I fight against his overwhelming strength, straining to dissolve the energy that binds the whip. One chilling thought consumes my mind.He’s going to kill me.
A cry of frustration bubbles up my throat and the energy whip snaps, sending me stumbling backwards into the column. My head hits the cold, hard stone and stars swirl in front of my vision.
“You should never have tried to fight her.” Taron’s voice is low as he strides towards me with squared shoulders. I can’t find his eyes under his hair. One look is all I need. He’s still in there – he has to be. The Taron who showed mercy to a street urchin. The Taron who saved Mei from being impaled by a dragon.
The Taron whose lips are soft against mine, and whose tender touch fills me with warmth.
He extends an arm and I know what’s coming before Ican even feel it. My eyes flicker down to the shears in my boot, and I know what I have to do.
Taron’s invisible grip pushes against my chest, forcing me back against the column. I grab my shears and hide them at my side. They’re heavy in my hand.
My ribs ache from the pressure, my lungs struggling to expand as I gasp for air.
Taron stops in front of me, inches away. He looks up at the column above, rather than at my face. Then he bangs his fist against the stone near my neck, and the pressure around my throat tightens.
“Taron, you have to stop.” Desperation bleeds into my words. “Taron, wake up!” I scream, and my arm breaks free.
I swing my shears at his shoulder, but he grabs my hand. His grip is strong on my wrist, twisting it until my fingers are forced to release the shears. He grabs them, and then he’s leaning into me, my own shears poised against my neck.
I brace myself, but Taron doesn’t move. As he lowers his chin, his blue eyes find mine beneath his hair.It’s him. He’s back.
My heart leaps against my ribcage as he scans my face, following the tear tracks down my cheeks. The moment between us stretches out like a taut wire ready to snap.
“Why aren’t you fighting back?” he demands.
“Because I’m waiting for you to kill me.”
I can see the conflict etched into his features. A vein throbs between his brows, still mottled with dark energy.His bottom lip quivers. He locks his jaw to make it stop.
“That’s what she ordered you to do, isn’t it?” I ask. “I’ve seen you do it before in your memories. I saw all the horrible, unimaginable things you did for that woman. What makes me any different? You’re a monster, Taron.”
“If I’m a monster, she made me one,” he whispers, and the admission hangs between us, although I’m not quite sure what to do with it.
“Is that what you want?” My voice softens. “You said you wanted to be free … remember?”
He hesitates, and the pressure of his talents loosens more and more. I can breathe again. I peel myself away from the column ever so slightly.
Taron goes rigid, and I look over his shoulder. Madame Vera stands behind him. Her yellow-blonde hair is a tangled nest on top of her head. She’s no longer smiling.
Her sweat-soaked face is a grotesque mask of rage as she demands, “Well, what are you waiting for, Taron?”
He turns to look at her.
“I said,kill her.”
I don’t wait to find out if he’s going to. Before he has time to turn back to face me, I summon every ounce of strength I have left and push him away from me.
I run as fast as I can, sprinting towards the arch beyond which the Astrals vanished with the other competitors.
My stomach lurches when the floor beneath me shifts. Not the floor, but the air around me, pulled out beneath my feet like a rug.
I throw my palms forward to break my fall, but the temple’s stone floor is hard and uneven. I land with athud, and twist on the floor to face the duo behind me.
Taron doesn’t have his arm outstretched, but a twitch in his finger coincides with the tightening feeling around my ankle. To my surprise, tears are welling in his eyes.
“Taron?” I breathe.
He takes a step towards me, but Madame Vera grips his arm. There’s a note of unease in her voice as she says, “Forget it, this is taking too long. We need to go before those Astrals return with the Principal Guard. We got what we came for.”
