“You very much like it,” he says, beaming at me.
I try my hardest not to smile. “Eh. Kind of like it.”
“I will force you to very much like it,” Torin proclaims as he comes at me, and I hastily back away while laughing, well aware I’m not going to be able to block shit with my focus off.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Torin
Something startles me awake, and I glance around for what might have caused it before I realize that I feel an influx of magic next to me. I jerk upright, discovering it’s unexpectedly coming from Riley. He’s thrashing in his sleep, curling in on himself as if he’s in pain.
“Riley!” I call while trying to shake him awake, but he’s not waking up. I can feel immense magical power radiating off him as I quickly turn on the light he’d stolen from Mickey.
He’s coated in sweat and the black stain on his hands and arms seems to almost be glowing as I see it crawling up his arms, spreading across his skin. I’ve never seen it spread like this, and I have absolutely no idea what’s causing it.
“Riley, wake up!” I shout while Kit whines, worried about what’s going on. But he isn’t responsive. Is he not even dreaming? Is something else going on with him?
“Riley, dammit, please wake up,” I beg, feeling anxious.
The magic that’s radiating off him is overwhelming, but I don’t understand why or what’s causing it. I shake him again, and then even smack his face, hoping to startle him.
“RILEY!” I shout, and his eyes snap open right before I can feel a surge of magic that tears out of him and he shoves me back, throwing me from the bed as I hear him hit the floor on the other side.
I scramble up to my feet and rush to the other side of the bed where I find Riley kneeling on the ground, practically curling in on himself while the magic continues to build.
“Riley! Riley, what’s going on?” I ask, but he doesn’t even acknowledge me. The walls are rattling against such power, and I question whether the magic is about to level this place like it did where the Door first opened. And if it does… Mickey is here… and will Riley himself be protected from it?
“Riley, it’s okay. Riley, I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to fight it,” I plead as I pull him into my arms. He tries to fight me again, thrashing and throwing himself backward in almost a mindless state, but I hold him firmly, refusing to let him go. The dark stain continues to inch its way up his arms, and I grab him tightly and tuck his head against my chest. I kiss his forehead while I beg for it to stop, to not take away what is so important to me.
“Please, Riley. Please, I can’t lose you,” I whisper.
He seems to freeze for a second before he just crashes into me. The magic disperses immediately and he collapses into my arms. When I tilt his head toward me, he doesn’t appear to be conscious, but that magic has left him and the stains have stopped spreading.
“Oh fuck,” I mutter as I tighten my grip on him, squeezing him to me while I rock where I sit. I don’t know what just happened; I only know I need my Riley to be safe.
I hear the pounding of footsteps a moment before the door is flung open and Mickey stands in the doorway.
“What the hell was that?” he asks, looking as alarmed as I feel.
And I realize how bad it really must have been for him to have felt it from his wing all the way across the palace.
“I…” I look down at an unconscious Riley sprawled across my arms. The stain is now up to his elbows and ankles. “I don’t know,” I admit. “He just… I woke up and he was just… it was the magic from the Door. I could feel the magic he acquires every time he gets close to a Door.”
Mickey stiffens. “Did a Door open here?”
“I don’t feel one. Maybe back in your world?”
“I’ll send my undead out,” he says as he rushes off.
I pick Riley up and lay him down on the bed, not wanting to let go of him but knowing that if a Doordidopen, I can’t just ignore it. Quill is waiting for me right outside the bedroom.
I cup his cheek. “Search to see if there’s a Door open here.”
He’s gone just like that as I hesitate, not wanting to leave Riley alone in case a Door has opened. I kneel down, feeling the ground and sending my magic along it. Touching the floor of my bedroom does very little. Back when I was at my full strength, feeling the status of the realm would have been easy from here, but in this state, I think I need to touch the ground directly to check the ley lines and magic of the realm to make sure there are no disturbances. Not knowing what else to do, I pick Riley up and carry him outside to the garden. I lay him down on a bench and kneel down to place my hand on the ground. My magic spreads out, but I don’t feel a Door anywhere near me. I am pleased how far my magic can reach, though. I feel like I’m actually starting to get my power back for the first time since my people died.
I crawl back over to Riley and pat his face while Kit paws at him. “Riley, wake up. Come on, Riley.”
Still, he doesn’t stir. I close my eyes and sense what Quill is feeling; though my connection to him is not like Riley’s iswith Kit, I can stillfeelhim. And I can tell he hasn’t found any semblance of a Door.
