“I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out.” He grabs my hand, and we rush toward the back of the cavern. “There has to be a way through here.” With a hard yank, he pulls me to his side.
“Hey, ouch!”
“Watch it.” He jerks his chin toward a hole in the cavern floor where I almost stepped, the darkness beyond it absolute, likely the same as the fall.
“Spires.” I grip his shirt. “That was close. Hurt me all you want.”
More clicking, and this time, it sounds like the noises are just outside the low green light. My hackles rise as I follow Gareth, my hand clutched tightly in his own. The light fades as we go, and soon we’re in near total darkness.
I slow, but he keeps barreling ahead.
“I hope you can see in the dark.” I swallow hard as the clicking becomes a constant companion. My mind conjures up horrors of what lurks in the dark, but Gareth doesn’t falter. He leads me unerringly forward, then veers to the right.
“I can see enough.” He moves faster. “There.”
“Where?” Did something just touch my hair? I turn but see nothing. “Is there—”
“Up through here. Rough stairs. We’ll need to climb in some spots.” He pulls me forward, but I still can’t see. I use my feet to feel for the steps and follow along behind him, his hand never leaving mine.
The clicking grows to a cacophony, and I can’t seem to stop shaking. What is that sound?
Gareth stops, and I bump into his back.
“What is it?” Do I want to know?
“There are too many.”
“Too many what?”
He pulls me tight to him. “Close your eyes.”
I stiffen. “Why?”
“I have to use my magic.”
“The destruction kind?” I press myself to him and try to clasp my hands behind his back.
“Yes.”
“What’s out there?”
“They’re almost on us. I think they were holding back to feel us out. Now, they’re just hungry.”
“Not again.” I press my forehead to his chest. “I’m tired of things trying to eat me.”
“Just keep your eyes closed.” He kisses my crown.
“Tell me what it is. I won’t freak out.”
“Eyes closed.”
“Fine.” Maybe it’s better this way. Maybe he’s right. Maybe if I don’t close my eyes, his magic will burn them off my face.
He breathes out slowly, and then I feel it.
I still, everything in my mind going silent. It’s him. I feelhim. His magic is part of him, and it rises from inside him like an unstoppable cyclone. It’s painted in hues of gold and black, and it pulses through me. His magic dances through my veins, the claiming mark on my throat tingling as our bond snaps so tight I can taste him. I can sense Gareth everywhere. He lives in me just as I live in him. The magic continues to rise. He strains, trying to control it. But I see it all, the sparks of power whirling and disappearing into black and gold.
“Let it go,” I think down the bond.
