Teo and Liana kneel beside my body, and my mate brushes away the snow from my face.
Liana’s eyes are full of wonder and pride, but Teo looks half mad.
“Well done,” the wise woman says. “You have proven yourself a formidable asset to our court. I never told you that she acts like a focusing crystal.”
“Hah!” I smile weakly, my eyelids drooping again.“I saw it when we were practicing the parting blessings.
“Enough,” my mate’s voice booms. I still as Teo’s hand passes over my face and body. “Are you hurt?”
“I feel fine.”
A muscle in his jaw feathers. “You look like you’re about to pass out.” He pulls a chunk of citrine and puts it to my brow before he starts to sing. It doesn’t take long for the weariness to fade.
I reach up and grab his hand. “Teo, I am fine.”
He sucks in a sharp breath. “I woke up and you were gone. I feared…”
My stomach drops, like a stone plunking down in the middle of a pond.“Mi amor,?3 I wasn’t trying to run away. I thought you knew I would never want to leave you again.”
He slides his arms under my knees and around my back. I lean into him as he picks me up.
Instead of continuing our conversation, he says, “We have received word from Melisa again.”
My eyes snap back open. The last update was so awful.
“And?” I choke out, throat dry. I fear the horrors her words could contain, especially after the last message.
Teo looks down at me with such wonder and tenderness, and it makes me restless. “The giant lords are planning to launch an attack on Rholker. They want him dead.”
I stare at him, letting the words seep into my skin. If there is a mine… there are more slaves suffering under Rholker’s hand. “Is he already dead?”
Teo shakes his head. “Not yet, we must ride soon.”
Everything in my soul and the world around me stills. “What of Mikal?” I ask. “With Rholker dead, we will be able to find him easily.”
Tears slip out of my eyes. So close to reuniting with Mikal.
But… Revenge is closer.
When my head muzzles into Teo’s neck, both of our Fuegorras begin to light.
It’s not the simple mating light both Teo and I have experienced before. This time, as we touch, I am sucked into his soul. My magic is a lyre string, and he is a deep, burning cavern into the depths of the known world.
I reach out into the cavern, spiraling down into all. That. Power.
The ground beneath us quivers.
Teo halts, eyes wide as he gazes down at me.
“What was that?” He demands.
Liana comes over, grinning. “It seems your visions are coming true.”
I blink rapidly. “I think… I just accessed your power through our bond.”
Teo’s hold on me tightens. His pace picks up, and he takes me back into Enduvida faster than even Liana can walk, all the while the spell light bobbing around us.
The magic from earlier has left me depleted, and I feel weary in his arms. I don’t question him, though I do send a few stray thoughts of surprise when we walk past the palace.
