Ryker’s arms wrapped around me, holding me tight while sweat turned my skin clammy and cold. I released a measured exhale as I pressed my trembling hand to my side, feeling the half-sealed wound.
As I closed my eyes, I forced myself to reach within, searching for the flickering trace of my magic. It stuttered, my bodyrefusing to obey. Blood slid hot and sticky between my fingers, pooling beneath me.
My breath rattled in and out, each inhale slicing me open from the inside. Gritting my teeth, I tried again, forcing my mind to block out the pain as I worked. But every time I reached for it, my magic slipped away, leaving only agony in its wake.
A scream tore up my throat, raw and animalistic, but I clamped my lips shut, breathing through my nose until the wave of anguish subsided.
My blood kept flowing, hot and slick, and I couldn’t keep my hands from shaking. Ryker’s grip on my shoulders never lessened, and his shadows twined around my body, pressing in, caging me, refusing to let me slip away.
He wouldn’t allow me to escape him. Not if he had to drag me back from the brink of death himself.
I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I can’t do this.
The pain was too much, and my magic too weak.
Ryker’s breath was warm against my cheek. “Focus, Temptress. I know you can do it.” He shifted until his gaze met mine, his eyes wild and dangerous. “Look at me, Cadence. Don’t you dare let go.”
His power slammed into me through the bond, thick and suffocating. Shadows curled around my legs, my waist, crawling under my skin. But it wasn’t uncomfortable. The inky tendrils caressed me as if trying to comfort me in my distress.
And that’s when I decided I was not dying. Not here. Not fucking now.
I pictured the wound in my mind: a gaping, bloody gash, leaking my life away. I could feel the shreds of flesh, the pooling blood, the jagged edges of muscle and skin. With trembling hands, I reached for my wilting power, forcing it to obey my commands.
It hurt. Gods, it hurt.
I gritted my teeth harder, refusing to let the pain win. Ryker’s arms were a vise around me, holding my shuddering body upright. His lips pressed to my temple, a constant source of strength as he rocked us both.
“Heal or die, Cadence. It’s time to choose.”
My inner voice propelled me forward, and I dug deeper. Air wheezed in and out of my lungs, but I forced my magic to gather in my palm before shoving it down, straight into the wound.
I imagined the gash healing, arteries knitting together, tissue fusing. I pictured the blood flow slowing until there was nothing left but a dull ache and the raw memory of pain.
Light flared behind my eyelids. My body jerked, and pressure built under my ribs. For one terrifying moment, I thought my magic would betray me, slipping from my grasp once more.
Then I felt it.
The paltry scraps of my power, knitting the wound closed from the inside out. Magic rushed up my spine, and the pain slowly retreated.
I slumped against Ryker’s chest, my body spent but intact.
“It’s done.”
“I’m sorry, Cadence,” Ryker said, his voice tight. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
The cool bite of metal spread across my skin as he re-clasped the cuffs. He pressed a tender kiss to the underside of each wrist as he whispered quiet apologies.
I didn’t have the energy to fight him, letting my eyelids close as my body gave in to the need for rest.
As the darkness pulled me under, Ryker’s voice was the last thing I heard. “I’ve let you down, but I promise I’ll find them, Cadence. And when I do, I will make them suffer for ever daring to harm you. This is my vow to you.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Cadence
A soft, rumbling whisper pulled me from the darkness. Shadows curled at the edges of my vision, and I blinked as I tried to clear the lingering fog from my mind.
As I took in my surroundings, I realized I was back in Ryker’s chambers, sprawled across his bed, warm and safe. Ryker’s head rested on my lower abdomen, one hand splayed over my belly while his other hand curled possessively around my wrist, his thumb brushing circles beneath the metal of my cuff.
