“He’ll make Larylis part of his Roizan,” he said under his breath. With a renewed sense of urgency, he stepped into his body once more, felt the buzzing resistance all around him. His ethera fought against the movements of a physical form not under his control. He aligned his ethera’s hands with his body’s hands, tried to wrest control, turn his wrist, drop the blood?—
“He’s not making another Roizan.” Emylia appeared before him, gaze locked on Morkai’s palm. Her eyes lifted to his, wide with terror. “Creating a Roizan with multiple human lives made it strong enough to do what he needs to do next. Your brother’s battle with the Roizan is a distraction. You saw how Morkai coughed up blood. He’s running out of time. You both are.”
Teryn glanced back at the pattern that continued to weave, studied the two distinct threads of blood that tangled together. Something tugged at the edges of his ethera, an unyielding pressure that grew with every beat of his heart.
“I recognize this pattern,” Emylia said. “He’s finalizing his possession of your body.”
Cora didn’t knowwhere to look, what to do. Chaos filled the meadow as the fire continued to eat away at the tent, its flames now lapping up the sides of the next one over. Larylis was doing his best against the Roizan, focusing on dodging swipes and landing blows on its limbs to slow it down, but it was an unwinnable fight. His only advantage was the creature’s bulk and lack of agility. Even so, the Roizan was a monster of magic. She had no doubt it could outlast a human’s stamina. All it needed was one fatal swipe of claws. One violent kick of its rear hooves.
Then there was Teryn. She hoped his soul was safe for now, but Morkai was using his body to cast a blood weaving. She had to stop him. She had to dosomething.
Her hands went reflexively to her waist, her back, desperate for her bow or a dagger. The motions were futile; she already knew she’d find no weapon?—
Except…there wassomethingthere.
The hand that clutched her empty hip brushed over a lump in her pocket. She patted it again, making out the curved shape of the collar that had pierced her neck not long ago, rendering her magic null. Calm certainty flooded her as she extracted the device. Her eyes narrowed on Teryn’s body. She could cross the distance between them, collar him, and sever Morkai’s magic. It wouldn’t stop the Roizan from fighting Larylis, as the creature was its own vessel for magic, but she could at least stop Morkai from completing his weaving. It might even return Teryn’s soul to its rightful place.
She hoped.
Breathing deeply, she forced her nerves to steady, her mind to clear. She rooted her feet to the earth, gathered lungfuls of smoky air, let the flames dancing in the meadow fuel her fury, let her warm affection for Teryn guide her emotions, calling her to cross the space between them…
Light glinted off steel, and her eyes locked on the blade in Mareleau’s hand. Her stomach clenched, threatening to shatter her concentration. She exhaled her panic, focused on Teryn’s back, the familiar curve of his neck, the width of his shoulders, the sturdy feel of them beneath her palms.
Mareleau charged forward, thrust the blade toward the bottom of his ribs…
Cora closed her eyes.
Opened the two ends of the collar.
Took a step.
And felt the knife meant for Teryn sink into her shoulder.
Cora ignored the pain that radiated through her back, her arms, and instead focused on snapping the collar shut. Closing on its hinge, the pointed edges dug into Teryn’s neck. He went rigid, a cry escaping his lips. From behind him, she pressed her palms to the sides of his face, stood on tiptoe, and whispered his name.
“Teryn.”
The soundof Cora’s voice sent Teryn’s ethera surging into his body. Pain erupted at the sides of his neck, and he fell to his knees. Then she was there, rounding to the front of him, her hands framing his face, her voice caressing his ears. Ears that were his. A touch he could feel. Her face filled his vision, her brow knitted with concern.
He was home.
Home.
His body was his own.
“Cora!” Mareleau’s voice trembled as she crouched beside them. A dagger shook in her hand before falling to the ground. “Cora, I’m sorry.”
Cora’s throat bobbed. “Bind my shoulder,” she barked at Mareleau. “Hurry.”
Teryn blinked a few times, willing his mind to reconcile what was happening, the sensation of being whole again. Something still felt wrong. There remained a pull at the edges of his awareness. He shook the thought from his mind, more concerned with Cora. “Your shoulder,” he said, voice far weaker than he wanted. “What happened?”
“Mareleau stabbed me,” Cora said, though there was no ire in her tone, only cold logic. Her grimace, however, revealed her pain. Through her teeth, she said, “Luckily, she’s lousy with a blade.”
“It was meant for him,” Mareleau bit out, then pursed her lips as she tore the silk belt from around her robe and began wrapping it around Cora’s upper arm. “I…I thought he was Morkai. I thought Teryn was gone.”
Teryn swallowed the dryness in his throat and tasted blood. “I wouldn’t blame you,” he said to Mareleau, “if the blade had met its mark. If it rids us of Morkai?—”
“No.” Cora’s tone was sharp. She lowered the hand that belonged to the same side as her injured shoulder but kept the other on his cheek. Her touch was warm against his flesh. He was grateful for the pressure. It seemed to anchor him into his body. Did she know that? Was that why she wouldn’t sever the touch? “You aren’t sacrificing yourself, so don’t you dare suggest it.”
