Taliesin bursts free.
And it’s as if he’s transformed. His shoulders go rigid, and a shadow falls across his face. He vibrates with anger, his narrowed eyes locked on the path where the rogues have arrived. Heat drains from the air so quickly my lungs seize on the next breath. As he steps toward the enemy, the ground beneath his feet crackles. Frost races outward in wicked veins. The rain slows…then stops, the droplets suspended between air and earth like shards of glass.
I can feel the blood in my veins begin to slow.
For a heartbeat, it feels like nothing will survive this moment unless he allows it. Including me.
He growls a single word. “Run.”
10
Idon’t hesitate. I throw myself down the cliffside path, running as fast I dare, where one wrong step could mean death. From behind me comes a wave of unbearable cold that claws between my clothes and scrapes into my bones. I gasp, and my lungs burn like I’m inhaling shards of glass. Pain twists through me. Still, I run, the haunting tenor of screams filling the air.
They cut off almost instantly, but I don’t stop. I run until the path ends abruptly, where it looks like some giant smashed it away with his hammer, the remnants scattered along the shore below. Chest heaving, I brace a hand on the rock face and try to force the rogues’ screams from my mind, but it’s the chill ofhimI can’t shake.
So it’s true.Allof it. Taliesin Wynn bends ice to his will. He leaves his enemies frozen where they stand, slowing their hearts until they can no longer pump blood, drawing all the breath from their lungs, and freezing their final words on their lips.
I shudder. It seems like such a horrible way to die.
At least he told me to run.
“Swynwraig.” His deep voice comes from behind me, but it feels as though it’s all around, echoing over the stone.
My hands tighten against the rock, and I keep my gaze focused on the churning sea far below the broken path. The froth lashes at the air, like the waves are reaching for me and begging me to taste their poison.Jump, the water sings.
For one wild moment, I consider it. Because right now, I don’t know which is worst. Diving into the sea’s waiting embrace or letting Taliesin Wynn do his worst.
But I’ve never been good at choosing death, not when I’ve seen the light die in so many other eyes.
“I swear I don’t want to harm you,” he says, louder this time.
Bracing myself, I turn to face him. His eyes resemble the rogues—empty, haunted, black, the icy blue drained from them. He lowers the sword to the ground by my feet and steps back, like it’s meant to bridge the gap between us. Like it’s proof he won’t scour me with his frost. But I know a blade would do nothing against the full force of his magic.
“How many?” I ask roughly.
He shakes his head. “I’m not certain. Ten, maybe fifteen. There are no bodies left to count.”
Ten or fifteen.All those lives that mattered to someone. And now there’s nothing left of them.
I draw in a sharp breath, the image hitting me all at once, like I know exactly what it looks like. Ice spiderwebbing across their skin and turning their bodies to glass. Flesh splintering. Shards scattering across the ground.
“You shattered them,” I whisper.
“The ice did.” He looks away, a muscle working in his jaw. “It’s what happens when I’m forced to react quickly. I don’t have time to hold back.”
I swallow. “I think it’s time we go our separate ways.”
A moment of strained silence passes between us, the rain still tearing down from the darkening sky. I move to pass him, but he grabs my arm before I make it two steps. His touch is gentle, but firm enough I know I can’t break it.
That gentleness almost makes it worse, like there’s any kindness in trapping someone.
“Let me go,” I snap, narrowing my eyes at the grim resignation in his expression.
Another beat passes.
“I can’t,” he says roughly.
Fear spikes in my heart. I try to pull away, but he holds me close, his eyes locked on the ground, like he can’t bear to look at me while he condemns me to…whatever this is. He swore he doesn’t want to hurt me, so now what? He can’t seriously expect me to camp out on these cliffs in the middle of a storm.
