I wanted to scoff. To shove him away.
He was hardly an open book.
But my heart was pounding too fast, and not with fear.
Ryker circled me, his shadows coming out to play once more, brushing against my skin like a cold caress. I stood there, pulse racing, trying to remember why I longed to be free of him.
And hating myself for forgetting, even for a second.
Faster than I could process, black tendrils slithered over my body, encasing me in darkness. My protests died on my tongue when the familiar sensation of falling gripped me, and my hands flailed as I searched for something to hold on to.
The world shifted around me, reality bending and warping. His shadows released me without warning, and I stumbled forward, my knees hitting cold, damp earth.
The space surrounding us was vast and empty. In every direction I looked, there was nothing but grassy hills.
It shouldn’t have unsettled me, but it did.
“Where are we?” My voice wavered, sounding smaller than I wanted it to.
“Get up,” Ryker said, ignoring my question.
I dusted the dirt from my knees, dragging out the action and taking a moment to compose myself.
When I straightened, obsidian eyes stared back at me, malice and determination shining through in equal measure. Ryker’s calloused palm darted forward, seizing the column of my throat and squeezing.
The next thing I knew, I was lying on my back staring up at the pale blue sky as I tried, and failed, to suck air into my burning lungs.
“You’re strong enough to take care of yourself, right?” Ryker snarled. “Well, this is your chance to prove it. Get up and fight me.”
He pulled me to my feet without waiting for an answer. When he released me, I took a step back, and then another.
My chest heaved as I fought for breath, the phantom grip of his fingers still burning around my throat. The taste of copper filled my mouth, and I realized I’d bitten my tongue. “You’re fucking insane, Ryker.”
“Am I?” He tilted his head in that unnerving way all hunters did as they studied their prey, learning them. “You want your freedom? You wish to rid yourself of my protection? Beat me, and you’ll have it.”
The shadows around him writhed with anticipation, feeding off his barely restrained violence. I could feel the powerradiating from him in waves, dark and intoxicating and terrifying all at once.
“I will not fight you, Ryker.”
He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Without warning, he lunged, gripping my waist as he swept my feet out from beneath me. My back met the hard earth, and I gasped as pain bloomed along my spine.
“Come on, Cadence,” he taunted. “You’re Wraith Borne. Show me how scary you can be.”
I gritted my teeth, hating that I was powerless and that he used that knowledge to torment me.
A flicker of shadows darted past my peripheral vision, and I threw myself sideways, rolling across the grass as they sliced through the air where I had been seconds before. The packed dirt scraped against my palms, tearing skin, but I scrambled to my feet and kept moving.
“You’re a bastard!” I said, dodging another tendril of darkness that lashed out like a whip.
Ryker’s laugh was cold, unfeeling. “That’s the fire I’ve been waiting to see.”
If only I had Riordan’s affinity for fire magic. I’d set him ablaze without sparing a thought.
When he came at me again, I narrowly avoided his fist as it whistled past my ear. The rush of air sent my hair flying, and I stumbled, barely keeping my footing on the uneven ground.
“Too slow,” Ryker said, already moving.
