. Held. Devin—that was the other mage’s name—tilted his head like a curious cat. “You know what she is?”
Jarrick’s finger’s tightened until I feared my bones would break. I tried to pull free. Failed. Twisted my arm. Kicked Jarrick’s legs. He didn’t even turn, his complete attention on the Death Mage who had obviously tracked us to this place. Had Jarrick known we were being followed? Was that why he’d been in such a hurry, not stopping for what felt like two days? “Let me go!”
