The power was blinding.
In this rift between consciousness, between time and space, there was nothing separating me from the magic in my veins. FromGayl’smagic. I understood now what had happened when I cast my father’s siphon spell. When my blood had met Gayl’s in that tremulous moment and I’d summoned all of my strength into that unfamiliar incantation.
When Leo and I had found it, we thought we could use it to banish Gayl’s magic back into whatever crevice the power of this empire was held.
Get rid of the power, get rid of the man.
But that much magic…that unending well stolen fromthousandsof people over almost three decades…it couldn’t simplydisappear.
When that first bead of silver light filled me, I thought I would die from the rapture of it.Was this what Gayl felt like all the time?I’d wondered. Like my soul had been covered with this infinite freedom, this bliss I’d never dreamt of.
But then the rest followed.
Thread after thread of Gayl’s magic. More than my body could handle. More than my mind could comprehend.
And itburned.
It shattered and fractured, forcing itself into me, reshaping the fabric of my very being to find space for its existence. Gayl had accumulated it slowly, inch by inch, like filling an ocean with drops from the sky. But I…I was like a river whose dam had been broken, water spilling over and bursting my seams.
I wanted to die.
I begged for death. Begged for the pain to stop, though I knew it never would.
This was my price.
At times, I thought I could hear a voice. Could feel a warm, strong hand on a body I no longer inhabited. It dispelled the agony, if only for a moment, before it flooded back and tugged me under again.
All I knew was that I couldn’t live like this.
I screamed into the void and prayed for my end.
79
Rose
Muted light slid across my eyelids. Something brushed against my skin. Not the pain I was so used to, but something…light. Soft. Warm.
I was breathing. My chest rose and fell, air tickling my nose as I exhaled. And my heart…it pumped steadily, pounding out a slow rhythm.
One by one, my senses came back to me. The dryness of my mouth, the stiffness of my arms, the soreness of my entire body. Echoes of that pain still vibrated through me, but it was dimmer now. The power wasn’t gone, though. It pushed at my skin, no longer excruciating but still relentless, a constant reminder of what lived in me.
It wasn’tmine.
It wanted out.
My eyes burst open.
It took a moment to work out my surroundings. I was lying on a bed with a blanket tucked around me and a shelf of vials and bandages and other supplies to my right. The palace infirmary, I thought. To the left was a chair, and in that chair sprawled a man, his legs spread out and his head balanced precariously on his shoulder, eyes closed and breaths heavy.
Leo.
I tried to sit up, but the motion made me gasp in discomfort. How long had I been like this? My body was still getting used to the abundance of magic, and it caused even the slightest movement to feel like lifting a bag of weights. I grunted as I gingerly pulled the blanket off my legs.
There was a sharp intake of breath, and suddenly, hands cupped my cheek. “You’re awake,” Leo said, his voice rough. Those dark eyes were red with exhaustion, but as he looked at me, they filled with relief. His lips parted on a ragged exhale. “I didn’t know if you would…if I’d ever…”
My chest tightened. I’d never seen him like this. The scruff on his face had grown into a thicker beard and his hair was unkempt and mussed, as if he’d been constantly running his fingers through it. His hands trembled slightly as they moved to my back and enveloped me in a tight embrace.
The action sent a throb down my body, and I let out a small whimper. He stiffened and pulled away. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
