Sev laughed good-naturedly. “You need me to find an angry momma leopard to chase you?”
“Shut up.” Rodric shoved Sev’s shoulder, but his friend kept chuckling.
“That makes sense though. Your mind and body unite in focus when you go into that mode. Your magic is a natural part of you, another sense. The hunter doesn’t have a problem using it, just the man. So, get into that zone and reach for her.”
As if it was the most natural thing in the world. Right.
Closing his eyes, he brought his senses into the higher state of function he used when he hunted. Sound, scent, touch, all heightened to the max. Then he tapped into his magic, staring at it like a foreign invader. But it wasn’t. It was part of him. The gold moved in a caress, a calm stream compared to the stormy frenzy of his white and blue magic. As soon as he let go of the barriers, the magic swirled in response, aligning in a rapid sphere. Another sense. One the hunter needed.
Finding the line of his bond, he sent a wave of emotion to her. Nothing in response. He tried again, and a third time, with the same results. “I’m sending and nothing’s happening. It’s like the bond is shut down on her side. Blocked, somehow.”
“Then quit sending. Rodric, when you’re hunting, your target has no idea you’re there. Right? Stop blocking your instincts andhunt for her.She’s your mate. It should be the most natural thing in the world.”
Standing, Rodric paced in a tight pattern, trying to mentally stay in the hunting zone.My mate.
Fear, determination, and dull, thudding pain hit him. A spike of pain and anxiety when her magic tried to rise to meet him. His breath stilled in his lungs.Celina.The strength of her presence filled him with hope. His mate was alive and fighting.
He sent love and hope cascading through the bond. Imagined it enveloping her with the warmth of his embrace. Shielding her from the pain and fear. Sheltering her soul within his own until he could get to her.
Opening his eyes, he found Sev and Zora standing a few feet from him, both alert and watching him intently.
Sev smiled, patting Zora on the shoulder in camaraderie. “Now, we can hunt.”
Chapter 29
Aloneinoneofthe two rooms in the ice cellar, Celina sat, shaking violently. Cold was not a strong enough descriptor. Without a blanket, she was forced to decide which body part the ice could touch.
Shockingly, she’d realized that the ice providing her torment was internally flecked with the signature snowflake design of non-melting, mage crafted ice. It had likely been there since before the fortress was abandoned. Long, long before. At some ancient point in its history, the fortress had hosted people with very different views on magic than its current inhabitants. Unfortunately, the knowledge was of little comfort as the frigid atmosphere ate away at her.
Worse than the searing cold slowly freezing her body were the sounds coming from the adjoining ice cellar. A thin wall separated the two rooms, and Celina was forced to listen to Jack tormenting the young Marin. Though his words were indistinct, his harsh tone punctuated the sound of a whip being used on her. The girl was a fighter and reminded her of Cass the way she spit fire at the abusive guard between screams of pain.
A door slammed, and Celina stiffened, holding her breath until Jack moved up the stairs, half afraid he was going to disobey the captain’s orders and pay her a visit. Touching the black collar around her neck, she felt sick with the knowledge that she’d made the best choice for herself.
When he’d locked her in the cellar, the captain had smiled and reminded her to enjoy the choice she’d made. Already she was beginning to understand his manipulation style. While Jack seemed to use brute force to garner compliance, and the lieutenant played the reasonable captor, the captain enjoyed forcing his captives to choose facets of their existence under his care.
Shifting to her side, she curled into a ball and tried to psych herself up for the pain of attempting to use her magic. She couldn’t tell if she was getting used to the sensation of burning alive as the fire devoured her from the inside, or if she was successfully speeding up the drug’s elimination from her body. Time would tell. Her desperate hope was that it would wear off earlier than they guessed, and she’d have her advantage back to help with the rescue.
Dipping into her magic, she whimpered at the immediate lash of pain. The last three times, she had tried to boost her body’s healing ability, pushing her body to fight the drug. This time, she had a different goal. Finding the soul-bond, she wrapped her magic around it like it was her last lifeline. Instead of trying to channel magic out, triggering the burning drug, shepulled.It made no sense, but instinct trumped logic where magic was concerned. The drug still burned, but to a lesser degree than when she tried to use her magic actively.
Pushing the sensation of pain away, she filled her mind with his essence. For ages, she tried, but nothing happened. Letting go, she gave up. The tears froze on her cheeks, turning into little flecks of ice. Cold, afraid, and vulnerable, without her magic for the first time in her life, she felt like breaking. Shattering into a million ice crystals in this frozen room.
A wisp of warmth brushed her, so light it felt impossible to be real, making her cry harder. Shaking with fear and exhaustion, she closed her eyes.
Celina.
Her breath stilled with a sudden gasp as Rodric’s voice sounded in her mind. Fiery pain assaulted her when she tried to respond, so she pulled back and let his presence fill her.
A caress of warmth, stronger now, fed her soul.I’m coming for you. Just hold on for me.
Another sob escaped her, this time from relief. Even now, with him doing the work of connecting them, the magic was reacting, writhing in her bloodstream.
Shuddering, she curled tighter and tried to calm her breathing. She just had to hold on a little longer. Determined not to be helpless when they arrived, she roused her healing ability and continued to fight the fire.
Thedooropenedwitha warm puff of air, making Celina gasp. Boots, and then a knee, entered her line of sight as Lieutenant Devryn knelt. He lifted her head off the floor and turned her face so that she looked him in the eyes.
Cursing softly, he felt at her neck for her pulse. “You tried to use your magic, didn’t you?”
Though the pain was awful to the point of being debilitating, she didn’t regret it. Her voice came out thready and weak. “I had to try.”
