“He cornered me,” I whisper. “The sedative wasn't working, and he... I thought that...” I can't finish the sentence. The tears fall before I can stop them.
Sabina stops the van abruptly. For a moment, she seems to struggle with herself, and then she does something I didn't expect: she hugs me. Her body is cool against mine.
“You're safe now,” she murmurs against my hair. “It's over. You're safe,” she repeats.
I cling to her like she's a lifeline. For a few seconds, I allow myself to be weak. I allow myself to shake and cry and let someone hold me.
When I finally pull away, Sabina has a strange expression. As if the hug had cost her something.
“I don't know how I got out,” I confess, wiping my face. “I used the magic. I took the air from his lungs until he fell. I did it without thinking, Sabina. It just... happened.”
“You controlled air? Without training?”
I nod.
“I thought I was going to kill him. And the worst part is a part of me wanted to do it.”
Sabina looks at me with something that seems like admiration mixed with concern.
“But you didn't.”
“No,” I confirm. “Though he deserved it.”
“Nell, do you know what this means?”
“That I was scared shitless?”
“That you're much more powerful than we thought. Even than what Kaelisar believed. Fear, like any strong emotion, channels magic,” she explains, hugging me again to kiss my head.
Chapter 8
Sabina
“What if he finds out it was me and comes after me?” Nell whispers, breaking the silence. “What if he ends up remembering what happened and looks for me?”
I breathe deeply. Part of me wants to reach out and stroke her cheek, assure her she's safe. Tell her I'll fight by her side if necessary. I feel an inexplicable need to protect her. Too intense. It's as if every cell in my body fights to wrap around hers, to create a shield between Nell and the world.
It's something terrifying and at the same time wonderful.
And it's precisely what Kaelisar expects to happen.
“He won't,” I respond coldly. “The sedative and lack of oxygen will have left him with mental gaps. Anyway, it's not very different from what you face in your usual work, is it? You're a thief, after all.”
The tone of my voice sounds much sharper than I intended, and I can sense her disappointment. Even so, I keep my gaze fixed on the road, avoiding any eye contact.
“I guess you're right,” she murmurs, turning to press her forehead against the window.
For several minutes, only the purr of the engine and the occasional gear shift can be heard.
Suddenly, Nell turns toward me. Her heterochromatic eyes shine with a mix of confusion and anger.
“Why are you talking to me like this? Before entering Voronov's mansion you seemed very worried about me, and now you're acting like I'm hysterical. I know very well what that man is capable of doing to those he considers his enemies.”
I swallow without finding an answer. What can I tell her? That soulmates exist? That I feel an attraction to her that defies logic? That possibly Sylara and Althea are feeling something similar? Everything is happening according to Kaelisar's plan, and I'll do everything possible to make sure that doesn't happen.
“It's fine, I'm sorry,” I limit myself to saying. “I'm just tense. The mission went well and that's all that matters.”
“Yeah, well I feel like I just barely escaped from a predator,” she confesses in a low voice. “And the air thing... fuck, it was like something inside me suddenly woke up. Likeit had always been there, asleep, and suddenly, boom! I took the air from his lungs. I just can't believe it.”
