She had not made it one step before he raised his hand. An odd marking on his wrist caught my attention. It was not familiar. The burst of his everi from his outstretched hand was immediate and punishing. Isabella was thrown back, hard, into the wall, the impact caving in the stone where she struck it.
I summoned what remained of my everi, but it wasn’t much.
Fuck.
I could not follow his speed as he sent a blow to my stomach that I could not block. I hit the floor, winded, unable to move.
The blood mage stepped forward, arm raised for the kill.
Then—steel clashed against steel.
Someone blocked the blow, cloak still rippling from their lightning speed.
“Still getting yourself into trouble, I see.”
Malakai.
My lungs seized, the sound raw and guttural. “Kai—what the hell are you doing here?”
He did not answer. He was engaged against the masked mage—agile, fierce, focused in a way I had never seen him.
Then it hit me.
A pain. Not from the outside, but from within.
A sudden, stabbing rip through my chest—burning, numbing and paralyzing. It was as if my everi was imploding at my core.
I gasped and staggered.
The masked blood mage faltered too.
Something was wrong. It was Anna’s everi—it was screaming.
What is happening to her?
Malakai twisted to look at me, his expression grim. “Now I understand,” he said. “It was all to separate her from you.”
“She is with him,” I said, the words thick in my throat. “Caelan.”
At that name, the masked mage stiffened. And without another word, he vanished, leaving behind only twisting tendrils of black smoke.
Malakai’s eyes narrowed. “I knew that bastard was up to something. He must be a mind walker. He set me up for this, but I did not realize it until I was in the Realm. It is why I came back. I wanted to beat the shit out of him for trying to make me look guilty. I did not imagine he was the one behind it, though—I thought he just hated me.”
“Caelan?” Isabella asked. “What do you mean?”
“I have to find her,” I said, trying to sense her everi again.
I turned to Malakai. “Take Isabella. Get her to the portal.”
He nodded. “I will, but I am not doing this for you. It is to repay my debt for attacking her.”
Isabella gasped.
“Then you and I are square,” he said, looking at Isabella.
Her expression darkened. I nodded, indicating she should trust him.
Malakai turned his back on me. “Let us go.”
