She huffed out what might have been a laugh if she’d been capable of sound. No one could destroy the Thirteen. They were the most powerful beings in this world—and probably the next world as well.
Her fingers brushed something leafy, and she felt her way up until she couldn’t reach any higher. A bush or bramble of some sort, tall enough and she thought possibly thick enough to hide her.
Creeping her way around the thing, still only able to move on her belly, she stopped when the vegetation muffled the screams and shouts. If the branches were between her and the Thirteen, she might be safe enough to rest here until more of her strength returned.
Turning her head away from the sun, she covered her face with her bound hands and passed out.
* * *
Mara
Her body was still. Sitting up with her back against a wall, somewhere dark and cool. Mara, however, was trapped in that same tiny box she always found herself in when theotherpart of her took over.
“Help me!”she cried silently. She couldn’t sense Cade at all. Where was he?
Wracking her brain, she tried to focus on her last memory. They’d been outside. In the backyard. Eli was about to try the casting. Something went wrong.
Cade grabbed her, but after that, everything went dark and fuzzy. Theotherpresence occupying her body had taken over, and it was still in control now.
Oh God. Her baby. What about her baby? Did the fire evenknowshe was pregnant? Did it care?
Her daughter kicked gently, almost as if she could sense Mara was about to give in to panic.
It’ll be okay, sweetie. Somehow. Your daddy will find us, or we’ll figure a way out of this ourselves if we have to.
If only she believed her own words. The longer she remained aware in this locked away place, the more she was able to see around her.
Bars. Metal bars. Dark stone walls. A dim light coming from a corridor, but no way out of the cell. There wasn’t even a door. Just one entire wall of metal slats too narrow to squeeze through—even if she weren’t pregnant.
Though the view was always a bit distorted when fire locked her away, Mara could see enough to know she—her body—wasn’t anywhere good. Theotherher took a deep breath, and the scent of magic, bitter and sharp, flooded her nose.
“You have to let me out,”she begged the consciousness in control.“I won’t survive if you don’t. Not...wherever this is.”
Nothing. Not even a single muscle twitch.
“The baby needs me.”
Mara’s field of vision shrank almost down to nothing, as if the fire were activelypunishingher for speaking up. But, even as she lost most of her very limited sight, she felt her body’s arms wrap tenderly around her stomach.
If she had control of her tear ducts, she’d be bawling by now. Terrified, trapped, and with no idea where Cade was or how he’d ever find her, she wasn’t sure how long she could stay locked away before she lost herself completely.
* * *
Hours.Maybe even a day passed. Hell, for all she knew of time, it could have been two. No one had come. No food or water. No blanket or pillow. Yet she wasn’t hungry or thirsty. The fire was still in control, and it hadn’t let her move. Not even an inch. She stayed braced against the wall, arms around her baby bump, feeling her daughter kick and wriggle.
The smell of magic never let up. The practitioners must have spelled her. Otherwise, there was no way she’d still be in as good shape as she was without moving at all. The baby would be in distress.
Her muscles tensed, and Mara fought against the fire.“Let me see what’s happening!”she begged, and suddenly, the entire cell came into view.“Thank you. God, thank you. We have to be ready for anything.”
Something shifted inside of her, and she could feel emotions she knew weren’t her own. They belonged to theotherher. The fire elemental was detached. Almost aloof. But underneath that? A very small kernel of fear.
Footsteps. Slow. Multiple sets.
The bars parted—not by any mechanism, but by magic—and two large men stepped into the cell. They wore dark robes with hoods that hid the top half of their faces. Behind them, two women stood in long purple tunics and black pants. “Bring her. Do not harm the baby,” one of the women ordered.
The fire elemental let out a howl, flailing her arms, kicking, trying to scramble into a corner of the cell, but the woman who’d spoken uttered a few words in a language Mara thought was Gaelic, and her muscles went slack. The men picked her up easily, one grabbing her under the arms and the other taking her legs at the ankles.
They were gentle. As gentle as they could be carrying a pregnant woman hanging between them.
