“Your bond is a pesky little thing.” He leaned in close, his face inches from mine. “It’ll soon be broken.”
I held his glower, feigning pulling my face back away from his. Instead, I was rearing it back and then slammed my head against his face.
He jumped back, one hand flitting to his gushing nose and the other shooting out.
I went flying, crashing into the unforgiving oak doors behind me. Pain shot up my spine and my head throbbed.
His chest rose in a slow breath as his nostrils flared, crimson-black blood seeping from his nose. “If you weren’t ether and a testimony to Selene’s alliance, you’d be dead.”
“The only testimony Selene is making will be when she says ‘I do’ at our wedding, and that’s because she wants me, not you.” I rose to my knees.
He glared at me, his eyes eerily unwavering for a solid minute.Good. My remark got to him.
“Watch him. Concuss him. Do whatever you desire to him as long as his heart still beats and you do not touch his magic,” he said to the other dark mage.
The black hood moved up and down with the dark mage’s nods, and David left.
I slowly stood, leaning against the doors behind me. I spared a glance at the unconscious guard, his chest slowly rising.
“So you get left with babysitting duty, huh?” I raised my hands. “Any chance you could loosen these a bit?” The shadowed face was pointed in my direction, unmoving. “Worth a shot.” I shrugged and then messed with the cuffs. They wouldn’t budge.
Every second I was stuck was every second David was closer to Selene. I glanced at the door handle and an idea struck me.
“Well,” I proceeded to the door, “maybe these door handles will be more personable and helpful.” I set the metal bar connecting the cuffs against the handle and started making a sawing motion. “Do you know what happens when tungsten goes against tungsten?”I didn’t. “It withers away.”
By the looks of it, it didn’t do anything. The dark mage stepped forward, shooting out a hand, fire extending in my direction. Its searing heat melted the hair on my arms as I stepped away from the door.
At leasttheythought it did something.
I chose that moment to clutch my heart, feigning some sort of illness from his attack. The only two orders they had was to make sure my heart still beat and that my magic was off-limits. Swallowing, I dropped to my knee, forcing myself to take deep, unproductive breaths until I felt my face redden.
The dark mage took a step.Closer.I hunched over, slowing my movements as if I was falling to my own false ailments. Their steps grew nearer until their black boots came into view. I slowed my breaths and movements. A slight shift in their stance told me they were starting to lean down…
I struck, leaping to my feet and maneuvering the cuffs around their neck—an advantage of being tall. Pulling as hard as I could, I made sure the bar dug into their neck, causing them to gasp. Their hand flew to my arm, and I felt searing pain where they touched me, the odor of my own burning flesh striking my nose. I needed to hold on a little longer.
The dark mage’s other hand came up to my opposing arm, and my grip involuntarily loosened. They took the opportunity to escape and sent a shooting flame at my midsection. I dodged the flames, barely, and landed a blow to their face, knocking their hood off.
White hair billowed out, and her dark eyes narrowed on me. The whites had yellowed, but not so much that I couldn’t alsomake out the red veins they were full of. She had slender cheeks and a narrow nose, and her lips were the color of a dark red. She was wearing lipstick.
“Have you thought about just going all dark and natural?” I gestured toward her face. “I think we both can agree makeup is useless at this point.”
The dark mage snarled, lunging toward me. I effectively worked her up. I dodged, landing a knee to her gut. She staggered, but not before getting a hand out, shooting powerful magic into me and sending me backward against those stupid, painstakingly hard doors. My body sizzled and one quick once-over told me a quarter of my body had been fried.
“I doubtDavidwanted you to cook me for dinner.” I grinned as I stood, almost wondering who was the crazy one.
The doors to the library opened and Mr. Hastings stood there, wielding a sword. A librarian wearing trousers and a suit vest while wielding a sword was a sight I’d never forget. His entrance caught the dark mage’s attention as well and I lurched forward, grateful for the distraction. Again, I wrapped my arms around the dark mage’s neck from behind. Mr. Hastings lunged, but she sent her fire magic in his direction. He made a quick motion with his arm and an end table flew in front of him, knocking over the gold vase that had been on it. The table shielded the flames and I pulled tighter, choking the dark mage.
When the flames ceased, Mr. Hastings attacked, slashing the sword across the dark mage’s body. The dark mage let out a deep cry. The air began to get warmer and heat radiated from her body. Before I could unwrap my hands and move back, a searing explosion struck me as the mage used her magic, freeing herself and sending Mr. Hastings and me to the ground.
The previous burns throbbed even more and the new ones felt like sandpaper against my skin. I hoisted myself onto my tender arms, wincing against the pain. Mr. Hastings didn’t faretoo well on the other side of the room, half of his face oozing and smoldering. The dark mage walked over to the sword lying on the ground and picked it up. She began advancing toward the librarian, who was still getting his bearings together. He wouldn’t see her coming.
I tried to call to him, but between the ringing in my ears and my dry throat, I couldn’t tell if anything came out. Mr. Hastings didn’t look up. The golden vase lay in front of me, and I grabbed it before getting to my feet. I pushed myself, each stumbling step sending shooting pain up, down, every direction in my legs.
The vase was heavy and took a good amount of effort to raise it in the air and then slam it against the back of the dark mage’s head. As she dropped to the floor, she used magic to send the sword flying in my direction. It embedded itself in the side of my abdomen, and I stepped backward, somehow managing to stay on my feet.
I couldn’t fail Selene. I reached for the bond—it felt so distant, but it was there. The small glow was still fading as cold surrounded it, and I couldn’t think about what that meant. Was she okay? Was I dying? Would Selene survive David?
No.Selene would live.
