“It must be working,” Marcus whispered to me. “Kallie’s gone into some sort of trance—”
Marcus didn’t finish his sentence before I heard thethudof Kallie’s body dropping to the floor. Marcus and I rushed forward at the same time. I reached out to find her body stiff and cold as ice. I could feel her magic rolling off of her with my Elf powers, but it was like she’d turned from a living, breathing person into a corpse in seconds. She was still alive, but we didn’t know for how long.
Hell, she hadn’t been kidding about Unseelie magic. It wasn’t something to fuck with if you didn’t know what you were doing, and of course, we had no fucking clue.
“Kallie!” Marcus yelled, but she didn’t respond. She remained immobile and silent, like a statue.
Her worst fear had already happened. She’d lost control of the spell, and her mind had gone with it.
“Marcus, do something!” I screamed.
“I’m not a doctor!” he snapped.
“You’re a warlockandher bonded mate,” I reminded him. “Can’t you get inside her head, pull her out of this?”
“Uh… m— maybe,” he stammered.
I grabbed his shoulder tightly to help bring him back to the moment. We couldn’t lose Kallie because Marcus was panicking. “Then do it! She needs you!”
Marcus gulped, then positioned himself over Kallie. He laid his hands on her, and his whole body jolted.
“Marcus?” I shook him, but he didn’t answer. “Oberi, what’s happening!?”
He’s gone into her subconscious,Oberi said.He looks like he’s having a vision.
I sat back on my heels… waiting. Nothing changed.
“How long is it going to take?” I demanded. The seconds ticked by, and Kallie was still unresponsive.
Magic like this takes time.
“Not this much time,” I retorted. “They’re trapped!”
Well, gods, they’re not ordering a pizza! Oberi snapped.
I touched Kallie’s arm. If Kallie got any colder, her body would freeze. I could already feel frost creeping across her skin. This spell was strong enough to kill her.
I reached out to shake Marcus and pull him out of the trance, but Rishi swiped his claws out and cut my hand. At the same time, Oberi grabbed the back of my shirt in his teeth and yanked me away. I landed on my back.
“Oberi, what the hell!? I’m trying to help them!” I yelled. I scrambled to my feet, but Oberi planted himself in front of me.
Charlie, you can’t!Oberi barked.
“Their bodies can’t handle this!”
You have to trust your friends,Oberi insisted.The kind of work you’re doing to find these keys involves risk, and if you want to do it all by yourself, you might as well turn back now, or else we’re done for!
I was about to argue further, until Marcus coughed. It sounded like he was gasping for air after holding his breath for too long.
“Marcus, you with me?” I held my breath, awaiting a response.
Finally, he rasped, “I’m okay.”
Relief flooded through me. I reached for Kallie’s hand and found warmth returning to her skin. A small noise escaped her throat.
“Kallie, thank the Goddess,” Marcus said breathlessly. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
Marcus must’ve curled her in his arms, because I heard the muffled sound of her gasps, like she was burying her face in his chest for comfort. Kallie’s voice broke as she said, “It didn’t work.”
