The force of the water didn't hurt, but she felt the watergripthe dagger from her. The water dragged it away, slinging the dagger several feet away from them.
Did he just wieldwater?
He thrust his hips upward, knocking her off balance. Strong hands gripped her sides as he flipped her onto her back, knocking the wind from her lungs. He pinned his knee between her legs, locking her into place. Taryn gripped her wrists on either side of her head and clicked his tongue.
“Now,that’snot a very nice way to say thank you.” His lips hovered over her, his deep vibrato raspy. “Considering I saved your ass.”
“What are you talking about? How did we get out here?” she ground out, fury in her chest at how easy it was for him to disarm her and flip their positions. And withwater Magick?Last she recalled, the male had used air Magick during their scuffle in the woods. She thought he was a Windborne Fae. Was he… Waterborne too?
His dark brows arched in confusion. “You don’t remember?”
“I…” She thought back to everything leading up to this point. They were in the jail, then escorted into the caravan. She remembered Taryn putting up a fight—how she admired his blatant defiance. Airess had mirrored it, finally speaking her mind, but the action cost her when the guard struck her in the face.
Then, it all happened so fast. As irrational and confusing as it was, panic haddrownedher as she saw the blade heading straight towards Taryn’s neck…
And then… nothing.
“I remember they struck me and then—” Airess drawled a blank, “I must have passed out. Next thing I know, I’m here, still chained toyou.” She glared at him.
There was a brief pause. His expression shifted from amused to calculating. He cocked his head to the side.
“Fascinating.”
What?
“I’ll let you go if you promise not to try and kill me again,” he joked with a half smile. “Besides, we are stuck together.” He cut his eyes to the shackles connecting them.
Airess uncovered her Sight, revealing his aura. To her surprise, it burned brighter. He was telling the truth. Even in this position—a totallyundesirableposition, his body pressed onto hers, his lips inches from—
Get it together, Air.
“Fine,” Airess gritted out.
Taryn let go of her wrists and backed off of her. Airess inhaled a shaky breath, finally released from his weight.
He sat a few feet away, as much as the chain would allow, knees propped on his elbows. She slowly sat up and placed ahand toher forehead, a slight pounding present.
“What are you?” Taryn asked boldly.
She bit back a scoff at his directness. “A halfling. Half Elven, half Human, if you couldn’t surmise. And before you say it, spare me from thediluted bloodcomments.” It wouldn’t be the first time she was called names because of her parentage. Cross breeding between Fae, Elven and Humans was strictly forbidden, and those who had what was considered to be diluted blood always remained in the lower class, for life.
Airess had been the only exception.
He shook his head. “I don’t care about that. I’m talking about your powers. It’s Light Magick, isn’t it?”
“Is that what yourGuildmastertold you?” she retorted, remembering that he was here on orders to take her captive. She held onto that fact, not wanting to let her thoughts wonder about him again.
“Yes, but no one has ever actually seen a Light Wielder in hundreds, if notthousandsof years. What you did back in the caravan is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. You seriously don’t remember what you did?”
Airess frowned at the hole in her memory. Has something… happened?
“I don’t remember anything at all.” She looked up to him. “Tell me.”
So he did. Taryn recounted the events in the caravan, how her pale locks and eyes turned a glowing gold. How she spoke with a thousand voices and laughed at her enemies.
“Your strength was heightened. You threw a two-hundred-pound male across the caravan and dented the metal bars. Your powermeltedanything in its path, as if it's hotter than fyre. I don’t know how you did it in the donstenyte chains, but we escaped because of you.”
Her stomach twisted. He sounded grateful, but Airess felt horrified. “Idid that?” she whispered, suddenly feeling small. No way that could be true. She had never been able to produce more than an apple-sized orb of Magick from her palm. Well, besides yesterday evening when she blasted Taryn across the woods.
