Peter was her mate. Even though she couldn’t remember her last name, her childhood, or tell him what foods she liked, her favorite color...she knew they were meant to be together. Or, would have been, had it not been for the Thirteen and their plan to destroy her.
Why hadn’t she confessed just how intensely she felt Celia’s magic calling to her through the brand? Had she put them all in terrible danger?
Caitlin called on the power of her air, and a strong current propelled the three of them forward twice as fast as they would have been able to run. Eli used his elements to conjure a thick fog that wrapped around the massive stone structure and rolled down the hill in waves. Regulus kept pace with them easily, his enhanced speed probably making their sprint seem like a slow jog, and every few moments, he cast a glance in Sameen’s direction, his brows furrowed.
He could read minds. He’d told her so right after he’d given her his blood. Had the connection waned? Or could he still sense her thoughts? If so...maybe he could help her.
The sigil, which had started to pulse with power the moment they’d exited the SUV, now burned, so hot she wasn’t sure she could stop from crying out much longer. Celia knew she was close, and Sameen feared even Eli’s protection charm wouldn’t be enough to save her.
Fight. You have a life now. People you care about.
Focusing on Peter, who ran just ahead of her, close enough a single leap would bring him back to her side, she kept repeating those words over and over again.
The sigil was so hot now, only the years of unending agony she’d endured at the Thirteen’s hands allowed her to remain upright and semi-functional. She was used to pain. Used to fighting through it, banishing it to the deepest recesses of her mind—when they’d allowed her that control—and she’d continue to do so for as long as she could.
A wave of powerful magic washed over her, too much for her to keep fighting, and she drew in a sharp breath.
“It is time for you to fulfill your destiny.”Freya—Celia’s favorite and the second strongest practitioner of the bunch—laughed in Sameen’s head. Freya’s idea of fun had always been to torture the poor, paralyzed conduit. To tease her with food, to offer freedom if only Sameen asked for it. But trapped in her own body, she’d been unable to move or speak, and Freya had known it.
“What’s wrong?” Caitlin asked when Sameen stumbled.
“I can feel them. We don’t have much time.” The words weren’t hers. Not the ones she wanted to say, though that made them no less true. Freya invaded her mind, her magic spreading all through Sameen’s body until the witch could control everything she said or did. Even her thoughts, though Freya seemed to care little about those at the moment.
“You pathetic thing. Did you think you could escape us? You have always been ours.”
“Please,”Sameen begged.“Don’t do this. Let Mara and the wolves go. I know I failed you. But I won’t this time. I can still be your conduit. You only need to take the elements from me and channel them.”
Freya laughed, the sound making Sameen’s stomach twist into a knot.“Your only purpose is to bring us the elemental’s mate and the practitioner’s son. And to give up all that we put inside you.”
Deliver Cade to the Thirteen? No. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. She’d find a way to end her own life first. She ached to call out for Regulus, but if she did, Freya would know. If only he’d look over at her again. See what must be pure agony in her eyes.
Another scream—this one weaker and filled with pain—came from inside the stone structure, and just ahead of them, Cade snarled.
“That’s Mara,” Caitlin reached for Sameen, clutching her hand tightly. “They’re hurting her.”
The rest of the wolves answered the alpha, communicating in a language of quiet yips and barks Sameen couldn’t understand.
“They’re making a plan. Splitting up. We’re to do the same. Stay with Regulus and Peter and Eli. I’m going with Liam. They can scent more than just the eight practitioners in there.”
“Novitiates,” Regulus spat. “Trainees. When they held me captive, the novitiates wore light purple robes. Full-fledged practitioners wore dark purple. But even those with new magic can be deadly. Beware.”
Fire, water, and air fought for dominance inside Sameen, and she doubled over, pulling away from Caitlin. Regulus caught her elbow, and when she stared up at him, the vampire hissed and bared his fangs.
“You are in their thrall.”
“No!” Freya commanded Sameen’s body, trying to free her from the vampire’s grip, but his fingers were stronger than steel, and he threw her over his shoulder and raced away from the rest of the group.
“Do not deviate from the plan,” he called to Caitlin and Eli.
The magic flowing through the sigil surged even stronger, and the practitioner called to the fire elements deep inside Sameen, chanting in Gaelic until Sameen’s hands started to glow red hot.
“No! Please don’t do this!”
The witch didn’t respond, and when smoke wafted from her fingers, the vampire cursed and threw her down to the ground, robbing her of her ability to breathe from the impact.
“You think to burn me, witch? To take the mind of one so pure? Think again.”
Peter’s wolf growled, and even with Freya’s magic controlling her and the fire blistering her fingers, Sameen held on to the thinnest shred of her own sanity. Regulus would help her. Stop her from hurting anyone else. And Peter would come.
