He may have come to my rescue, but nothing has actually changed here. I pry my eyes away from him before my mind can be sucked down a rabbit hole of all the things I want to do with him and will never have the chance to in this lifetime.
“If Furi’s wings are healed by then. But either way, I’m going to need my hands free.”
I hold up my cuffed wrists. Everyone continues to stare at me, saying nothing.
“Guys. We need to take care of this now rather than waiting until we’re up shit’s creek without a paddle. Kylian could be hunting us as we speak. We need every weapon we can muster.”
“We don’t have the spell to undo them. Only Kylian does,” Zadyn points out.
“I know, so we need to start brainstorming.”
Jace props his hands on his hips. “There is nothing to be done. Youcan’t just slice through them with a sword. They’re not coming off short of melting them off your skin,” he tosses out, carelessly.
A lightbulb goes off in my head. He catches my eyes and shakes his head vehemently.
“Are youinsane?!”
“It’s the only option!”
“You want to burn the shackles from your wrists? Melt them down to ore?”
“If you have a better idea?—”
“This masochistic streak you’re on is getting old fast. They will burn through to the bone and you will lose your hands if you don’t bleed out and die first,” Jace explains heatedly, coming too close to maintain a normal heart rate.
“He’s right,” Zadyn says, getting to his feet. “You can’t do this.”
“Mar is here, she can siphon off her ring and heal me as we go, can’t you?” I glance down at her and she grimaces.
“Serena, the kind of pain it would cause… and I don’t even know if I’m strong enough to do this without it killing you.”
“There are ways to protect my hands.” I snap my fingers. “A shield! Jace, can’t you throw one around my wrists while Mar works?”
He looses a long exhale. “I can try, but with margins that thin… I’ve never done anything like it. And I’m not going to lie, the second you start screaming, I’m going to lose it.”
Zadyn looks like he’s going to be sick as he huffs a breath and stares up at the sky.
“This is a bad idea. A very,verybad idea.” He slides his eyes toward me.
“We have no other options. I need my power back. I’m a liability without it. If there is no getting these off without Kylian, then we’re doing this. And we’re doing it now.”
24
ZADYN
This better work.
I mean it should, but then again, I don’t think a single one of us has ever attempted toburnoff magical shackles.
There’s a massive pit in my stomach as we make the preparations. The heat of the fire mixes with the thick humidity, turning the air oppressive. It’s an effort not to take a step back, but I know what Serena is about to face is going to be ten times worse.
Yes, this is an insane plan.
I would stop her if I truly believed there was another option short of marching straight back to that bastard and asking him to kindly hand over the spell. But if this starts going south, I’ll put an end to it. I won’t let her mutilate herself just so she doesn’t feel like a liability.
I stuff a few dampened cloths under the chains, spreading them out over Serena’s wrists and forearms, her palms and delicate fingers.
“I need you to keep going, even if I pass out,” she says to Mar, who nods grimly.
